Buckling Response of Nanocomposite Plate Under Uniaxial In-Plane Loads

Abstract

AbstractThis paper intends to present the buckling response of a nanocomposite plate under uniaxial in-plane loads where four types of carbon nanotubes reinforcements are included. Uniform and three functionally graded forms of carbon nanotubes, known as FGV; FGO and FGX are included in the model. These carbon nanotubes reinforcements are axially aligned in the x-direction and functionally graded in the z-direction. The material law behavior is described by a modified rule of mixture. The governing equations of motion are obtained using the finite element method based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The shear part of the transverse shear strain deformations is taken into account via a quadratic function that able to describe the parabolic distribution of the transverse shear stresses. The zero condition of the transverse shear stresses at the lower and upper surfaces is also verified. The effects of different parameters like CNT volume fractions and forms, length-to-thickness ratio are studied and examined. It is reveled that the carbon nanotubes reinforcements can enhance the buckling response and the strength of the nanocomposite plates via a selected percentage and form of CNTs. For example, the FGX form with a volume fraction VCNT of 0.17 induces high critical buckling load and therefore the nanocomposite plate can sustain and resist to further applied loads.KeywordsCritical bucklingNanocompositeCarbon nanotubesFinite element