Thermal postbuckling analysis of laminated cylindrical shells with piezoelectric actuators

Thermal postbuckling analysis is presented for a cross-ply laminated cylindrical shell with piezoelectric actuators subjected to the combined action of thermal and electric loads. The temperature field considered is assumed to be a uniform distribution over the shell surface and through the shell thickness and the electric field is assumed to be the transverse component E-Z only. The material properties are assumed to be independent of the temperature and the electric field. The governing equations are based on the classical shell theory with von Karman-Donnell-type of kinematic nonlinearity. The nonlinear prebuckling deformations and initial geometric imperfections of the shell are both taken into account. A boundary layer theory of shell buckling, which includes the effects of nonlinear prebuckling deformations, large deflections in the postbuckling range, and initial geometric imperfections of the shell, is extended to the case of hybrid laminated cylindrical shells. A singular perturbation technique is employed to determine buckling temperatures and postbuckling load-deflection curves. The numerical illustrations concern thermal postbuckling behavior of perfect and imperfect, cross-ply laminated cylindrical thin shells with fully covered or embedded piezoelectric actuators under thermal and electric loads. The results show that the control voltage has a significant effect on the buckling temperature as well as thermal postbuckling response of the shell. In contrast, it has a very small effect on the imperfection sensitivity of (0/90)(2S) laminated cylindrical shells with piezoelectric actuators. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.