Buckling Characteristics of Regular and Irregular Asymmetric Laminated Composites

Abstract

The paper examines the effects of composite material properties on the nonlinear buckling response of irregular asymmetric composite structures through the analysis of asymmetric laminated beam-columns composed of an arbitrary number of different material layers. The nonlinear buckling behavior of the structures subjected to combined compression and bending is examined as a function of the number, orientation and stacking sequence of the layers that make up the laminate. The analysis demonstrates that, typically, buckling of asymmetric composites is initiated immediately at the load application, however, under certain conditions, the structures exhibit bifurcation. In such cases, the critical load can be optimized through tailoring the material properties of the laminates.