Buckling and Postbuckling of Composite Plates and Shells

Synonyms

Stability behavior of composite plates and shells

Definitions

Buckling:

The phenomenon that thin-walled structures, such as plates and shells, under increasing in-plane compressive or shear loading at certain load levels can suddenly exhibit large out-of-plane deflections.

Postbuckling:

The behavior of the structure after buckling at a bifurcation point or a limit point has occurred.

Introduction

Thin-walled structures, such as plates and shells, constitute main components in various branches of engineering. Due to their favorable strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratio, fiber reinforced composite materials find an increasing use in weight critical applications. Thin-walled composite structures are prone to buckling, and consideration of the buckling and postbuckling behavior of these structures leads to important design criteria for these laminated structures. The possibility to vary the layer orientation and stacking sequence of the laminate gives the designer the...