Three-dimensional solutions for the thermal buckling and sensitivity derivatives of temperature-sensitive multilayered angle-ply plates

Analytic three-dimensional thermoelasticity solutions are presented for the thermal buckling of multilayered angle-ply composite plates with temperature-dependent thermoelastic properties. Both the critical temperatures and the sensitivity derivatives are computed. The sensitivity derivatives measure the sensitivity of the buckling response to variations in the different lamination and material parameters of the plate. The plates are assumed to have rectangular geometry and an antisymmetric lamination with respect to the middle plane. The temperature is assumed to be independent of the surface coordinates, but has an arbitrary symmetric variation through the thickness of the plate. The prebuckling deformations are accounted for. Numerical results are presented, for plates subjected to uniform temperature increase, showing the effects of temperature-dependent material properties on the prebuckling stresses, critical temperatures, and their sensitivity derivatives. 15 refs