Closed form solutions for thermo-mechanical buckling analysis of shallow piezo-laminated spherical shells

Abstract

Thermo-mechanical buckling analysis of laminated spherical shells bounded with the piezoelectric actuator layers has been presented in this article. Applied loads are a combination of thermal, mechanical and electrical loads. Derivations of equilibrium and stability equations are based on the classical laminated shell theory and Sanders’s nonlinear kinematic relations. The analysis employs the Galerkin method to achieve closed-form formulas for the buckling loads of the piezo-laminated spherical shell. Effects of applied actuator voltage, voltage sign, geometrical parameters of the shell (length, diameter, and thickness), material properties, and layout of composite layers on the buckling strength are investigated. Analytical solutions are obtained for three types of thermal loading, and one thermo-mechanical loading condition. The results are validated by the known data in the literature.