Postbuckling analysis of axially-loaded laminated cylindrical shells with piezoelectric actuators

A compressive postbuckling analysis is presented for a laminated cylindrical shell with piezoelectric actuators subjected to the combined action of mechanical, electric and thermal loads. The temperature field considered is assumed to be a uniform distribution over the shell surface and through the shell thickness, and the electric field is assumed to be the transverse component EZ only. The material properties are assumed to be independent of the temperature and the electric field. The governing equations are based on the classical shell theory with von Kármán–Donnell-type kinematic nonlinearity. The nonlinear prebuckling deformations and initial geometric imperfections of the shell are both taken into account. A boundary layer theory of shell buckling, which includes the effects of nonlinear prebuckling deformations, large deflections in the postbuckling range, and initial geometric imperfections of the shell, is extended to the case of hybrid laminated cylindrical shells. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine the buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. The numerical illustrations concern the compressive postbuckling behavior of perfect and imperfect, cross-ply laminated cylindrical thin shells with fully covered or embedded piezoelectric actuators under different sets of thermal and electric loading conditions. The effects played by temperature rise, applied voltage, shell geometric parameter, stacking sequence, as well as initial geometric imperfections are studied.