A multiscale modeling technique for buckling analysis of rectangular multiphase nanocomposite plates reinforced with alumina nanoparticles and discontinuous carbon fibers

This study presents the buckling analysis of rectangular multiphase nanocomposite plates reinforced with alumina nanoparticles and discontinuous carbon fibers (DCFs), resting on an elastic foundation and subjected to different boundary conditions. A key contribution of this work is developing a multiscale computational framework that bridges microscale material modeling and macroscale structural analysis. The mechanical properties of nano-alumina/DCF/polymer nanocomposites are estimated using a micromechanical model considering important microstructures. The multiphase nanocomposite plate is modeled using the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), while the Winkler and Pasternak foundation models are employed to simulate the substrate. By constructing the system’s total potential energy functional and applying the p-Ritz method, numerical results are generated to investigate the influences of percentage, diameter and agglomeration of nano-alumina, size and stiffness of the nanoparticle/polymer interfacial layer, volume fraction and aspect ratio of DCFs, elastic foundation characteristics, and geometric parameters of the plate on the critical buckling loads. Three buckling cases namely uniaxial, biaxial, and shear buckling, are analyzed. It is observed that dispersing the alumina nanoparticles into the polymer matrix of DCFs increases the structural rigidity and elevates the critical buckling load. Larger nanoparticle diameters lead to a decline in buckling resistance of the multiphase nanocomposite plates.