Thermal post-buckling behavior of patched laminated panels under uniform and non-uniform temperature distributions

The thermal post-buckling analysis of patched laminated panels under uniform and non-uniform temperature distributions has been performed using a finite element method based on the Hellinger-Reissner principle with independent strain, which is free of shear locking. The cylindrical arc-length method is adopted to obtain a non-linear solution. The accuracy of the present analysis is demonstrated for benchmark problems. The effects of lamination angle, direction and location of patches are investigated on thermal post-buckling behavior under uniform and non-uniform temperature distributions. The thickness and lamination angle of the patch greatly affect the non-linear response of laminated patched panels. The present results show that the load-carrying capability can be improved by adding a reinforcing patch. The panel patched on the outside surface is more effective than that on the inside to improve the thermoelastic post-buckling behavior. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.