Closed Form Expressions for Nonlinear Analysis of FG-GPLRC Beam Under Thermal Loading: Thermal Postbuckling and Nonlinear Bending
Ahmad Haghani, Y. Kiani
Abstract
Considering that the exact solution for thermal buckling and post-buckling of the graphene platelets (GPLs)-reinforced composite beam in exposure to temperature changes has not been so far addressed, this problem is investigated in this research. The governing equations of the beam under thermal buckling load were acquired using the principle of virtual work, first-order shear deformation theory, and von Kármán strain field. The effective properties of the materials were then determined using the Halpin–Tsai model and rule of mixtures. Three coupled nonlinear equations are established and solved directly. Results are obtained for beams with clamped and simply supported edges. After validating the results, the effects of changing the GPLs distribution pattern and weight fraction changes on the critical thermal buckling load were evaluated. It is highlighted that for beams with simply supported edges and asymmetric distribution of material properties, the response is not of the bifurcation type.