SEDL / STP / STP864-EB / STP32801S

Viscoelastic Buckling Analysis of Laminated Composite Columns

Wilson, DW
Associate scientist, Center for Composite Materials, and H. Fletcher Brown professor, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Vison, JR
Associate scientist, Center for Composite Materials, and H. Fletcher Brown professor, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Pages: 16    Published: Jan 1985

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Abstract

A linear viscoelastic buckling analysis for laminated composite columns was developed using the quasi-elastic approach. The analysis includes transverse shear deformation (TSD), transverse normal deformation (TND), and bending-extensional coupling. The Rayleigh-Ritz method of solution was employed to solve the governing equation derived from the Theorem of Minimum Potential Energy. Viscoelastic column buckling behavior was investigated for four laminate configurations, [0]²⁴, [0/±45/0]^3s, [0/±45/90]^3s, [±45]^6s, and for column length-to-thickness ratios (ℓ/t) ranging between 35.8 and 150.0. The results for graphite/epoxy show that viscoelastic effects are significant, reducing the critical buckling load by 10% to 20%, depending upon laminate configuration. For geometries where TSD is important (ℓ/t < 50.0), the effects of viscoelasticity are magnified by the matrix-controlled shear stiffness contribution.