Thermal postbuckling and vibration of postbuckled matrix cracked hybrid laminated plates containing carbon nanotube reinforced composite layers on elastic foundation

This paper investigates the thermal postbuckling and a large amplitude vibration of thermally postbuckled hybrid laminated plate resting on a Pasternak elastic foundation. The plate is composed of conventional fiber reinforced composite (FRC) layers and carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) layers. The CNTRC layer consists of reinforcing carbon nanotubes either uniformly distributed (UD) or functionally graded (FG) along the thickness direction. Transverse matrix cracking is introduced only in the FRC layers and modeled by a refined self-consistent method. The motion equations of the plate are based on a higher order shear deformation plate theory with a von Karman-type of kinematic nonlinearity and solved by a two-step perturbation technique. The interaction between plate and elastic foundation is also included. The material properties of both CNTRC and FRC layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent and are estimated by micro-mechanical models, respectively. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of matrix cracks, functionally graded distribution of CNT, volume fractions of CNT and foundation stiffness on the thermal postbuckling and thermally postbuckled vibration behaviors of cross-ply hybrid laminated plates. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.