Stability Analysis of Laminated Composite Circular Plates With Holes

Abstract

A composite material is made up of two or more than two materials and possesses properties which are different from any of its constituent materials. It has advantages mainly because of its high stiffness to weight ratios and high strength to weight ratios. In such materials, the fibers are the load carrier, and the matrix, having low modulus and high elongation, helps in providing the required flexibility and also helps in keeping the fibers intact. Fiber-reinforced composites are usually thin plates. They are often subjected to compressive loads which when it reaches critical buckling load has a possibility of failure. Hence the buckling behavior of the composite plates has always been a major concern for the researchers. The computation of buckling load is important to predict the behaviour of structures under dynamic loads. During designing of structures subjected to compressive loading, knowledge of buckling characteristics of the comprising elements is necessary in order to prevent overloading of the structure. The present study mainly deals with the buckling characteristics of annular laminated composite plates. Circular plates with holes will be studied for their stability under buckling. The plates considered are thin plates. The mode shapes for different boundary conditions are to be obtained using finite element package, ANSYS 13.0. The effect of various parameters like fiber orientation, location of holes, boundary conditions, number of layers etc., on the buckling load will be studied. The effect of holes sizes as well as that of change in thickness of plates and various other parameters on the buckling load will also be studied.