Representative results of computer simulation and/or modeling studies of the nanomechanical and thermal transport properties of an individual carbon nanotube, silicon nanowire, and silicon carbide nanowire systems have been reviewed and compared with available experimental observations.
The investigated nanomechanical properties include different elastic moduli of carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, and silicon carbide nanowires, all obtained within their elastic limits. Moreover, atomistic mechanisms of elastic to plastic transition under external stresses and yielding
of carbon nanotubes under experimentally feasible temperature and strain rate conditions are discussed in detail. The simulation and/or modeling results on thermal properties, presented in this work, include vibrational modes, thermal conductivity and heat pulse transport through single carbon
nanotubes, and thermal conductivity of silicon nanowires.
Localization of vibrational modes leads to reduced thermal conductivity of amorphous heterostructures