Confined nanorods: jamming due to helical buckling

Abstract

We investigate a longitudinally loaded elastic nanorod inside a cylindrical channel and show within the context of classical elasticity theory that the Euler buckling instability leads to a helical postbuckling form of the rod within the channel. The local pitch of the confined helix changes along the channel and so does the longitudinal force transmitted along the rod, diminishing away from the loaded end. This creates a possibility of jamming of the nanorod within the channel.