Thermal buckling load optimization of laminated plates with different intermediate line supports

This paper deals with critical thermal buckling load optimization of symmetrically laminated four layered angle-ply plates with one or two different intermediate line supports. The design objective is the maximization of the critical thermal buckling load and a design variable is the fibre orientation in the layers. The first order shear deformation theory and nine-node isoparametric finite element model are used for the finite element solution of the laminates. The modified feasible direction (MFD) method is used for the optimization routine. For this purpose, a program based on FORTRAN is used. Finally, the numerical analysis is carried out to investigate the effects of location of the internal line supports, plate aspect ratios and boundary conditions on the optimal designs and the results are compared.