Thermal buckling analysis of cylindrical shell with functionally graded material coating

As an excellent heat-resistant material with broad potential application, the mechanical behavior of functionally graded material (FGM) is of research focus in many fields. However, the thermal buckling behavior of FGM thin-walled shell has been widely investigated, but little work was done for the cylindrical shell with FGM coating due to more complex material distribution and mathematical expressions. Therefore, the present work mainly carried out the theoretical derivation and buckling behavior analysis for a cylindrical shell with FGM coating subjected to a thermal load. The results show that the theoretical solution of the critical buckling temperature rise is in good agreement with the developed numerical approach. In addition, an empirical engineering formula of the critical buckling temperature rise with a more concise mathematical expression is proposed for solving this practical complex engineering application based on the significant amount of numerical calculation and theoretical analysis. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.