OPTIMAL DESIGN OF THICK LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES FOR MAXIMUM THERMAL BUCKLING LOAD

In this article, the design of a thick laminated composite plate subjected to a thermal buckling load under a uniform temperature distribution is presented. In design procedures of compose laminated plates for a maximum thermal buckling load, the finite element method based on shear deformation theory is used for the analysis of laminated plates. The optimal design for the symmetric or antisymmetric laminated plates consist ing of four layers with a maximum thermal buckling load is performed. The fiber orientation and ply thickness coefficient of plates are adopted as design variables. A one-dimensional search method is used to find optimal fiber orientation, and optimal thickness is investigated.