Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Composite Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Nonuniform biaxial buckling of orthotropic nanoplates embedded

in an elastic medium based on nonlocal Mindlin plate theory
M.E. Golmakani a, J. Rezatalab a,b,
a
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
Young Researchers and Elite Club, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Available online 6 September 2014
Keywords:
Orthotropic nanoplate
Nonlocal Mindlin theory
Nonuniform biaxial buckling
Differential quadrature method

a b s t r a c t
In this article, non-uniform biaxial buckling analysis of orthotropic single-layered graphene sheet embedded in a Pasternak elastic medium is investigated using the nonlocal Mindlin plate theory. All edges of the
graphene sheet are subjected to linearly varying normal stresses. The nanoplate equilibrium equations
are derived in terms of generalized displacements based on rst-order shear deformation theory (FSDT)
of orthotropic nanoplates using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen. Differential
quadrature method (DQM) has been used to solve the governing equations for various boundary conditions. The accuracy of the present results is validated by comparing the solutions with those reported by
the available literatures. Finally, inuences of small scale effect, aspect ratio, polymer matrix properties,
type of planar loading, mode numbers and boundary conditions are discussed in details.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Graphene, rst discovered by Geim and Novoselov [1] in 2004,
is a monolayer (with a thickness of only 0.34 nm) of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms (covalently bonded to three other atoms)
arranged in a honeycomb lattice with a unique series of unprecedented structural, mechanical and electrical properties [2]. The
superior properties of these structures have led to its applications
in many elds such as nano sensors, electrical batteries, superfast
microelectronics, micro electromechanical systems (MEMS),
nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS), biomedical, bioelectrical,
reinforcement role at composites, etc. [39]. The most commonly
employed methods for graphene manufacturing are micromechanical and chemical exfoliation of graphite, reduction of graphite
oxide, epitaxial growth on SiC, and chemical vapor deposition
(CVD) on transition metals [10]. In order to study the mechanical
behavior of nanostructures, it has been reported that the small
scale effect must play an important role in the nanoscale structures, but this small scale effect has been ignored when classical
local continuum theory was adopted [11]. Really, we cannot
neglect the van der Waals interaction between the atoms and its
inner distance in contrast with the main structure [12]. On the
other hand, performing the experiment at nanoscale is very
Corresponding author. Address: P.O.B. 9187144123, Mashhad, Iran.
E-mail addresses: m.e.golmakani@mshdiau.ac.ir (M.E. Golmakani), rezatalabjavad@
mshdiau.ac.ir (J. Rezatalab).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2014.08.037
0263-8223/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

difcult and expensive; also the atomistic simulation such as

molecular dynamics (MD) is highly computationally expensive
and cannot be applied for more number of atoms at surface. So,
using some other methods is vital. In recent years, various sizedependent continuum theories such as couple stress theory [13],
strain gradient elasticity theory [1416], modied couple stress
theory [1721] and nonlocal elasticity theory [2225] are proposed. These theories are comprised of information about the
interatomic forces and internal lengths that is introduced as small
scale effect in nonlocal elasticity theory [25]. Chen [26] employing
lattice dynamics and MD showed that among the size-dependent
continuum theories (micromorphic theory, microstructure theory,
micropolar theory, Cosserat theory, nonlocal theory and couple
stress theory), the nonlocal elasticity theory of Eringen is the most
reasonable from the physical and atomic points of view. Also, Sun
et al. [27] found that there exists an inconsistency between atomistic simulation and the strain gradient elasticity solution for the
bending of nano-scale structures. Peddieson et al. [28] rst used
the nonlocal elasticity theory to develop a nonlocal Bernoulli/Euler
beam model. After that, the nonlocal elasticity theory has been
widely used due to its simplicity, high reliability and close agreement with MD simulations for mechanical analysis of carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets [26,27,29]. However, on contrary to the
huge studies presented for mechanical analysis of one-dimensional
nanostructures such as nanobeams, nanorods and CNTs, only some
works are presented on two-dimensional ones such as graphene
sheets. So, our understanding of the mechanical behaviors of

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

graphene sheets such as buckling is essential for their engineering

design and manufacture. Pradhan [30] employed higher-order
shear deformation theory using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen in order to study buckling behavior of isotropic single-layered graphene sheet and obtained an analytical
solution for critical buckling load of these nanoplates. Murmu
and Pradhan [31] carried out biaxial buckling study of orthotropic
graphene sheets based on nonlocal Kirchhoff model and obtained
explicit expression for modied buckling load. They [32] also
implemented nonlocal elasticity theory to investigate the buckling
behavior of single-layered graphene sheet (SLGS) embedded in an
elastic medium. Their results show that the buckling loads of SLGS
are strongly dependent on the small scale coefcients and the stiffness of the surrounding elastic medium. Narendar [33] presented
the buckling analysis of isotropic graphene sheets using the two
variable rened plate theory and nonlocal small scale effects. He
concluded that the present theory, which does not require shear
correction factor, is not only simple but also comparable to the
rst-order and higher order shear deformable theory. Samaei
et al. [34] investigated the effect of length scale on buckling behavior of an isotropic single-layer graphene sheet embedded in a Pasternak elastic medium using a nonlocal Mindlin plate theory and
extracted explicit solution for the buckling loads of graphene sheet.
Farajpour et al. [35] studied uniaxial buckling response of orthotropic nanoscale plates under linearly varying in-plane load via nonlocal Kirchhoff theory. They found that for the case of pure inplane bending, the nonlocal effects are relatively more than other
cases. Using Levys method, Pradhan [36] investigated buckling
behavior of biaxially compressed graphene sheets based on nonlocal elasticity theory. He found that nonlocal parameter and
boundary conditions signicantly inuence the critical buckling
loads of the small size graphene sheets. Ansari and Shamani [37]
studied the biaxial buckling behavior of single-layered graphene
sheets based on nonlocal plate models and molecular dynamic
simulations. They extracted the appropriate values of nonlocal
parameter relevant to each type of nonlocal elastic plate model
and chirality. They also showed that the present nonlocal plate
models with their proposed proper values of nonlocal parameter
have an excellent capability to predict the biaxial buckling
response of SLGSs. Analooei et al. [38] used nonlocal continuum
mechanics and spline nite strip method due to elastic buckling
and vibration analysis of orthotropic nanoplates. Their results
revealed that small scale effect plays considerable role in the analysis of small sizes plates. Murmu et al. [39] reported an analytical
study on the buckling of double-nanoplate-system (DNPS) subjected to biaxial compression using nonlocal elasticity theory. Sarrami-Foroushani and Azhari [40] using the nonlocal classical plate
theory and nite strip method studied vibration and buckling of
single and multi-layered graphene sheets. They observed that in
the nanoscale structures the critical buckling load and natural frequency are highly dependent on nonlocal parameter.
As far as knowledge of authors is concerned, there is no literature considering the non-uniform biaxial buckling analysis of
orthotropic nanoplate embedded in a Pasternak elastic medium
based on the nonlocal Mindlin plate theory. Thus, this study is presented considering the non-uniform biaxial buckling of embedded
graphene sheet under various distribution of linearly planar load
along the edges. Governing equations are derived based on Mindlin
theory with considering orthotropic property and nonlocal theory
of Eringen in order to consider the size effects. Both Winkler-type
and Pasternak-type foundation models are employed to simulate
the interaction between the graphene sheet and the surrounding
elastic medium. The created eigenvalue problem is solved using
the differential quadrature method for simply-supported boundary
condition, clamped boundary condition and combination of them.
To verify the accuracy of the present consequences, simplied

239

results are compared with those of available references and molecular dynamics results. Excellent agreement between the results is
observed fortunately. Finally, inuences of many parameters such
as small scale effect, aspect ratio, polymer matrix properties, distribution of planar loading, mode numbers and boundary conditions
are discussed in details.
2. Formulation
The single-layered graphene sheet is simulated as a rectangular
nano-plate and the elastic medium is modeled using an elastic
foundation, both Winkler-type and Pasternak-type elastic foundation. Fig. 1 shows the discrete model and continuum model used in
this study for a single-layer graphene sheet resting on two-parameter foundation with length lx, width ly and thickness h. As seen in
Fig. 1, a Cartesian coordinate system is placed at one corner of the
graphene sheet with the x,y and z axes along the length, width and
thickness, respectively. Also, the linear variations of in-plane compressive loadings along the x and y axes denoted in Fig. 2 by Py(x)
and Px(y), respectively, are dened by:





y
x
; P y x P2 1  k2
Px y P1 1  k1
ly
lx


x
k0 P1 1  k2
lx

where P1 is normal stress along the x direction at origin point and

k0, k1, k2 are optional parameters dened to express the loading distribution. According to the rst-order shear deformation theory
(FSDT), the following displacement eld can be expressed as:

8
>
< ux; y; z; t u0 x; y; t zux x; y; t
v x; y; z; t v 0 x; y; t zuy x; y; t
>
:
wx; y; z; t w0 x; y; t

where u, v and w are the displacement components of point (x, y)

along x, y and z directions, respectively at time t. Also, u0, v0 and
w0 are the displacement functions of the middle surface of the
graphene sheet. Moreover, ux and uy are the local rotations for x
and y directions, respectively. The general strain relations are
expressed as:

Fig. 1. Graphene sheet in a Pasternak medium under biaxial buckling load.

240

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

8
Rh
>
< N x ; N y ; N xy ; Q x ; Q y 2 h rx ; ry ; rxy ; k  rxz ; k  ryz dz
2

Rh
>
: M x ; M y ; M xy 2 h rx ; ry ; rxy zdz

2

In which k = 5/6 is the transverse shear correction coefcient. By

substituting Eqs. (3) and (5) into Eq. (7), the nonlocal constitutive
relations in terms of displacements are obtained

2 @u0 3
@x
3
3 2
3
2
6 @v 0 7
N xx
N xx
A11 A12 0 0
0
0
0
0
6 @y 7
7
6
6 Nyy 7
6 N yy 7 6 A12 A22 0 0
0
0
0
0 7
7
7 6
7 6 @ v 0 @u0 7
6
6
7
7 6
7 6 7
6
6
6 N xy 7
6 Nxy 7 6 0 0 A66 0
0
0
0
0 7 6 @x @y 7
7
7 6
7 6 @ ux 7
6
6
7
7 6 0 0 0 D D
6
6M 7
6
0
0
0 7
11
12
7 6 @x 7
6 xx 7
6
2 6 M xx 7
7  lr 6
76
7  6 @ uy 7
6
7
6
6 M yy 7
6 M yy 7 6 0 0 0 D12 D22 0
0
0 7 6 @y 7
7
7
7 6
6
6
7
6
6M 7
6M 7 6 0 0 0 0
0
0 7
0
D
66
7 6 @ ux @ uy 7
6 xy 7
6 xy 7 6
7
7 6
7 6 @y
6
6
@x 7
7
4 Qy 5
4 Qy 5 4 0 0 0 0
0
0 H44 0 5 6
6 @w0 u 7
4 @y
y5
Qx
Qx
0 0 0 0
0
0
0 H55
@w0
ux
@x
2

Fig. 2. Linear distribution of planar load along edges of graphene sheet.

@u0
@x

where Aij (i,j = 1,2,6), Dij (i,j = 1,2,6) and H44, H55 are the extensional,
bending and shear stiffness of the graphene sheet dened by:

ux
z @@x
@u
z @y

exx
7
6
@v 0
7
6e 7 6

7
@y
6 yy 7 6
7


7 6
6
7
6
@
u
@
u
@u
@
v
y
6 cxy 7 6 0 0 z x
7
7 6 @y
6
@x
@y
@x
7
7 6
6
7
4 cyz 5 6
@w0
7

u
y
@y
5
4
cxz
@w0

u
x
@x

Aij ; Dij

In which rij and sij are nonlocal and local stresses, respectively.
Also, e0 is a material constant, a is the internal characteristic length
(like CC bond length for carbon nanotube) and l is a scale coefcient that describes the small scale effect for mechanical behavior
of nanostructures. So, based on Eqs. (3) and (4), the stressstrain
equations of a rectangular orthotropic nanoplate are expressed as
follows:

rxx
rxx
Q 11
7
7 6
6
6
6 ryy 7
6 ryy 7 6 Q 12
7
7 6
6
6
6 rxy 7  lr2 6 rxy 7 6 0
7
7 6
6
6
7
7 6
6
6
4 ryz 5
4 ryz 5 4 0
0
rxz
rxz

Q 12

Q 22

Q 66

C 44

exx

7 6
7
0 7 6 eyy 7
7 6
7
7
6
0 7
7  6 cxy 7
7 6
7
0 5 4 cyz 5
cxz
C 55

Q 22

1  v 12 v 21
E2

;
1  v 12 v 21

Q 21 Q 12
Q 66 G12

"
#
2
2
@Q x @Q y
@ 2 w0
i @ w0
i @ w0

qeff Nix

2N

N
0
y
xy
@x
@y
@x2
@x@y
@y2
@M x @M xy

 Qx 0
@x
@y
@M xy @M y

 Qy 0
@x
@y

10

where Ni is pre-buckling in-plane stress resultant which is computed for this problem as follows:



y
;
Nix P1 1  k1
ly



x
N iy k0 P1 1  k2
;
lx

C 55 G13

N ixy 0

11

Furthermore, the effective transverse load qeff is dened as follows:

12

@ ux
@ 2 w0
H55
lkw kp H55
@x
@x2
lkw kp H44

v 12 E2
;
1  v 12 v 21

C 44 G23 ;

@Nxx @Nxy

0
@x
@y
@Nxy @Nyy

0
@x
@y

In which kw, kp are Winkler and shear coefcients of foundation

parameter, respectively. Also, q is external transverse load that vanishes in this study and has been deleted from next relations. Therefore, the following governing equations can be obtained in terms of
the displacements:

where the coefcients of Qij and Cij are stiffness of the orthotropic
layer dened by:

E1

H55 k  C 55 h

qeff q  kw w kp r2 w

Q 11

H44 k  C 44 h;

Using the principle of virtual displacements, the following governing equations can be obtained [41]:

sij 1  lr2 rij ; l e0 a2 ; r2 @ 2 =@x2 @ 2 =@y2

!
3
h
Q iji;j1;2;6 ;
12

where eii and cij (i = x,y and j = x,y) are normal and shear strains,
respectively.
Nonlocal continuum theory states that the stress at a reference
point x in an elastic continuum depends not only on the strain at x
but also on the strains at all other points in the body [2225].
According to Eringen [24] the nonlocal constitutive behavior of a
Hookean solid is represented by the following differential constitutive relation

h;

Here, E1 and E2 are Youngs moduli in directions x and y, respectively, G12, G13, G23 are shear modulus and v12 and v21 denote
Poissons ratios. Moreover, Ni (i = x,y,xy),Mi (i = x,y,xy) and Qi
(i = x,y) are in-plane, moment and shear stress resultants of nonlocal
elasticity, respectively, which are dened as:

@ 2 w0
@y2

!
H44
!

@ uy
@y

 kw w0

(
#
"
y @ 2 w0
@ 4 w0
@ 4 w0
1  k1

l

l
ly
@x2
@x4
@x2 @y2
#

" 2
x @ w0
@ 4 w0
@ 4 w0

l

l
k0 1  k2
lx
@y2
@y4
@x2 @y2
!)
k1 @ 3 w0 k0 k2 @ 3 w0
 lkp r4 w0 0



2l
ly @x2 @y
lx
@x@y2
 P1

241

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

D11



@ 2 uy
@ 2 ux
@ 2 ux
@w0
0

D

H
u

12
66
66
55
x
@x2
@x@y
@y2
@x

D66



@ 2 uy
@ 2 uy
@ 2 ux
@w0
0

D

H
u

12
66
22
44
y
@x2
@x@y
@y2
@y
13

For numerical solution method especially for nanoscale problems, it

is important to use non-dimensional equations instead of
main relations. By introducing the following non-dimensional
parameters


 2

 W w0 ; X x ; Y y ; a lx ; b lx ; g e0 a
lx
lx
lx
h
ly
ly



kp
kw l2x
E11 h
 D 1  m12 m21 ; A11 D ; c1 A ; c2 A ; P AP1
11
11
11


 k1 m12E E22 ; k2 EE22 ; k3 GE12 D ; k4 k GE23 D ; k5 k GE13 D
11
11
11
11
11

14

Eq. (13) can be rewritten as the following normalized form:

k5

@ uy
@ ux
@2W
@2W
k4 b
k5 gc1 c2 
k4 gc1 c2 b2
2
@X
@Y
@X
@Y 2
"
#
@4W
@4W
@4W
 c1 W  gc2
2b2 2 2 b4
4
@X
@X @Y
@Y 4
(
"
#
4
@2W
@4W
2 @ w0

g

g
b
 P 1  k1 Y
@X 2
@X 4
@X 2 @Y 2
"
#
4
@2W
@4W
2@ W

g
b

g
k0 b2 1  k2 X
@Y 2
@Y 4
@X 2 @Y 2
!)
@3W
@3W
2gb2 k1 2 k0 k2
0
@X @Y
@X@Y 2

@ 2 uy
@ 2 ux
k3 b2
 12  k5 a2 ux
@X@Y
@X
@Y 2
@W
12  k5 a2
@X

@ 2 ux
2

k1 k3 b

k3

@ uy
@X 2

k1 k3 b

@W
12  k4 ba2
@Y

N
@Fxi ; yj X

axik Fxk ; yj ;
@x
k1

i 1; 2; . . . ; N

18

M
@Fxi ; yj X

ayjr Fxi ; yr ;
@y
r1

j 1; 2; . . . ; M

19

In which N and M are the number of grid points along x and y directions, respectively. Also, ax and ay are obtained as follows [49]:

 x
a
 ij


 x
 aii

 y
a
 ij


 y
 aii


Rxi
xi x
j Rxj

N
X

axij

for i j
i; j 1; 2; . . . ; N

20

j1;i
Pyi
yi y
j Pyj

M
X

ayij

for i j
i; j 1; 2; . . . ; M

21

j1;i

where R(x) and P(y) are dened as:

@ uy
@ ux
k2 b 2
 12  k4 a2 uy
@X@Y
@Y 2
2

numerical methods such as dynamic relaxation (DR), nite difference (FD), nite element (FE), etc. The DQ method was introduced
by Bellman and Casti [43,44]. Many researchers have recently suggested the application of the DQM to the analysis of nanostructures
[4548]. The basic idea of the differential quadrature method is
based on the approximation of partial derivative of a function with
respect to a space variable at a discrete point as a weighted linear
sum of the function values at all discrete points in the whole
domain. Its weighting coefcients are only depending on the grid
spacing. Therefore, every partial differential equation can be simplied to a set of algebraic equations using these coefcients
[49]. DQM can be subdivided into several subsets with respect to
the applied function and satised types of boundary conditions.
In this paper, polynomial function and direct substitution
technique are used to this end. Thus, the rst order derivatives
of a function F(x, y) for point (xi, yj) from a rectangular sheet
can be expressed as a following linear sum of the function values
[49]:

15

In order to complete the formulation, the governing equation (15)

should be accompanied by a set of boundary conditions. The following cases of boundary conditions are used in this study:


N

Y

xi  xj
 Rxi

j1;i


M

 Py Y y  y

i
i
j

j1;i

22

Also, higher order partial derivatives are expressed as:

N
@ n Fxi ; yj X
n

cik Fxk ; yj
n
@x
k1

23

M
@ m Fxi ; yj X
cm

jr Fxi ; yr
@ym
r1

24

N X
M
@ ab Fxi ; yj X
a b

cik cjr Fxk ; yr

@xa @yb
k1 r1

25

(a) For simply supported boundary condition edges:

X 0; 1 :

ux
W uy @@X
0

Y 0; 1 :

W ux

@ uy
@Y

16

(b) For clamped boundary condition edges:

X 0; 1 :

W uy ux 0

Y 0; 1 :

W ux uy 0

17

3. Solution procedure
In this paper, in order to solve the equilibrium equations the
differential quadrature method (DQM) is applied. This method
has shown superb accuracy, efciency, convenience and great
potential in solving complicated partial differential equations
[42]. The differential quadrature (DQ) method provides simple formulation and low computational costs in contrast with the other

In which superscripts (m, n, a, b) are order of derivative. Also, c and c

are the weighing coefcients along x and y directions, respectively,
which are dened as follows:

c1 ax ;

c1 ay




n1
 n
 C n ax cn1  cij
for i j
 ij
ij ii
xi xj


N
 n
X
n
C 
cij
i; j 1; 2; . . . ; N
 ii

j1;i

26

27

242

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250



cm1
m1
for i j
m ayij cii
 yiji yj


 m
 C ij



m
X
 m
cijm
 C ii 


and biaxial compression are examined by three comparison studies

as follows;

28
i; j 1; 2; . . . ; M

j1;i

With implementation of DQM into Eq. (15), the following equations

can be obtained:

k5

N
M
X
X
1
cjr1 uy X i ; Y r k5 gc1 c2 
cik ux X k ; Y j k4 b 
r1

k1

N
M
X
X
2
c2
cik W k;j k4 gc1 c2   b2 

jr W i;r  c1 W i;j
r1

k1

"
#
N
N X
M
M
X
X
X
4
2 2
c4
 gc2
cik W k;j 2b2 
cik cjr W k;r b4 
W
i;r
jr
k1

k1 r1

"

r1

N
N
N X
M
X
X
X
2
4
2 2
cik W kj  g cik W kj  gb2
cik cjr W kr
 P 1  k1 Y
k1

k1 r1

k1

"
#
M
M
N X
M
X
X
X
2 2
cjr2 W ir  gb2 cjr4 W ir  g
cik cjr W kr
k0 b 1  k2 X
2

r1
2

2gb

r1

k1 r1

N X
M
N X
M
X
X
2 1
1 2
k1
cik cjr W kr k0 k2
cik cjr W kr
k1 r1

!)
0

29

k1 r1

N
N X
M
X
X
2
1 1
cik ux X k ; Y j k1 k3  b 
cik cjr uy X k ; Y r
k1 r1

k1

k3 b2 

M
X
cjr2 ux X i ; Y r  12  k25 ux X i ; Y j
r1

12k5 a2

N
X

cik WX k ; Y j

30

k1

k3 

N
N X
M
X
X
2
1 1
cik uy X k ; Y j k1 k3  b 
cik cjr ux X k ; Y r k2 b2
k1

k1 r1

M
M
X
X
2
2
c2
c1

jr uy X i ; Y r  12  k4 uy X i ;Y j 12k4 ba
jr WX i ;Y r
r1

Sample 2. In the second example, the critical buckling load of

orthotropic SLGS without elastic foundation is investigated under
linearly varying in-plane load. The ultimate results on the basis
of dimensionless critical buckling load for different values of load
factor and small scale effect are compared to the results of Farajpour et al. [35] in Table 2. The material properties applied in this
analysis are comprised of E1 = 1765 GPa, E2 = 1588 GPa, m12 = 0.3,
m21 = 0.27. Also, the length, width and thickness of the graphene
sheet are 10, 20 and 0.34 nm, respectively. Furthermore, according
to the model reported by [35], distribution of the in-plane load is


assumed as: N ix P 1  k1 lyy ; N iy N ixy 0.
Also, in Table 3 the present results for the critical buckling load
ratio of simply supported SLGS subjected to linear uniaxial
compression (e0a = 2 nm,k1 = 1) are compared with those of nonlocal Kirchhoff model reported by Farajpour et al. [35] for different
modes and the mentioned geometry and material properties.
The comparative results in Tables 2 and 3 imply the high
accuracy and strong agreement between the results. It should be
noted that the results reported by Farajpour et al. [35] are obtained
based on Kirchhoff nonlocal model and numerical DQ method and
the slight difference between the results can be attributed to this
fact.

31

r1

In order to obtain a better mesh point distribution, GaussChebyshevLobatto technique has been dened as follows:


 x lx 1  cos i1 p

i 1; 2; . . . ; N
 i 2

N1 

 y ly 1  cos j1 p
j 1; 2; . . . ; M
 j 2
M1

Sample 1. In the rst step of validation, the present results for the
uniform nonlocal biaxial buckling load of isotropic square graphene
sheet with a simply supported boundary condition are compared
with those of molecular dynamic (MD) simulations as reported by
Ansari and Sahmani [37] in Table 1. It is notable that the material
properties of SLGS are taken as E = 1 TPa and m = 0.16. Also, the
thickness, h, and the nonlocal effect, l, are 0.34 nm and 1.81 nm2,
respectively. Moreover, the load value for all edges is equal. As
indicated in Table 1, it is obvious that the present results are in good
agreement with those of the reported solutions by MD [37].

32

In fact, this distribution leads to higher stability of equations set and

increases the convergence speed of solution.
4. Results and discussion
In this section the obtained results of biaxial buckling analysis of
the orthotropic single-layered graphene sheet (SLGS) embedded in
an elastic matrix is investigated based on nonlocal Mindlin plate
theory. First, in order to show the efciency and accuracy of the
present numerical analysis, the current results are compared with
some simpler ones obtained by MD and other nonlocal solutions.
After that, the parametric study is presented for considering the
effects of different parameters such as small scale effect, aspect
ratio, polymer matrix properties, type of planar loading, mode
numbers and boundary conditions on the buckling behavior of the
SLGS.
4.1. Comparison study
The accuracy and validity of the present method concerning the
nonlocal buckling loads of square/rectangular SLGS under uniaxial

Sample 3. In the third example, uniaxial buckling of isotropic SLGS

embedded in a Pasternak elastic medium with simply supported
boundary condition is examined. Material properties and geometry
of the graphene sheet are dened as E = 1.06 TPa, m = 0.25,
h = 0.34 nm and lx = 15 nm. The dimensionless Winkler
and Paster4
k l2
nak elastic foundation are assumed as kwDlx 10 and pDx 2, respectively. As indicated in Table 4, the present results for the critical
buckling load ratio (dened as nonlocal buckling load to local
buckling load) are compared with those reported by Pradhan and
Murmu [32]. Similar to the previous example, the results of the
mentioned reference are attained by means of Kirchhoff nonlocal
theory and DQ method. It is obviously concluded that the results
are of high accuracy and strongly conrm each other.
4.2. Parametric study
It is of importance to state that the material properties applied
in this study are dened in Table 5. Additionally, the exact value of
small scale effect is not known, so it is assumed varyingly between
0 to 2 nm [50]. To conduct a thorough analysis of the buckling
results, the variables P1, NP1, NP2 and PR, are taken into account.
P1 (Pa m) represents critical buckling load; NP1 and NP2 denote
non-dimensional critical buckling loads and PR shows the critical
buckling load ratio which are dened as:

NP1

P0
;
A11

NP 2

P 0 lx
;
D11

PR

PNonLocal
PLocal

33

243

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

Table 1
Comparison of present results with those of MD [37] simulation for orthotropic single-layered graphene sheet under uniform biaxial compression with simply supported
boundary condition.
lx = ly (nm)

Critical buckling load (Pa m)

4.990
8.080
10.77
14.65
18.51
22.35
26.22
30.04
33.85
37.81
41.78
45.66

Table 2
Comparison of present results of

Pl2x
D11

Percent of relative error (%)

MD results [37]

Present results (N = M = 11)

1.0837
0.6536
0.4331
0.2609
0.1714
0.1191
0.0889
0.0691
0.0554
0.0449
0.0372
0.0315

1.0749
0.6523
0.4356
0.2645
0.1751
0.1239
0.0917
0.0707
0.0561
0.0453
0.0372
0.0313

0.8165
0.1952
0.5825
1.3702
2.1815
3.9886
3.1317
2.3032
1.3245
0.8162
0.1051
0.6903

with those of nonlocal Kirchhoff model [35] for linear uniaxial buckling and simply supported boundary condition.

Load factor (k1)

e0a (nm)
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

0.0

Present
Ref. [35]

15.195
15.246

14.740
14.789

13.526
13.571

11.893
11.933

10.174
10.208

0.5

Present
Ref. [35]

20.068
20.136

19.462
19.528

17.845
17.905

15.673
15.726

13.390
13.435

1.0

Present
Ref. [35]

28.183
28.283

27.286
27.383

24.904
24.993

21.732
21.809

18.433
18.497

1.5

Present
Ref. [35]

41.369
41.536

39.873
40.034

35.962
36.107

30.893
31.014

25.784
25.882

2.0

Present
Ref. [35]

60.937
61.225

58.339
58.616

51.720
51.961

43.483
43.681

31.344
29.400

Table 3
Comparison between the present results with the ones reported by [35] for the critical buckling load ratio of different modes of simply supported SLGS subjected to linear uniaxial
compression (e0a = 2 nm, k1 = 1).
Mode number

Present results
Ref. [35]

0.654 (N = M = 21)
0.654

0.353 (N = M = 21)
0.353

0.329 (N = M = 21)
0.328

0.219 (N = M = 21)
0.218

0.203 (N = M = 21)
0.201

0.136 (N = M = 29)
0.132

Table 4
Comparison of present results with those of Kirchhoff nonlocal model [32] for
uniform uniaxial buckling of embedded nanoplate with simply supported boundary
condition.
ly (nm)

e0a (nm)

Buckling load ratio

Ref. [32]

Present results

15

2
1.5
1
0.5

0.769
0.854
0.923
0.980

0.769
0.854
0.928
0.981

25

2
1.5
1
0.5

0.840
0.918
0.954
0.987

0.840
0.902
0.953
0.988

75

2
1.5
1
0.5

0.880
0.920
0.967
0.992

0.880
0.928
0.966
0.991

Moreover, it is noticed that POF and AOF in the following results

introduce the presence and absence of the elastic foundation,
respectively.

Fig. 3(a) and (b) illustrate the non-dimensional critical buckling

load in terms of different values of small scale effect and the load
factor k0 for simply supported and clamped boundary conditions,
respectively. As seen, the critical buckling load decreases as a consequence of increasing the small scale effect. This reduction is
observed slight in the beginning but along with increase of nonlocal effect the slope of the reduction becomes steep. Moreover,
the small scale parameter has more effect on the results for
clamped boundary condition compared to simply supported one.
It is also found that the slope remains rather unchanging considering the cases in which the small scale parameter is assumed
beyond 0.75 nm in simply supported boundary condition. However, this event happens for clamped boundary condition for the
values greater than 0.5 nm.
Fig. 4(a) and (b) show the buckling load ratio in terms of nonlocal effect for different values of load factor k0 in simply supported
and clamped boundary conditions, respectively. It is observable
that with increase of small scale effect, the values of buckling load
ratio decrease intensively and it consequently makes a huge difference between nonlocal and local models. Analyzing the diagrams,
the important point to focus on is that variations of the load factor
make almost no effect on the results.

244

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

Table 5
Geometrical and material properties of graphene nanoplate, elastic foundation properties and shear correction factor used in the parametric study.


E1 (Gpa)

E2 (Gpa)

G12 (Gpa)

m12

lx (nm)

ly (nm)

h (nm)

kw

1765

1588

694.88

0.3

10.2

10.2

0.34

1.13

In Figs. 5 and 6, the same analysis is repeated as Figs. 3 and 4

with only difference that elastic foundation does not exist here.
The diagrams reveal that the conclusions in previous case are again
valid in the present one so that regardless of variations of the slope
of the diagrams, absence of elastic medium noticeably affects the
reduction of critical buckling load. Furthermore, it is observed that
the reduction effect of small scale effect on the buckling load
decreases in the absence of elastic foundation. Also, the effect of
small scale parameter on the results decreases with raising the values of k0 for both with and without elastic foundation. In addition,
the differences between the local and nonlocal results have the
greater values in clamped case compared to simply supported one.
Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the small scale effect parameter on nondimensional buckling load (NP2) for different boundary conditions
and rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a graphene sheet imposed to
uniform and non-uniform biaxial loadings, respectively. Properties
and geometry of the applied graphene sheet in this diagram are

Gpa
nm

kp (Pa m)

1.13

0.8333

brought in Table 5 for kp = 0, kw = 1.13e16 Pa. The results point

out that in local state (e0a = 0), a signicant difference exists
between the results obtained from various buckling mode shapes.
But, by enlarging the small scale parameter, the aforementioned
difference sharply decreases. So that, the decreasing aspect of the
small scale parameter in higher buckling modes is more considerable and the curvature of these curves is sharper than the ones
with lower buckling modes. As a result, by increasing the small
scale parameter, the curves converge to a constant value. Clearly,
changing the boundary condition of the edges from simply supported to the clamped accelerates the convergence of the diagrams. Hence, it can be concluded that when graphene sheets
with large nonlocal parameters are involved there is no urge to calculate the buckling loads of high modes. The point which is of certain concern is that when the curves become closer to each other in
various modes, transition phenomenon takes place very rapidly
from one mode to another by slightly increasing the compressive

Fig. 3. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) based on small scale parameter (e0a) with various load factor k0 and presence of elastic medium for (a) simply-supported
boundary condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

Fig. 4. Buckling load ratio (PR) based on the small scale parameter (e0a) and various load factor k0 for presence of elastic medium with (a) simply-supported boundary
condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

245

Fig. 5. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) based on small scale parameter (e0a) with various load factor k0 and absence of elastic medium for (a) simply-supported
boundary condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

Fig. 6. Buckling load ratio (PR) based on the small scale parameter (e0a) and various load factor k0 for absence of elastic medium with (a) simply-supported boundary
condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

Fig. 7. Effect of small scale parameter on the non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) for different boundary conditions and rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a graphene sheet
imposed to uniform biaxial loadings (kp = 0,kw = 1.13e16 Pa, k0 = k1 = 1, k2 = 0).

246

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

Fig. 8. Effect of small scale parameter on the non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) for different boundary conditions and rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a graphene sheet
imposed to non-uniform biaxial loadings (kp = 0, kw = 1.13e16 Pa, k0 = k1 = 1, k2 = 0).

Fig. 9. Effect of aspect ratio (b) on the non-dimensional buckling load (NP1) in simply-supported boundary condition and various load factor (k2, k1) without elastic foundation
for (a) k0 = 1 and (b) k0 = 2.

load and therefore, the process of calculations demands a more

crucial accuracy. What is more to conclude is that owing to sharpness of the curvatures in higher modes, it is still possible to employ
linear approximation in order to model the curves at small scale
parameter values beyond 1 nm. Also, a concurrent analysis of
Figs. 7 and 8 reveals that the type of loading plays no role in the
obtained conclusions of this section and increase of k1 does not
necessarily lead to the growth of critical buckling load value.
In Fig. 9(a) and (b), effect of aspect ratio (b) on non-dimensional
critical buckling load is investigated for different values of the load
factor in simply supported boundary condition and width of 20 nm
when no elastic foundation exists. According to Ref. [37] value of
nonlocal parameter is deemed to be 1.81 nm2. The same analysis
is similarly carried out in case of clamped boundary condition in
Fig. 10(a) and (b). All the diagrams unanimously demonstrate that
increasing the aspect ratio at constant width will consequently

cause a reduction to critical buckling load. It is also evident that

as the aspect ratio grows increasingly slope of the curve tends
downwards to zero meaning that effect of length variations can
be looked over for extensive values of length. It is inferred through
analysis of diagrams that increase of coefcients k1 and k2 imposes
an eventual increase on critical buckling load and also slope of the
curves. Analogy of the curves suggests this conclusion that unlike
the two load factors k1 and k2, increasing k0 results in decrease of
critical buckling load. Concerning the load factors, it should be kept
in mind that increase of k1 and k2 reduce the resultant of compressive load whereas increase of k0 signies growth of it. Besides, Analytic view of the diagrams determines that critical buckling load is
observed greater in clamped boundary condition rather than in
simply supported one.
Fig. 11(a) and (b) shows the amount of critical buckling load in
terms of aspect ratio at width of 20 nm with various load factor (k1

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

247

Fig. 10. Effect of aspect ratio (b) on the non-dimensional buckling load (NP1) in clamped boundary condition and various load factor (k2, k1) without elastic foundation for (a)
k0 = 1 and (b) k0 = 2.

Fig. 11. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP1) based on the aspect ratio (b) for various load factor (k1, k2) with k0 = 2 and presence of elastic medium: (a) simply-supported
boundary condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

Fig. 12. Variation of critical buckling load (P1) based on the square nanoplate length (lx = ly) for different types of planar load distribution and absence of elastic medium: (a)
simply-supported boundary condition and (b) clamped boundary condition.

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M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

Fig. 13. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) based on Winkler module (kw) for various nonlocal parameter (l) with (a) simply-supported and (b) clamped boundary
condition.

Fig. 14. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) variations of rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a simply supported graphene sheet in terms of dimensionless Winkler module and
different small scale parameters (k0 = 1, k1 = k2 = 0, kp = 1.13 Pa m).

and k2) and presence of elastic foundation for simply supported

and clamped boundary conditions, respectively. It is obvious that
the conclusion at hand for Figs. 9 and 10 replicates its validity
for this case as well. As indicated, increasing the variations of the
load distribution (k1 and k2) raises the effect of aspect ratio on
the results. Also, by making a comparison between Figs. 911 it
can be understood that presence of elastic foundation brings down
the slope and values of the curves, thus the diagrams have become
independent of length at smaller aspect ratios.
In Fig. 12(a) and (b), effect of growth in length and width
(length of square nanoplate) is discussed for ve different kinds
of loading on critical buckling load in simply supported and
clamped boundary conditions, respectively. As expected, increase
of length has led to decrease of critical buckling load and so the
plane is faced with buckling phenomenon in lower compressive

loads. It is clear that decreasing slope of the diagrams is very steep

in the beginning and tends downwards zero in the following.
Hence, controlled variation of dimensions for large graphene
sheets makes no certain impact on the results and it can be
ignored. It is also concluded that resultant of compressive load
and how it is distributed both affect the critical buckling load but
in square graphene sheets what is of importance is actually the
value of load not the distribution.
Fig. 13(a) and (b) indicate the effect of Winkler elastic foundation on critical buckling load for different values of nonlocal
parameter in simply supported and clamped boundary conditions,
respectively. Furthermore, as it is noticed, growth of Winkler module raises the critical buckling load with an unchanging slope. By
increasing the nonlocal parameter, a decrease of critical buckling
load occurs for different values of Winkler elastic foundation. In

M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

249

Fig. 15. Non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) variations of rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a simply supported graphene sheet in terms of shear modules of elastic foundation
for different small scale parameters (k0 = 1, k1 = k2 = 0, kw = 2.26e16 Pa).

addition, with increase of Winkler elastic foundation, the difference of obtained critical buckling load becomes greater between
nonlocal and local theories.
Fig. 14 shows non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) variations of
rst-to-fourth mode shapes of a simply supported graphene sheet
in terms of dimensionless Winkler module for different small scale
parameters. In this study, a uniform biaxial type of loading has
been utilized and the geometrical features are in accordance with
Table 5. As observed, the curves at hand show linear behavior
and posses constant slopes. Thus, by determining the slope of each
diagram, it is possible to identify the critical buckling load value
without any complicated calculations involved. Furthermore, it
can be observed that small scale parameter does not have any
noticeable effect on the slope of the diagrams. In other words,
the small scale parameter directs the curves toward each other
and does not inuence their slopes. Obviously, increasing the Winkler module leads to convergence of the results for different
modes. In addition, unlike the increase of e0a which results in
reduction of the critical buckling load, increase of the Winkler
module makes it grow.
In Fig. 15, non-dimensional buckling load (NP2) variations of a
simply supported graphene sheet subjected to uniform biaxial
loading is depicted for different values of shear modules of elastic
foundation along with different modes and small scale parameters.
It is seen that kp. adds to the critical buckling load in a linear trend.
Another point to bear in mind is that the slope of all the diagrams
are the same for different values of small scale parameter except
for the fact that their starting points are different from each other.

5. Conclusions
In this study, biaxial buckling of a single layered rectangular
graphene sheet in a medium elastic is studied with linear load distribution along the edges. To full this objective, equilibrium equations are obtained through Mindlin orthotropic plate models, and
Eringen nonlocal elasticity theory has been applied to consider
the small scale effect parameter. Governing equation for different
boundary conditions are solved using DQ method. In order to

validate the results, some comparison studies are carried out

between the present results and those reported by MD and other
literatures. Then, the effect of some important parameters is investigated and some of the most signicant results are presented as
follows:
 The study is representative of this fact that increase of small
scale parameter leads to reduction of critical buckling load. This
reduction shows nonlinear behavior at rst and then it turns to
linear.
 The reduction effect of small scale effect on the buckling load
decreases in the absence of elastic foundation.
 The effect of small scale parameter on the results decreases
with raising the values of k0 for both with and without elastic
foundation
 Rise of length-to-width ratio at a constant width creates a
reduction in critical buckling load at the beginning, however,
as the increase of length continues the slope tends downwards
zero.
 The fact that how the loading is distributed along the edges
makes a crucial effect on creation of mode shapes and this is
while the critical buckling load is mostly affected by the resultant in-plane loads rather than its distribution.
 The extension of length of the square graphene sheet and a shift
from clamped to simply supported boundary condition brings
about a reduction in critical buckling load. Besides, at high values of length, the critical buckling load is independent of the
length variation.
 Critical buckling load increases at a constant slope as a result of
increasing Winkler and shear modulus of the elastic foundation.
 By increasing of shear elastic foundation, difference between
the obtained critical buckling loads based on nonlocal and local
theories does not vary.
 Increasing the variations of the load distribution (k1 and k2)
raises the effect of aspect ratio on the results.
 The decreasing effect of the small scale parameter on higher
modes is more prominent than lower ones, thus, the signicance of taking nonlocal effect into analysis of high modes goes
up.

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M.E. Golmakani, J. Rezatalab / Composite Structures 119 (2015) 238250

 The small scale parameter if increased and shifting the boundary conditions from simply supported to clamped cause critical
load values of various modes to become close to each other and
direct the results to a constant value.
 With increase of Winkler module the obtained results for different modes converge to each other at the beginning and if this
increase is continued the mode shapes might change with the
same number of modes.

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