24-10-2012, 11:36 AM
Buckling Behavior of Long Anisotropic Plates Subjected to Elastically Restrained Thermal Expansion and Contraction
ABSTRACT
An approach for synthesizing buckling results for thin balanced and unbalanced symmetric laminates that are subjected
to uniform heating or cooling and elastically restrained against thermal expansion or contraction is presented. This approach
uses a nondimensional analysis for infinitely long, flexural anisotropic plates that are subjected to combined mechanical loads.
In addition, stiffness-weighted laminate thermal-expansion parameters and compliance coefficients are derived that are used
to determine critical temperatures in terms of physically intuitive mechanical-buckling coefficients. Many results are presented
for some common laminates that are intended to facilitate a structural designer s transition to the use of the generic buckling
design curves. Several curves that illustrate the fundamental parameters used in the analysis are presented, for nine
contemporary material systems, that provide physical insight into the buckling response in addition to providing useful design
data. Examples are presented that demonstrate the use of the generic design curves.