Approximate postbuckling analysis of shear deformable laminates

Abstract In the lightweight design of aircraft, spacecraft and marine vessels, often advanced materials are utilised. Advanced materials such as laminated composites made of fibre‐reinforced plastics show transverse shear deformations if they are considered “thick” or possess little transverse shear stiffness. In most cases, the effect of the shear deformations is neglected, and few computational models exist that consider the closed‐form approximate analysis of the postbuckling behaviour. Thus, a new computational model based on high‐order shear deformation theories is introduced. The solution is derived based on the principle of the minimum of the total elastic potential and is evaluated in comparison to finite element analyses. The highly efficient approximate computational model is developed to offer a valuable tool for the preliminary design of lightweight structures utilising shear deformable advanced materials.