Three-dimensional thermal buckling analysis of piezoelectric antisymmetric angle-ply laminates using finite layer method

Finite layer method is the most efficient numerical method for 3D analysis of simply supported rectangular plates. Using this method, the 3D analysis is transformed into one dimensional analysis by virtue of the orthogonal properties of trigonometric interpolation functions. In the present study, the finite layer method is extended to the thermal buckling analysis of piezoelectric antisymmetric angle-ply laminates, which may be combined with some symmetrical cross-plies. Full coupling between the thermal, electrical and mechanical fields is taken into consideration. Pre-buckling state is assumed to be steady, and initial thermal stresses are computed accordingly. The geometrical stiffness matrix is then formed, and the critical temperature and buckling mode are obtained. Numerical examples are presented to verify the proposed method. The critical temperature is determined for both the adiabatic and isothermal buckling processes. The thermal buckling behaviours of some piezoelectric laminates and the effects of the thermo-electro-mechanical coupling are investigated.