The present paper investigates the axial and shear buckling analysis of a carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced multiscale functionally graded material (FGM) plate. Modified third-order deformation theory (MTSDT) with transverse displacement variation is used. CNT materials are assumed to be uniformly distributed, and ceramic fibers are graded according to a power-law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The effective material properties are obtained using the Halpin-Tsai equation and Voigt rule of the mixture approach. A MATLAB code is developed using nine noded iso-parametric elements containing 13 nodal unknowns at each node. The shear correction factor is eliminated in the present model, and top and bottom transverse shear stresses are imposed null to derive higher-order unknowns. Comparisons of the present results with those available in the literature confirm the accuracy of the existing model. The effects of material components, plate sizes, loading types, and boundary conditions on the critical buckling load are investigated. For the first time, the critical buckling loads of CNT-reinforced multiscale FGM rectangular plates with diverse boundary conditions are given, and they can be used as future references.
Keywords: Halpin–Tsai equation; axial and shear buckling analysis; carbon nanotube; finite element model; modified third-order shear deformation theory.