Non-linear stability analysis of CNT reinforced composite cylindrical shell panel subjected to thermomechanical loading

Abstract

The present study explores the nonlinear stability characteristics of simply supported carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced composite (CNTRC) cylindrical shell panel subjected to combined axial compressive loading and localized heating using semi-analytical approach. The thermomechanical properties of CNTRC panel are considered to be temperature-dependent and are evaluated using extended rule of mixture method. Higher order shear deformation theory and von Kármán type nonlinearity are employed to model the CNTRC cylindrical panel. Two types of localized heating profiles such as rectangular and circular are considered along with full heating. The pre-buckling stresses generated because of applied localized heating are determined using Airy’s stress function by satisfying the strain compatibility relations. The governing equations for stability problem of CNTRC panel are derived using variational principle incorporating the obtained pre-buckling stresses. The partial differential equations obtained are converted to a set of nonlinear algebraic equations by employing the Galerkin’s technique. The buckling temperature and nonlinear equilibrium paths are determined by solving the abovementioned equations using appropriate methods. The obtained results using present semi-analytical approach demonstrated the influence of various dispersion profiles of CNTs, CNT volume fraction and heating profiles on the buckling and post-buckling characteristics of CNTRC cylindrical shell panel subjected to thermomechanical loadings.