Large thermal buckling of nonuniform beams and plates (Q2265858)

This article furnishes detailed global descriptions of the properties of buckled states of nonlinearly thermoelastic beams and plates when heated at their ends and edges. Only the axisymmetric deformation of circular plates is considered. In contrast to the models previously studied in the literature, those used here furnish a geometrically exact description of the deformation and allow a very general material response. The beams and plates may be nonuniform. The analysis relies on the combination of classical results for ordinary differential equations and new results from bifurcation theory. The presentation emphasizes the crucial role of constitutive assumptions in the analysis. The development exhibits a number of novel features of physical importance not observed in more primitive models.