Thermal buckling analysis of rectangular composite plates with temperature-dependent properties based on a layerwise theory

Thermal buckling analysis of rectangular composite multilayered plates under uniform temperature rise is investigated using a layerwise plate theory. von Karman strain-displacement equations are employed to account for large deflections occurrence. It is already proven that the layerwise theory results are compatible with the three-dimensional theory of elasticity results. The accuracy of the present results is increased by substituting each layer by many virtual sub-layers. The final governing equations are not simplified or linearized. Material properties are assumed to vary with temperature. Hermitian finite element formulation is used to ensure a C-1 continuity for the lateral deflections. No semi-analytic solution is employed to reduce the problem to an eigenvalue one. Layerwise formulations are usually displacement-based. Therefore, force or moment boundary conditions (e.g. simply supported boundary condition), are approximately satisfied. A FEM algorithm is presented to exactly incorporate the boundary conditions. A proposed numerical scheme and a modified Budiansky instability criterion presented by the author are used to determine the buckling temperature in a computerized solution. Finally, results of the present techniques are compared with the results of the high-order theories presented by some well-known researchers and the influences of various geometric and mechanical properties parameters of the composite plate on the buckling temperature are studied. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.