Recent Advances in Sensitivity Analysis for Thermomechanical Postbuckling of Composite Panels

Abstract

Three recent developments in the sensitivity analysis for the thermomechanical postbuckling response of composite panels are reviewed. The three developments are an effective computational procedure for evaluating hierarchical sensitivity coefficients of the various response quantities with respect to the different laminate, layer, and micromechanical characteristics; an application of reduction methods to the sensitivity analysis of the postbuckling response; and an accurate evaluation of the sensitivity coefficients of transverse shear stresses. Sample numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the computational procedures presented. Some of the future directions for research on sensitivity analysis for the thermomechanical postbuckling response of composite and smart structures are outlined.