Interactive thermal and inertial buckling of rotating temperature-dependent FG-CNT reinforced composite beams

Current research deals with thermal buckling of rotating carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) beams. Material properties of the composite beam are assumed to be temperature dependent. Also volume fraction of CNT may change across the beam thickness which results in a functionally graded media. Beam is subjected to uniform temperature rise and constant angular rotating speed. The governing equations of the composite beam are obtained using the Timoshenko beam theory and von Karman type of kinematic assumptions. Material properties of the composite media are estimated using a refined rule of mixtures approach. The obtained governing equations of the composite beam are linearized to study the pre-buckling deformations and conditions for the occurrence of classical bifurcation buckling are analysed. After that, using the adjacent equilibrium criterion, the stability equations governing the onset of buckling are obtained. These equations are solved by means of the generalized differential quadratures method. Numerical results are given to analyse the conditions of thermo-inertial buckling for rotating FG-CNTRC beams with different boundary conditions, various volume fractions and graded patterns for CNTs and different geometrical parameters. It is shown that beams with intermediate volume fraction of CNTs do not have necessarily intermediate critical buckling temperature. Also for certain conditions of boundary conditions, rotation may increase the critical buckling temperature of the beam.