THERMAL BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF ISOTROPIC AND COMPOSITE PLATES WITH A HOLE

Abstract We analyze thermal buckling of both circular isotropic plates and square antisymmetric angle-ply laminates with a hole in the middle, and subject to a uniform temperature rise, by either closed form solution for the former or finite-element method for the latter. Thin-plate theory is used to analyze the isotropic plates. However, a high-order displacement theory including high-order terms along the transverse direction taking into account transverse normal strain is used in the case of laminates. Results for the isotropic plates indicate that in contrast to the reduction in mechanical buckling loads due to the hole, the thermal buckling temperature actually rises as the size of the hole increases, which indicates that the effect on stress reduction exceeds that on stiffness decrease. Results are more complicated for laminated plates, due to anisotropy.