Thermal Buckling of Nanocomposite Stiffened Cylindrical Shells Reinforced by Functionally Graded Wavy Carbon Nanotubes with Temperature-Dependent Properties

Abstract

We study the thermal buckling behavior of cylindrical shells reinforced with Functionally Graded (FG) wavy Carbon NanoTubes (CNTs), stiffened by stringers and rings, and subjected to a thermal loading. The equilibrium equations of the problem are built according to the Third-order Shear Deformation Theory (TSDT), whereas the stiffeners are modeled as Euler Bernoulli beams. Different types of FG distributions of wavy CNTs along the radial direction of the cylinder are herein considered, and temperature-dependent material properties are estimated via a micromechanical model, under the assumption of uniform distribution within the shell and through the thickness. A parametric investigation based on the Generalized Differential Quadrature (GDQ) method aims at investigating the effects of the aspect ratio and waviness index of CNTs on the thermal buckling of FG nanocomposite stiffened cylinders, reinforced with wavy single-walled CNTs. Some numerical examples are here provided in order to verify the accuracy of the proposed formulation and to investigate the effects of several parameters—including the volume fraction, the distribution pattern of wavy CNTs, and the cylinder thickness—on the thermal buckling behavior of the stiffened cylinders made of CNT-reinforced composite (CNTRC) material.

Keywords

• carbon nanotube
• GDQ method
• stiffened cylindrical shells
• thermal buckling
• TSDT