Thermal buckling load optimization of laminated skew plates

In this study thermal buckling load optimization of laminated skew plates subjected to uniformly distributed temperature load is investigated. All of the laminates considered are assumed to have fully clamped boundary conditions, though the general boundary conditions may also be studied without any difficulty. The objective function is to maximize the critical temperature capacity of the laminated skew plates and the fibre orientation is considered as design variable. The first-order shear deformation theory is used in the mathematical formulation. Nine-node Lagrangian rectangular plate element is used for the finite element solution of the skew laminates. The temperature field is assumed to be uniform over the plate surface and varies in the thickness direction only. Modified feasible direction method (MFD) is used for the optimization routine. A program based on FORTRAN is used for the optimization problem. Finally, the effect of number of layers, skew angles, aspect ratios, width-to-thickness ratios and antisymmetric lay-up on the optimal designs is investigated and the results are compared. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.