Postbuckling analysis of bi-axially compressed laminated nanocomposite plates using the first-order shear deformation theory

In this paper, the post-buckling behavior of laminated nanocomposite plates subjected to biaxial and uniaxial compression is investigated. In each layer, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are axially aligned within the polymer matrix, and are distributed either uniformly or in a functionally graded pattern in the thickness direction. Discretized governing equations are derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) via the IMLS-Ritz method. In this study, the post-buckling paths are traced using an algorithm that combines the arc-length iterative procedure with the modified Newton-Raphson method. In order to validate the method, comparison studies are performed on the functionally graded material laminated plates, where results are available in the literature. Several example problems are considered including cross-ply and angle-ply laminated nanocomposite plates. The effects of number of layers, lamination scheme, plate geometry, CNT volume fraction ratio, CNT distribution, and boundary conditions on the post-buckling behavior of the plates are presented.