Post-buckling analysis of geometrically imperfect nanoparticle reinforced annular sector plates under radial compression

Buckling and post-buckling behaviors of geometrically imperfect annular sector plates made from nanoparticle reinforced composites have been investigated. Two types of nanoparticles are considered including graphene oxide powders (GOPs) and silicone oxide (SiO2). Nanoparticles are considered to have uniform and functionally graded distributions within the matrix and the material properties are derived using Halpin-Tsai procedure. Annular sector plate is formulated based upon thin shell theory considering geometric nonlinearity and imperfectness. After solving the governing equations via Galerkin\'s technique, it is showed that the post-buckling curves of annular sector plates rely on the geometric imperfection, nanoparticle type, amount of nanoparticles, sector inner/outer radius and sector open angle.