Buckling of Unidirectional Graphite/Epoxy Composite Plates at Low Temperatures
Abstract
A theoretical and experimental study of the buckling and postbuckling behavior of unidirectionally laminated graphite/epoxy plates was conducted under combined thermal cooling and compressive loading. The rectangular plates were simply supported at the loaded edges and free in the remaining edges. The plates were found to bend during cooling even without mechanical loads because of the negative thermal expansion coefficient of the material in the loading direction and the in-plane end constraints at the two-loaded edges. Such bending from thermal load was treated as an initial geometric imperfection, and the analysis was based on Koiter's theory of elastic stability. The experimental postbuckling curves agreed well with the theoretical values.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA246602
Entities
People
- David Hui
- Piyush K. Dutta
- Yvonne M. Traynham
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory