Full Article

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL BUCKLING ANALYSES OF

LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES UNDER TEMPERATURE EFFECTS

Emin ERGUN

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pamukkale University, Denizli/Turkey

E-mail address: eminergun@pau.edu.tr

Received 22 April 2010; accepted 23 July 2010

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to investigate, experimentally and numerically, the change of critical buckling load in
composite plates with different ply numbers, orientation angles, stacking sequences and boundary conditions
as a function of temperature. Buckling specimens have been removed from the composite plate with glass-fibre
reinforcement at [0o]i and [45o]i (i= number of ply). First, the mechanical properties of the composite mate-
rial were determined at different temperatures, and after that, buckling experiments were done for those tem-
peratures. Then, numerical solutions were obtained by modelling the specimens used in the experiment in the
Ansys10 finite elements package software. The experimental and numerical results are in very good agreement
with each other. It was found that the values of the buckling load at [0o] on the composite plates are higher than
those of other angles. Besides, symmetrical and anti-symmetrical conditions were examined to see the effect of
the stacking sequence on buckling and only numerical solutions were obtained. It is seen that the buckling load
reaches the highest value when it is symmetrical in the cross-ply stacking sequence and it is anti-symmetrical
in the angle-ply stacking sequence.
Keywords: Composite Materials, Thermal Buckling, FEM (Finite Element Method), Boundary Conditions

1. INTRODUCTION the temperature affects the critical buckling load.

The use of composite materials in aerospace, ma-
rine, mechanical and automotive structures and
components has increased rapidly in recent years.
With the increasing demand for lighter and stronger
structures, which is met by the use of advanced com-
posite materials, the search for ways to exploit their
properties fully continues. Composite materials are
very attractive due to their high strength-to-weight
ratio and stiffness-to-weight ratio. The buckling of
fibre reinforced plates under temperature effects is
an important factor or criteria in the design process.
High temperatures will result in compressive stress-
es in the constrained plates and consequently will
lead to buckling. With the increasing temperature
the rigidity of the plates decreases, and as a result of
this, the load-carrying capacity decreases.
Numerous research works dealing with the buckling
analysis of plates can be found in literature. Buck-
ling analyses of laminated plates involving thermal
analyses are also found in some papers. Chen and
Chen [1] used the Galerkin method to predict the
thermal buckling load for thin simple supported and
clamped plates. Kabir et al. [2] presented a thermal
buckling analysis for perfect, clamped rectangular
plates using the first-order shear deformation theo-
ry. It is assumed that material properties remain un-
changed as temperatures vary. They observed that
Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010
Prabhu and Dhanaraj [3] and Chen [4] proposed
first-order shear deformation based formulations
to determine the thermal buckling load. Autio [5]
optimized the behaviour of a laminated plate with
given boundary temperatures and displacement con-
straints. The optimization problem was expressed in
terms of lamination parameters. Spallino and Thier-
auf [6] investigated the thermal buckling optimiza-
tion of laminated composite plates subject to thermal
loading. The optimal design problem was solved
using evolution strategies under ply contiguity and
strain constraints. Singha et al. [7] maximized the
buckling temperatures of graphite/epoxy laminated
composite plates for a given total thickness. The fi-
bre orientations and thicknesses of layers were ad-
opted as design variables. A thermal buckling analy-
sis was carried out using the finite element method
with a four node shear deformable plate element. It
was observed that the plate thickness and tempera-
ture affected the load carrying capacity of composite
materials. Atlihan et al. [8] analysed the effect of
stacking sequences of composite laminated beams
on natural frequencies and buckling behaviour us-
ing the Generalized Differential Quadrature Method
(GDQM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM).
It was indicated that the load carrying capacity of
materials can be increased or decreased by chanc-
ing the ply angle without changing its geometry and
131
 Emin ERGUN
weight of composite materials. Özben [9] calculated
the buckling load of symmetric and anti-symmetric
composite plates by using analytical and finite ele-
ment methods. Critical buckling load and compos-
ite deformations were obtained on the basis of the
plate dimensions ratio. The deformation behaviour
of the plate was shown for two modes and different
values of orientation angels. As a result of the analy-
sis, for the composite plates with a symmetric and
anti-symmetric lay-up, the critical buckling loads
were obtained for different support conditions. It
was observed that the orientation angle and bound-
ary conditions affect the buckling load. Avci et al.
[10] examined the thermal buckling behaviours
of cross-ply laminated hybrid plates with holes by
employing the first-order shear deformation theory
and finite element technique. Both symmetric and
anti-symmetric lay-up sequences were considered
and various boundary conditions were taken into ac-
count. The effects of the hole size, lay-up sequences
and boundary conditions on the thermal buckling
temperatures were investigated. As a result of ana-
lytical and numerical investigations, it was seen that
the temperature affects the critical buckling load.
Şahin [11] analysed the thermal buckling of sym-
metric and anti-symmetric laminated hybrid com-
posite plates with a hole subjected to a uniform tem-
perature rise for different boundary conditions. The
eight-node Lagrangian finite element technique was
used to obtain the thermal buckling temperatures of
glass–epoxy/boron–epoxy hybrid laminates. They
showed that the temperature decreased the critical
buckling load. Additionally, it was shown that load
carrying capacity of composite material increases
with the increasing number of layers. Shariyat [12]
investigated a thermal buckling analysis of rectan-
gular composite multilayered plates under uniform
temperatures using a layer wise plate theory. Von
Karman’s strain-displacement equations were em-
ployed to account for the occurrence of large de-
flections. Assuming that the material properties are
changing with temperature; it was observed that the
mechanical property, geometry and the environ-
mental temperature affect the critical buckling load.
Topal and Uzman [13] investigated the applicability
of the Modified Feasible Direction (MFD) method
on the thermal buckling optimization of laminated
plates subjected to uniformly distributed tempera-
ture load. The objective function was to maximize
the critical temperature capacity of laminated plates
and the fibre orientation was considered as a design
variable. The first-order shear deformation theory
was used in the mathematical formulation. Finally,
the effect of aspect ratio, anti-symmetric lay-up,
132
boundary condition, material anisotropy, and ratio
of coefficients of thermal expansion on results was
investigated, and the results were compared. Akbu-
lut and Sayman [14] carried out a buckling analysis
of rectangular composite laminates with a central
square hole. Using the first order shear deforma-
tion theory, the critical buckling loads of composite
plates, which were designed as symmetric angle-
ply, anti-symmetric cross-ply or angle-ply under the
in-plane loads, were found to be constant for vari-
ous thicknesses, simple or clamped boundary condi-
tions. Ma et al. [15] studied the unilateral contact
buckling behaviour of delaminated plates in a com-
posite member, where the two-dimensional mechan-
ical problem was simplified to a one-dimensional
mathematical model following the assumption of a
buckling mode function in terms of the lateral coor-
dinates. Kucuk [16] studied the effects of the lateral
strip delamination width on the buckling loads of
the simply supported woven steal reinforced ther-
moplastic laminated composite plates. Ghannadpour
et al. [17] studied the influences of a cut-out on the
buckling performance of rectangular plates made of
polymer matrix composites (PMC) by using FEM.
The study concentrated on the behaviour of rectan-
gular symmetric cross-ply laminates. Some overall
important findings of these studies are that plates
that have cut-outs can buckle at loads higher than
the buckling loads for corresponding plates without
a cut-out. Bisagni and Walters [18] studied the bi-
axial testing of flat specimens made of two differ-
ent composite materials. Using a dual actuator hy-
draulic testing machine, combinations of axial and
transverse loading were applied to the specimens.
Two test series were performed for two different
composite materials. Half of the specimens were
manufactured containing artificial delaminations for
the purpose of evaluating the effect of the reduction
in the resistance given by the out-of-plane displace-
ments, and investigating the damage propagation.
The results of this study can be used to improve the
understanding of the different failure modes of com-
posite structures.
As seen above, experimental studies are very limit-
ed on the thermal buckling of reinforced fibre-glass
composite materials in literature. Thus, in this study,
buckling analyses of composite plates at different
temperatures have been analyzed depending on the
plate numbers (i=4, 8 and 10), orientation angle
(θ=0ο and 45ο), boundary conditions (Clamped-
Clamped “CC” and Clamped-Free “CF”) and stack-
ing sequence, have been experimentally and numer-
ically determined using analytical and finite element
Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010
 Experimental and Numerical Buckling Analyses of Laminated Composite Plates under Temperature Effects
methods. The problem in numerical solutions was
analysed in two sections. Material properties are de-
pendent on temperature. Moreover, symmetric and
anti-symmetric composite plates were analysed us-
ing finite element methods alone. As a result of the
analyses; it can be seen that the experimental, ana-
lytical and numerical results are very close to each
other.
2. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY
2.1 Specimens
The fibre-reinforced composite plates have been
manufactured using the hand lay-up method from
unidirectional E-glass fibre with a weight of 270g/
m2 and epoxy resin. The epoxy was based on CY225
resin and HY225 hardener was used. The composite
plates were cured in a lamination press for 2 hours,
at 120oC at a constant pressure of 1.5MPa. And then,
the composite plates were cooled to room tempera-
ture at the same pressure. The composite material
consists of 59% fibres and 41% epoxies. The den-
sity of the laminated plates was 2.026 g/cm3. The
specimens were rectangular shapes. All specimens
were cut with a water jet over the composite plate at
130x40 mm (130 mm length and 40 mm width). The
buckling specimen was fixed at 103x40 mm (L=130
mm) for both boundary conditions.
The composite material, having i=4, 8 and 10 lami-
nates, was manufactured in the form of a plate and
its mechanical properties were measured using
tensile specimens manufactured according to the
ASTM-D3039 standard. For the determination of
the mechanical properties of unidirectional glass/
epoxy under static loading conditions, [0]8 oriented
composite plates were used. In these measurements,
room temperature (22oC) and two higher tempera-
tures (60oC and 100oC) were considered. Each ex-
periment was repeated 3 times and the obtained av-
erage values are given in Table 1. Their thicknesses
was measured as t = 0.8, 1.55 and 1.87 mm.
With the increase in temperature, the elasticity mod-
uli, shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio decreased. It
was found that, at 100oC, the modulus of elasticity
Table 1: Mechanical properties of [0o]8 glass-fiber/ep-
oxy composite materials under various temperatures.
Modulus of elasticity Shear modulus
Temperatures E1 E2=E3 G12
o
( C) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
22 44150 12300 4096
60 39185 10002 3550
100 36250 8900 3210
Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010
E1 was lower by approximately 22% than those at
22oC.
2.2 Experimental Equipment and Test Methodology
All the mechanical and buckling tests were per-
formed using a servo-hydraulic INSTRON 8801
Tensile Testing Machine with a 50 kN load capacity.
This test machine has a thermostatic chamber which
has a capacity from -48oC up to 180oC. Its sensitiv-
ity is ± 1ο C.
The specimens were tested for two boundary con-
ditions: Clamped-Clamped (CC) and Clamped-Free
(CF). In the CC boundary condition, the specimen
was fixed from its sub and top parts which were
marked before placing between two heads. The ex-
periment for the CF boundary condition was made
by forcing the top part of the specimen to tab while
the other part of specimen was released. For both
cases, the buckling length was the same. To prevent
the friction of tabs a rolling bearing was used. To
satisfy the CF boundary condition special apparatus
was made (Fig. 1). With the help of this apparatus,
the friction between the place where the force was
exerted and the specimen has been minimized. Be-
sides, with this the surface to which the force was
applied was lubricated, so that the specimen could
move easily during buckling.
As shown in Fig. 1, the specimen and the apparatus
were bonded using four setting bolts; two of them at
the front, the rest behind.
All of the tests were performed using displacement
control. During the axial compression test, displace-
ment was applied with a speed of 0.7 mm/min. Dur-
ing the test, the forces versus displacement (stroke)
curves were measured and recorded automatically
by the INSTRON 8801 test machine.
3. ANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL ANALY-
SIS
3.1 Analytical Buckling Analysis
The critical buckling load values for the CC and CF
boundary conditions are calculated using equations
1 and 2 [19]. The smallest critical load, the Euler
load, occurs when mode n is equal to 1, so that:
Poisson’s ratio
v12
0.2
0.19
0.17
Fig. 1: Special apparatus for CF specimen
133
 Emin ERGUN

employed to obtain this solution. Two dimensional

π 2 Eef I

Pcr = for CF boundary condition
for CF boundary(1) finite element models for the buckling
condition (1)analysis were
4L2 established. The element type Shell 99 can be used
for layered applications of a structural shell mod-
4π 2 Eef I
Pcr = for CC boundary condition (2) el. The element has six degrees of freedom at each
L2 for CC boundary condition (2)
node: translations in the nodal x, y and z directions
and rotations about the nodal x, y and z axes. This
8 N /2 element is constituted by layers that are designated
Eef = 3 ∑
h j =1
( )
(Ex ) j z 3j − z 3j−1 (3) by numbers, increasing from the bottom(3) to the top
of the laminate; the last number quantifies the exis-
where Eef is the effective elasticity modulus [20], I is tent total number of layers in the laminate. Thus, the
the cross-sectional inertia moment about the neutral model of the laminated composite plate is generated
axis of the composite plate, h is the height of the using various layers. Eight-node isoparametric ele-
plate, N is the number of layer, Ex is the elasticity ments are used to generate the finite element mesh.
modulus of composite material at the jth layer, and zj Totally, 90 element and 313 nodes were used in this
is the distance between the outer face of the jth layer problem.
and the neutral plane, respectively.
The boundary conditions were applied on the nodes.
Here, only one given value of Pcr is important (n=1) For the CC boundary condition, for all the nodes
because after buckling the beam is usually perma- under the specimen, while ux = uy = uz = 0 and
nently deformed or fails. RotX = RotY = RotZ = 0 conditions are effective, for
those over the plate, while ux = uy = 0 and RotX =
3.2 Numerical Buckling Analysis RotY = RotZ = 0 conditions are effective. For the CF
The geometry and boundary conditions of the lami- boundary condition, when the sub nodes were kept
nated composite plates are shown in Fig 2. Finite el- as in the CC boundary condition, all the top nodes
ement analyses, using ANSYS code 10.0 [21], were were released. In both boundary conditions, as seen
performed using a linear buckling model based on in Fig. 2, F=1N strength was applied from the mid
the solution of the eigenvalue problem for all cases part of the top of the plate.
after the pre-stress effects were calculated. The per-
formance of a linear stability analysis requires solv- 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSION
ing an eigenvalue problem, defined by the column’s 4.1. Experimental Results
(discredited) elastic stiffness and geometric matrices In this study, a buckling analysis of composite plates
– in ANSYS, the ‘sub-space iteration method’ was for two different boundary conditions, three differ-
ent plate numbers, two different orientation angles
and three different temperatures was performed ex-
perimentally.

4.1.1. The Effect of the Orientation Angle

In Fig. 3, force vs. compressive strain is plotted at
different orientation angles (0° and 45°) for the CC

Fig. 3: Variation of the force vs compressive strain in

Fig. 2: The geometry and boundary conditions of the the composite plates having different orientation angles
plate. and number of layer (22oC, CC boundary condition)

134 Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010

 Experimental and Numerical Buckling Analyses of Laminated Composite Plates under Temperature Effects
boundary conditions. At the same time, the critical
buckling load (Pcr) is determined using the load-con-
tract curve in Fig. 3. Any abrupt change in the slope
of the load-contract curve of an elastic structure may
denote a buckling occurrence [12].
As seen in Fig. 3, with the change of ply-angle the
buckling load also changes. As a sample, the critical
buckling load of composite plate, which had around
0.15% contraction, in a [0o]10 direction is nearly 2.8
times the ones with a 45o direction. This result is
similar to the results referenced [8].
4.1.2. The Effect of Plate Number
In Fig. 3, the effect of the plate number on the criti-
cal buckling load was given at the room temperature
for the CC boundary conditions and the [0]i orienta-
tion angle. As can be seen, increasing the plate num-
ber increases the value of the buckling drastically,
because as the bending rigidity (EI) (bending stiff-
ness) of the composite plate increases, the ability to
resist buckling also increases.
For the [0]10 composite plate, the critical buckling
load (Pcr) is higher than the [0]8 and [0]4 plates.
4.1.3. The Effect of Temperature
Force vs. compressive strain is plotted at different
temperatures (22, 60 and 100oC) for the [0]8 com-
posite plates (Fig. 4). As can be seen in the graph,
with the increasing temperature the load-carrying
capacity of the composite material decreases.
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
Force (N)
1000
o
Temperature ( C)
800
600 22 60
400
200
0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15
Contract (%)
Fig. 4: Variation of the force (buckling load) vs com-
pressive strain in the composite plates having different
temperature ([0o]8, CC boundary condition)
The mechanical properties of the material change
with temperature (Table 1). In other words, the ri-
gidity of the composite material decreases. The
strength of the matrix which keeps fibres connected
decreases with the increasing of temperature and it
loses the connective property. That is, losses in the
matrix load transfer a greater increase. For this rea-
Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010
son, the load-carrying capacity of the material de-
creases. The results were compared with the refer-
ences [10 and 11]. It can be seen that the results are
in good agreement.
4.1.4. Buckling Damage
In Fig. 5, the deformed situations of the [45o]8 (uni-
directional) composite specimen are shown. While
the deformation in the [0o] direction composite oc-
curred in a transverse direction (the x direction), in
the middle of the specimen, damage to specimens in
the [45o] direction occurred in the direction of the
fibre. Here, it can be seen that with the change of
orientation angle, the damage direction changes and
the critical buckling loads change. At low tempera-
tures, the colour of the matrix is bright and clear, but
at high temperatures it is not clear due to the relax-
ation of the matrix with the increasing temperature.
(a) (b)
Fig. 5: The condition of composite plate after buckling,
(a) experimental (b) ansys solution
While the damages which occurred in the [0o]8 com-
posite plate at room conditions are more clear and
can be seen even with the naked eye, in the experi-
ments at 100oC the damages isn’t so clear. Similar-
ly, the same situation can be seen in the composite
specimen with other orientation angles and plate
numbers. Due to the decrease in the rigidity of the
100
composite material with increasing temperature, the
damage which occurs on the composite material can
0,2 0,25
be noticed to a lesser degree.
In Fig. 6, the critical buckling load according to
plate numbers and temperature has been graphed
with columns. Therefore, the change of tempera-
ture according to plate numbers can be seen as well.
Critical buckling load values in the [0o]i direction
under CF and CC boundary conditions are given in
Fig. 6 (a) and (b). By increasing the plate numbers,
the critical buckling load also increases, but with in-
creasing temperature, this value decreases. As can
be seen in these graphs, the effect of the boundary
condition is clear. For example, the composite plates
135
 Emin ERGUN

250 3500 Table 2: Comparison of the experimental, analytical and

numerical results.
3250
225
Temperature ( C)
o 3000 o
Temperature ( C)
200 2750
22 60 100 22 60 100
2500
175
2250
150 2000 Boundary Composite Temperature Experimental Analytical Numerical

Pcr (N)
Pcr (N)

125 1750

100
1500 Conditional Plate (Co) Result Result Result
1250
75 1000
750
CC [0o]8 60 1759 1763 1763.5
50

[0o]8
500
25 250 CF 60 108 110.1 110.3
0
[45o]8
0
4 8 10 4 8 10 CC 60 451 455.1 455.3
Number of layer Number of layer

(a) (b) CF [45o]8 60 25 28.4 28.5

CC [0o]10 100 2810 2844 2844.5
Fig. 6: The variation of Pcr in [0 ]i direction composite o
CF [0o]10 100 165 177.7 177.8
plates as a function of temperature (a) CF (b) CC CC [0o]4 22 273 273.1 273.2
CF [0o]4 22 17 17 17.1

3500

Temperature ( C)
o represents the numerical data from Ansys 10.0. As
seen in the graph, despite small differences, the val-
3000
Experimental 22 60 100
Ansys 22 60 100
2500 ues are in good agreement with each other.
2000
Pcr (N)

1500
In Fig. 7 (a), regarding the [0o] direction in the CC
boundary condition, the experimental and numeri-
1000
cal results have been given. The change of buckling
500 load with increasing temperature is seen clearly. For
0 example, at room temperature, the critical buckling
3 4 5 6
Number of layer
7 8 9 10 11
load in the composite plate that has a [0o]10 direction
is around Pcr= 3450 N, at 60 oC it is Pcr=3050 N, and
(a)
at 100 oC it is Pcr=2800 N.
240

200
Temperature ( C)
o
In Fig. 7 (b), the [0o]i direction in the CF boundary
Experimental 22 60 100
Ansys 22 60 100 condition comparative Pcr values have been given.
160
Here too, with increasing temperature, the critical
buckling load decreases similarly. For the same
Pcr (N)

120

working conditions, with the CC and CF boundary

conditions there is an average 16 times difference
80

40 in the critical buckling load. As an example, again

0
3 4
Fig. 7: The change of Pcr with temperature versus num-
ber of layer as experimentally and numerically (a) CC
boundary condition (b) CF boundary condition for θ=0o
at room temperature, a composite plate that has a
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 [0o]8 direction in the CC boundary condition when
Number of layer
has a critical buckling load of Pcr=1960 N, and in
(b) the CF boundary condition it is Pcr=123 N. Also, for
other temperatures the same situation is effective. At
60oC with the [0o]8 direction in the CC situation it is
Pcr=1730 N, and in the CF situation it is Pcr=109 N.

with 10 plies in the CF boundary condition have a As seen in Fig. 7 and 8, the ability to resist buckling
critical buckling load around 215 N, but in the CC increases considerably with the increasing of plate
boundary condition this value is around 3520 N. numbers for both boundary conditions. However, as
the weight increases, the critical buckling load also
4.2. Comparison of Experimental, Analytical and increases similarly. This value decreases for every
Numerical Results case tested with temperature.
Analytical and numerical solutions obtained from
the analysis match each other, as seen in Table 2. In Fig. 8 (a and b), the composite plates that are
So, from this point on a comparison of the numerical [45o] direction in the CC and CF boundary condi-
and experimental results are shown in the figures. tions have their Pcr values given. In these graphs, the
change of orientation angles and buckling load can
In Fig. 7 and 8 graphs, the comparison of experimen- be seen. For example, at T=22oC, in the CC boundary
tal and numerical results (ANSYS 10.0) has been condition, with the [0o]4 direction the value is Pcr=273
given. In these figures, continuous and dotted curves N, but for the [45o]4 direction it is Pcr=95 N.
represent the experimental data and the pointed sing

136 Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010

 Experimental and Numerical Buckling Analyses of Laminated Composite Plates under Temperature Effects

1400
300
o
Temperature ( C)
1200
Experimental 22 60 100 Temperature ( C)
o
250
Ansys 22 60 100
1000 22 60 100
200
800
Pcr (N)

Pcr (N)
150
600

100
400

50
200

0 0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Number of layer Angle of ply (θ ο )

(a) (a)
70
o
Temperature ( C)
60 2000
Experimental 22 60 100
Ansys 22 60 100 1800
50
o
1600 Temperature ( C)

40 1400
Pcr (N)

22 60 100

1200
30 Pcr (N)
1000
20 800

600
10
400

0 200
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0
Number of layer 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
o
(b) Angle of ply (θ )

Fig. 8: The change of Pcr with temperature versus

number of layer as experimentally and numerically (a) (b)
CC boundary condition (b) CF boundary condition for Fig. 9: The change of Pcr with temperature versus angle
θ=45ο of ply for CC boundary condition (a) 4 ply (b) 8 ply
The deformation shape taken from the experimental
results and the deformation shape taken from the nu-
merical solutions are in good agreement with each with the ply angle is presented. For the unidirec-
other (Fig. 8). The results were compared with the tional condition, the ability to resist buckling in-
references [18]. Although the materials used in this creases when the (Pcr) ply number increases, but as
experiment were different, the deformation shape the temperature and reinforcement angle increases,
of the composite materials in the CC boundary con- it decreases.
ditions is too close with the ones in the reference
[18]. In both experimental and numerical analyses, When the reinforcement angles are considered, the
the buckling conditions were analysed in n=1 mode maximum ability to resist buckling according to
conditions and was found that they concur with each both the experimental and numerical results was
other. With the increase of temperature regardless found to be [0o]. As the reinforcement angle increas-
of boundary condition, the load-carrying capacity of es, this value decreases gradually. The results were
the composite material decreases. compared with the references [8, 9 and 20]. It can be
seen that the results resemble each other.
4.3. Effect of Orientation Angle
After validating the numerical solutions with ex- Analytical and numerical results are seen to be very
periments, the buckling loads for other reinforce- compatible when compared with the experimental
ment angles were calculated only numerically. The data. The effect of the ply angle variation on the
change of orientation angle and buckling load were critical buckling load is also seen in these results.
investigated by increasing by 15o.
4.4 Effect of Stacking Sequence
In Fig. 9, the change of the critical buckling load The calculation of the Pcr value was made also for
has been given as a function of temperature and ply symmetrical and anti-symmetrical conditions. In Fig.
angle. The change in the ability to resist buckling 10, the changes in the load-carrying capacity of the

Advanced Composites Letters, Vol. 19, Iss. 4, 2010 137


1600
1400
1200
1000
Pcr (N)
800
600
400 Stacking Sequence
(30/-30)s (30/-30)as
200 (45/-45)s
(0/90)s
(45/-45)s
(0/90)as
0
20 30 40 50 60 70
Temperature ( C)
o conditions (results are similar to the results of
Fig. 10: The change of Pcr with stacking sequences for
CC boundary condition (for 8 ply, s=symmetric, as=anti-
symmetric)
material for symmetrical and anti-symmetrical con-
ditions depending on the temperature have been giv-
en. Here, the optimum result is for a cross-ply sym-
metrical stacking sequence [0/90/0/90/90/0/90/0].
However, whatever the thickness and stacking se-
quence are, the mechanical properties and the load-
carrying capacity of composite materials always de-
crease with temperature.
As seen in Fig 10, there is little difference between
angle-ply and the value of the critical buckling load
in symmetrical and anti-symmetrical situations. In-
stead of using a unidirectional [45o] direction com-
posite material, using [45/-45]2s symmetrical or
[45/-45]4 anti-symmetrical composite materials will
be better. When the same conditions are considered,
in (45/-45/45/-45/-45/45/-45/45) symmetrical mate-
rial, the critical buckling load of the unidirectional
plate with [45] is 12%; the anti-symmetrical plate at
[45/-45]4 is more than 12.8%.
Consequently, if a cross-ply reinforcement sequence
is used a symmetrical plate should be preferred, but
if an angle-ply reinforcement angle is used, an asym-
metrical plate should be preferred.
5. CONCLUSIONS
In this study, the critical buckling load of fibre rein-
forced composite plates has been investigated using
experimental and finite element methods under dif-
ferent temperature conditions, layer numbers, stack-
ing sequences, angles of ply, and different support
conditions. The problem was analysed using eigen-
values. The experimental and numerical analyses
have been seen to be consistent with each other.
Some conclusions can be drawn:
1. As the number of composite plates diminishes
138
Emin ERGUN
the critical load decrease drastically.
2. The experimental and numerical analyses that
were made show that the critical buckling load
decreases sharply with increasing temperature.
The results of the experimental and numerical
analysis are similar to the results of reference
[10] and [11].
3. It has been seen that the maximum critical buck-
ling load for unidirectional plates occurs at [0o]
80 90 100
direction in composite specimens and in room
reference [8]).
4. It has been seen that boundary conditions affect
the ability resist buckling and the maximum load
can be carried in the CC boundary conditions (re-
sults are similar to the results of reference [13]).
5. The critical buckling load changes with orienta-
tion angles. As the orientation angles get larger,
from 0o to 90o, the laminated composite plates
become more sensitive to the buckling load. This
change increases more with increasing tempera-
ture.
6. If a cross-ply plate sequence is used, a symmetri-
cal plate should be preferred, but if an angle-ply
plate sequence is used, an asymmetrical plate
should be preferred.
7. The ability to resist buckling can be increased
by changing the ply angles without changing the
material’s geometry or weight. In this context,
instead of using 45o direction composite mate-
rials, using (45/-45)2s symmetrical or (45/-45)4
anti-symmetrical composite material increases
the value of the critical buckling load.
8. In the experimental and numerical analyses,
composite plates that had an anti-symmetrical
ply-angle were seen to carry a greater load than
composite plates that had a symmetrical ply-an-
gle. An increase in temperature doesn’t change
this situation. The results were compared with
the references [8, 9 and 20]. It can be seen that
the results are similar.
9. The damage that occurred at high temperatures is
less visible than the damage that occurred at low
temperatures.
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