Stochastic buckling analysis of laminated plates under shear and compression

A stochastic finite-element-based prediction of the buckling of composite laminated plates, with and without cutouts, under axial compression and shear is presented. The solution for the buckling response is achieved by first evaluating the prebuckled-stress distribution from linear elastostatic analysis. Using this, the critical buckling load and its mode are evaluated by solving an eigenvalue problem. A layerwise plate model is used for both prebuckling and buckling analysis. The effect of prebuckling stresses on the critical buckling load is discussed. The influence of both circular and elliptical cutouts on the buckling strength of composite laminates is presented. The stochastic buckling analysis is done based on the mean-centered first-order perturbation technique. The mean and variance of the buckling strength of composite plates are validated with results available in the literature. Subsequently, the effect of uncertainty in the material properties, obtained from micromechanics-based approach, on the buckling strength of the laminated plates is studied. Results are presented for two-layered plates with different layups and boundary conditions.