Accurate buckling analysis of composite layered plates with combined thermal and mechanical loadings

This article is devoted to the linearized buckling analysis of laminated composite plates subjected simultaneously to mechanical and thermal loading. Orthotropic and anisotropic plates are considered. The Principle of Virtual Displacement (PVD) is applied and the Finite Element Method (FEM) is adopted in order to approximate the solution. The same case-studies are handled using different kinds of plate Finite Elements (FEs) and the accuracy of the analyses is discussed. The considered set of FEs is hierarchical in the sense that a variable kinematical approach is employed: both Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) and Layer-Wise (LW) variable descriptions are implemented, keeping the expansion order generic for the thickness variables. FE matrices are obtained in compact form by referring to Carrera's Unified Formulation (CUF). When available, exact solutions are referred to in order to assess the FEM results, which are all obtained with the academic code MUL2.