Buckling behavior of GLARE panels subjected to partial edge loads

The advancement in FRP laminates leads to the development of fibre metal laminates (FMLs) commonly found in aircraft components. The mechanical properties of FMLs are superior as compared to that of bare fiber laminates because of the infused strength combination of both fibers and metals. In this work, the Glass fiber reinforced aluminum/epoxy laminates (GLARE) are considered to investigate the effect of fibre-orientation on vibration and buckling characteristics under the action of partial edge loads by using finite element approach. A 9-noded heterosis plate element has been used to discretize the plate by incorporating the effect of shear deformation. For a given GLARE with ply-orientation and loading, the stress distribution within an element is highly non-uniform in nature. Therefore, dynamic approach has been used to calculate the buckling loads. Here, two boundary conditions are used, in which one for prebuckling stress calculation and other one for buckling loads. The effect of various parameters such as ply-orientation in GLARE, thickness, boundary conditions, aspect ratios of plate and loading width and its position are considered to investigate the buckling characteristics in detail. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.