Buckling analysis of CNTRC curved sandwich nanobeams in thermal environment

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical continuum model to investigate the static stability buckling of cross-ply single-walled (SW) carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) curved sandwich nanobeams in thermal environment, based on a novel quasi-3D higher-order shear deformation theory. The study considers possible nano-scale size effects in agreement with a nonlocal strain gradient theory, including a higher-order nonlocal parameter (material scale) and gradient length scale (size scale), to account for size-dependent properties. Several types of reinforcement material distributions are assumed, namely a uniform distribution (UD) as well as X- and O- functionally graded (FG) distributions. The material properties are also assumed to be temperature-dependent in agreement with the Touloukian principle. The problem is solved in closed form by applying the Galerkin method, where a numerical study is performed systematically to validate the proposed model, and check for the effects of several factors on the buckling response of CNTRC curved sandwich nanobeams, including the reinforcement material distributions, boundary conditions, length scale and nonlocal parameters, together with some geometry properties, such as the opening angle and slenderness ratio. The proposed model is verified to be an effective theoretical tool to treat the thermal buckling response of curved CNTRC sandwich nanobeams, ranging from macroscale to nanoscale, whose examples could be of great interest for the design of many nanostructural components in different engineering applications.