Buckling analysis of thin composite plates reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using finite strip methods (F.S.M)

摘要

Due to high mechanical strength, Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) as single walled carbon nanotubes,rnare being considered as Nano scale fibers to enhance the performance of polymer composite materials. Anrnimprovement of the physical properties of polymer Nano-composites, based on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs),rnis devoted to a good dispersion and strong interactions between the matrix and the filler. Theoretical studiesrnindicate that the tensile modulus of multi-walled nanotubes may reach 1TPa.In the present study, the compositernrectangular thin plate reinforced with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) is subjected to axial andrnbiaxial loads and the critical buckling load of plate is calculated using Classical Plate Theory (CPT). Finite StriprnMethod (F.S.M) is employed to derive buckling equations. The Mori-Tanaka method is further used to calculaternthe effective elastic modulus of composites having aligned oriented straight CNTs. Furthermore the effect ofrnCNTs agglomeration is investigated when CNTs are dispersed non- uniformly in the polymer matrix. The effectsrnof aspect ratio and the edge conditions on the critical buckling load are also considered.