Thermal buckling of composite laminated plates

Abstract Buckling analysis of composite laminates for critical temperatures under thermal loads is reported here. The formulation is based on linear theory and the finite element method using semiloof elements. The governing equation for critical temperature corresponding to the bifurcation budding is obtained by equating the second variation of total potential energy to zero. The validation checks on the program are carried out using results on homogeneous isotropic plates available in the literature. Results are presented for: 1. (1) cross-ply and angle-ply laminations with symmetry and antisymmetry stacking, 2. (2) simply supported, clamped and combination of boundary conditions, 3. (3) different aspect ratios, 4. (4) various moduli ratios, 5. (5) uniform and linearly varying temperature across thickness, 6. (6) varying ratios of coefficients of linear thermal expansion, and 7. (7) varying number of layers for given laminate thickness. Certain conclusions have been drawn based on these results.