Thermally Induced Nonlinear Bending and Stability of Nanocomposite Curved Pipes Reinforced by CNTs

This research is concerned with the thermal bending and stability of temperature-dependent nanocomposite curved pipes strengthened with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) subjected to uniform temperature rise. Thermo-mechanical characteristics of the polymer composite pipe are assumed to vary entirely in the thickness by a non-uniform function of the radius. Five different patterns are selected to model the propagation profile of CNTs amongst the pipe thickness. Based on the shear deformation and von-Karman kinematic hypothesis, nonlinear balance equations of the polymer curved pipe are determined via varying the total potential energy of the system. Governing equations as a set of coupled nonlinear differential equations are analytically solved using a perturbation-based technique. Closed-form solutions are derived to estimate large-amplitude deflection of nanocomposite curved pipes with pinned and clamped boundaries under uniform thermal loading. The obtained results show the influences of important parameters such as material/geometrical characteristics and foundation stiffness on the thermally induced nonlinear response of polymer nanocomposite curved pipes.