Curvilinear free-edge form effect on stability of perforated laminated composite plates

Abstract

In this study, self-supporting roofing elements especially convenient for large-span structures such as stadium, airport terminal, mall, coliseum, etc. were examined with respect to critical buckling load. These elements were assumed as laminated composite plates and, variation of free-edge forms, cutout types and lamination configurations were used as design parameters. Based on the architectural feature and structural requirements, the effects of curvilinear free-edge form on critical buckling load were focused on in this research. Within this scope, 14 types of lamination configuration were specified according to various orientation angle, number and thickness of plies with a constant value of total plate thickness. Besides that, 6 different types of cutout and 3 different free-edge forms were determined. By combining all these parameters 294 different critical buckling load analyses were performed by using ANSYS Mechanical software based on finite element method. Effects of those parameters on critical buckling load were evaluated referring to the obtained results. According to the results presented here, it may be concluded that lamination conditions have more significant influence on the critical buckling load values than the other parameters. On the other hand, it is perceived that curvilinear free-edge forms explicitly undergo changings depending on lamination conditions. For future work, existence of delamination might be considered and progression of the defect could be investigated by using non-linear analysis.