Thermo-elastic buckling and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded thin plate and shell structures

In this paper, we extend the Kirchhoff–Love model to thermal buckling and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded structures. The kernel idea of the proposed model consists of the consideration of large displacements and finite rotation to accurately model the thermal effects on buckling and post-buckling behavior of such structures. Both uniform and nonuniform temperature distributions are considered. Material properties of the FG structures are graded in the thickness direction and assumed to obey a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed model are highlighted through different numerical examples, and the effects of the volume fraction exponent, thermal loads, length-to-thickness ratio, boundary conditions and geometrical parameters on the buckling and post-buckling behavior of FGM structures are also examined.