Structural stability of composite laminated column exposed to high temperature or fire

Increasing use of composite materials in applications of aerospace and civil structures, their safety and reliability under high temperature and fire environments must be assured. This paper covers a study of structural integrity of composite structures that are exposed to fire or intense heat. The parameters that affect their critical buckling loads and the buckling strengths under these circumstances were investigated. It is shown that for a given material, increasing the ply thickness will increase the buckling strength of the laminate. It is also concluded that a symmetric lay-up of laminate exhibits a higher buckling strength than the one of an unsymmetric lay-up.