Buckling Behavior of Nanocomposite Plates with Functionally Graded Properties under Compressive Loads in Elastic and Thermal Environments

The buckling behavior of functionally graded carbon nanotube (FG-CNT) reinforced polymer-based moderately-thick plates subjected to in-plane biaxial compressive loads in elastic and thermal environments in the framework of first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDPT) is investigated. First, the temperature-dependent properties of CNTs and nanocomposites are defined and their constitutive relations are established, then the stability and strain compatibility equations in elastic media are derived in the framework of the FSDPT. Then, by applying the Galerkin method to the basic equations, a closed-form solution is obtained for the critical biaxial compressive loads. The specific numerical analyzes and interpretations are made for various plate sizes and CNT patterns on the Winkler elastic foundation and in thermal environments within FSDPT and classical plate theory (CPT).