Thermal Postbuckling of Imperfect Shear-Deformable Laminated Plates on Two-Parameter Elastic Foundations

Author: Shen Hui-Shen  

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

ISSN: 1521-0596

Source: Mechanics of Composite Materials and Structures, Vol.6, Iss.3, 1999-07, pp. : 207-228

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Abstract

Thermal postbuckling analysis is presented for a simply supported, shear-deformable composite laminated plate subjected to uniform or nonuniform parabolic temperature loading and resting on a two-parameter (Pasternak-type) elastic foundation. The initial geometric imperfection of the plate is taken into account. Reddy's third-order shear-deformation plate theory with von Karman nonlinearity is used. The governing equations also include the plate-foundation interaction and thermal effects. The analysis uses a mixed Galerkin-perturbation technique to determine thermal buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical examples are presented that relate to the performances of perfect and imperfect, symmetric cross-ply laminated plates resting on Pasternak-type elastic foundations from which results for Winkler elastic foundations are obtained as a limiting case. The influence played by a number of effects, among them foundation stiffness, transverse shear deformation, plate aspect ratio, fiber orientation, thermal load ratio, and initial geometric imperfections, is studied. Typical results are presented in dimensionless graphical form.