Analysis of the Mechanical and Thermal Buckling of Laminated Beams by New Refined Shear Deformation Theory

Thermo-mechanical buckling analysis of symmetric and antisymmetric laminated composite beams is performed based on a refined simple n th higher-order shear deformation theory. The theory accounts for the parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the beam without using shear correction factors. The governing equations and corresponding simply boundary conditions are obtained with the aid of minimum total potential energy principle. The effects of temperatures on non-dimensional critical buckling loads are investigated. Numerical results due to present theory are compared with data available in the literature to show the accuracy and simplicity of the proposed theory in analyzing the thermo-mechanical buckling of laminated composite beams.