Buckling of fiber metal laminated plates – numerical and experimental studies

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to study the buckling behavior of new aircraft material, i.e. glass fiber metal laminated (GFML) plates. Design/methodology/approach The first-order Reissner–Mindlin theory is used in the present finite element formulation to determine the buckling loads of GFML plates. A program is developed in MATLAB for analyzing the effect of different parameters on buckling loads GFML plates. A set of experiments was performed to determine critical buckling loads of GFML plates using universal testing machine INSTRON 8862 and compared with predictions using the numerical model. Findings The effects of various parameters such as aspect ratio, side to thickness ratio, ply orientation and boundary conditions on buckling loads of GFMLs are examined. With the increase of aspect ratio, the reduction in buckling load is observed, while the increase inside to thickness ratio decreases the buckling load of GFML plates. There is a slight variation in buckling load with the increase of ply orientation. The buckling load is significantly influenced by boundary conditions because of restraint at the edges. Practical implications These types of materials are used in lightweight structures such as aircraft, aerospace and military vehicles. The results reported in the present study can be used as design guidelines while designing fiber metal laminated (FML) plated structures. Originality/value For the first time, the authors have studied the buckling behavior of bidirectional woven FML plates using both numerical and experimental techniques.