Thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded cylindrical shells

Thermal buckling behavior of cylindrical shell made of functionally graded material (FGM) is studied. The material constituents are composed of ceramic and metal. The material properties across the shell thickness are assumed to be graded according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fraction rule of mixtures. Based on the Donnell shell theory, a system of dimensionless partial differential equations of buckling in terms of displacement components is derived. The method of separation of variables is used to transform the governing equations to ordinary differential equations (ODEs). A shooting method is used to search for the numerical solutions of the differential equations under two types of boundary conditions. Effects of the power law index, the dimensionless geometrical parameters, and the temperature ratio on the critical buckling temperature are discussed in detail.