| Abstract: | The loss of the load-carrying capacity of a nonlinearly elastic multilayer rod is investigated. The rod, whose layers have various thickness and are made of different materials, is rigidly fixed at both its ends. Rigid contact conditions between the layers are assumed. The problem posed is solved by using the variational method of mixed type in combination with the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The initial analysis is reduced to the solution of the Cauchy problem for a nonlinear ordinary differential equation solved for the first derivative. As the initial condition, the maximum initial eccentricity of the rod is assumed. In the case of zero eccentricity, the Shanley critical force for an axially compressed rod is determined. For a three-layer rod whose outer layers have equal thickness and are made of the same material, numerically, for various degrees of nonlinearity, the effect of physicomechanical and geometric parameters on the critical load of buckling instability is determined. It is found that, by matching the heterogeneity of the rod, it is possible to raise its load-carrying capacity. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 347–360, May–June, 2006. |
