Buckling and frequency analysis of the nonlocal strain–stress gradient shell reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets

Abstract

In this study, buckling and vibrational characteristics of a nanoshell reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets under uniform axial load are investigated. The material properties of the piece-wise graphene-reinforced composites (GPLRCs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction of a nanoshell and are estimated using a nanomechanical model. The effects of the small scale are analyzed based on nonlocal stress–strain gradient theory (NSGT). The governing equations and boundary conditions (BCs) are developed using Hamilton’s principle and are solved with assistance of the generalized differential quadrature method. The novelty of the current study is the consideration of GPLRC and size effect as well as satisfying various boundary conditions implemented on the proposed model using NSGT. The results show that, nonlocal parameter, graphene platelet (GPL) distribution pattern, length scale parameter, number of layers, and GPL weight function have significant influence on the buckling and natural frequency of the GPLRC nanoshell. Another significant result is that nonlocal parameter does not have any effect on the buckling load for each BC. The results of the current study are useful for design of the nanoactuators and nanosensors.