Hygrothermoelastic Postbuckling Response of Laminated Composite Plates

Abstract

The paper deals with the effect of moisture and temperature on the postbuckling response of a laminated composite plate subjected to hygrothermomechanical loadings. Mechanical loading consists of uniaxial, biaxial, shear, and their combinations. The distribution of temperature and moisture on the surface is considered to be uniform. The degradation in material properties due to moisture and temperature is taken into account using a micromechanical model. The mathematical formulation is based on higher order shear deformation theory and von Karman’s nonlinear kinematics. The quadratic extrapolation technique and fast converging finite double Chebyshev series are used for linearization and spatial discretization of the governing nonlinear equations of equilibrium, respectively. The effects of temperature rise, moisture concentration, fiber-volume fraction, and plate parameters on buckling and postbuckling response of the plate are presented.