Static stability analysis of multi-scale hybrid agglomerated nanocomposite shells

Abstract

This paper investigates the buckling problem of a multi-scale hybrid nanocomposite shell for the first time while the cylinder is supposed to be rested on an elastic substrate. The constituent material is considered to be made from a polymeric matrix strengthened via both macro- and nano-scale reinforcements. The influence of nanofillers’ agglomeration, generated due to the high surface to volume ratio in nanostructures, is included by implementing the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka homogenization scheme. Afterwards, the equivalent material properties of the carbon nanotube-reinforced (CNTR) nanocomposite are coupled with those of carbon fibers (CFs) within the framework of a modified rule of the mixture. A cylindrical coordinate system is chosen and mixed with the infinitesimal strains of first-order shear deformation theory of shells to obtain the motion equations on the basis of the static form of principle of virtual work. Next, the achieved governing equations will be solved by Galerkin’s method to obtain the buckling load of the structure for both simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. The results indicate on the fact that if the agglomeration effects are ignored, the designed nanocomposite system may fail under low static excitations. Also, it is better to avoid from the construction of a large number of small clusters to make the nanocomposite structure more powerful against buckling mode failure.