Hygro-thermal buckling analysis of polymer–CNT–fiber-laminated nanocomposite disk under uniform lateral pressure with the aid of GDQM

Abstract

In this research, we study the thermal buckling performance of multi-scale hybrid laminated nanocomposite (MHLC) disk (MHLCD) subjected hygro-mechanical loading. The matrix material is reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or carbon fibers (CF) at the nano- or macro-scale, respectively. The disk is modeled based on higher order shear deformation theory. We present a modified Halpin–Tsai model to predict the effective properties of the MHLCD. The minimum total potential energy principle is employed to establish the governing equations of the system, which is finally solved by the generalized differential quadrature method. To validate the approach, numerical results are compared with available results from the literature. Subsequently, a comprehensive parameter study is carried out to quantify the influence of different parameters such as stiffness of the substrate, patterns of temperature increase, moisture coefficient, stacking sequence of the CFs, weight fraction and distribution patterns of CNTs, outer radius to inner radius ratio and inner radius to thickness ratio on the response of the plate. Some new results related to critical buckling of an MHLCD are also presented, which can serve as benchmark solutions for future investigations.