Thermomechanical buckling of delaminated composite laminates

thermomechanical buckling analysis ofmultilayered laminates with (across-the-width) strip delaminations is conducted on the basis of anisotropic thermoelasticity of the constituent layers and the Kirchhoff Love hypothesis of the classical laminate theory. With the assumption of generalized plane deformation, the present analysis yields exact, closed-form solutions of the delamination model under in-plane compression and shear loads and a temperature load that may vary arbitrarily in the thickness direction. A characteristic equation is obtained for the thermal and mechanical load parameters associated with the states of bifurcation. This equation reveals explicitly the effects of various geometrical, material and load parameters on the buckling of the delaminated plate. The solutions of the characteristic equation indicate that a moderate temperature gradient in the thickness direction may drastically reduce the axial bifurcation load. ʹ.~ʹ? 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved