Thermomechanical nonlinear stability of pressure-loaded CNT-reinforced composite doubly curved panels resting on elastic foundations

Nonlinear stability of nanocomposite spherical and cylindrical panels reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs), resting on elastic foundations and subjected to uniform external pressure in thermal environments is investigated in this paper. CNTs are embedded into matrix phase through uniform distribution (UD) or functionally graded (FG) distribution, and effective properties of CNT-reinforced composite are estimated through an extended rule of mixture. Governing equations are based on classical shell theory taking geometrical nonlinearity, initial geometrical imperfection and panel-foundation interaction into consideration. Approximate solutions of deflection and stress functions are assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and Galerkin method is applied to obtain nonlinear load-deflection relation. Numerical examples show the effects of volume fraction and distribution type of CNTs, in-plane condition of edges, curvature of panel, thermal environments, elastic foundations and imperfection size on the nonlinear response and snapthrough instability of the curved panels. The present study reveals that efficiency of CNT distribution type depends on curvature of panel and in-plane behavior of boundary edges, and bifurcation type buckling response of pressure-loaded panels may occur at elevated temperature.