A Study on Thermal Buckling and Mode Jumping of Metallic and Composite Plates

Composite plates in post-buckling regime can experience mode jumping in their buckling shape, suddenly increasing the number of half-waves. This phenomenon can be advantageous, because the shape change could be used for local morphing or structural adaptability in future aerospace structures. A study of this phenomenon under heating is here presented, combining numerical and experimental techniques. At first, a set of parametric analysis was conducted to identify composite panels that present a mode jump when heated. Three plates were selected, one in aluminum alloy 2024T3, and two in AS4/8552 composite material, with layup [30/ - 30/5/ - 5](s) and [35/ - 35/10/ - 10](s). The plates were tested in a new test setup for thermal buckling based on low thermal expansion fixtures. The mode jumping was successfully obtained experimentally for both composite plates. Numerical simulations predicted the general trends for all plates, and the mode jumps for the composite plates.

Automated summary

The study presented in the article focuses on the phenomenon of mode jumping in composite plates in the post-buckling regime, which can potentially be used for local morphing or structural adaptability in aerospace structures. Through a combination of numerical and experimental techniques, the researchers conducted a parametric analysis to identify composite panels that exhibit mode jumping when heated, successfully obtaining experimental results and predicting trends through numerical simulations.