Buckling analysis of embedded laminated plates with agglomerated CNT-reinforced composite layers using FSDT and DQM

Laminated plates have many applications in different industrials. Buckling analysis of these structures with the nano-scale reinforcement has not investigated yet. However, buckling analysis of embedded laminated plates with nanocomposite layers is studied in this paper. Considering the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as reinforcement of layers, SWCNTs agglomeration effects and nonlinear analysis using numerical method are the main contributions of this paper. Mori-Tanaka model is applied for obtaining the equivalent material properties of structure and considering agglomeration effects. The elastic medium is simulated by spring and shear constants. Based on first order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the governing equations are derived based on energy method and Hamilton's principle. Differential quadrature method (DQM) is used for calculating the buckling load of system. The effects of different parameters such as the volume percent of SWCNTs, SWCNTs agglomeration, number of layers, orientation angle of layers, elastic medium, boundary conditions and axial mode number of plate on the buckling of the structure are shown. Results indicate that increasing volume percent of SWCNTs increases the buckling load of the plate. Furthermore, considering agglomeration effects decreases the buckling load of system. In addition, it is found that the present results have good agreement with other works.