IMPERFECTION SENSITIVITY AND POSTBUCKLING BEHAVIOR OF SHEAR-DEFORMABLE COMPOSITE DOUBLY-CURVED SHALLOW PANELS

The static postbuckling of simply-supported single and multilayered composite double-curved shallow panels subjected to a system of in-plane compressive edge loads is studied. The effects caused by transverse shear deformation, lamination, the character of in-plane boundary conditions and transverse normal stress, are considered and a series of pertinent conclusions are outlined. Comparisons are made of the obtained results with their classical counterparts and conclusions related to their range of applicability are presented. Moreover, by incorporating the initial geometric imperfections, their influence on the load carrying capacity of curved composite panels is discussed and the peculiarities of their effect as compared to the case of flat panels are emphasized.