The Effect of Fiber Arrangement in the Bio-Laminate and Geometric Parameters on the Stability of Thin-Walled Angle Column Under Axial Compression

Abstract

The aim of this study is to check how the change fi ber confi guration and geometric parameters aff ect the stability of a thin-walled angle column under compression. Buckling analysis of thin-walled structures made of bio-laminates was presented. Short angles with diff erent confi gurations of reinforcing fi bers and geometric parameters were studied. The laminate under analysis had a matrix made of epoxy resin reinforced with unidirectional fl ax fi bers. The axially compressed structures were simply supported on both ends. Detailed numerical analyses were conducted by the fi nite element method using Abaqus software. The lowest two bifurcation loads and their corresponding eigenmodes were determined. Several confi gurations of unidirectional fi ber arrangement with diff erent width and length were tested. Results showed that the bio-laminate fi ber confi guration had a signifi cant eff ect on the behavior of the compressed structure. Moreover, the change of geometrical parameters signifi cantly infl uences the stability of the structure. In general, it was found that the bifurcation load decreased with the increase of the length of the L-profi le column. However, increasing the fl ange width of the column resulted in a reduction of the bifurcation load (applies to a column with a length of 300 mm and longer). In paper the fi rst stage of research is presented, which will be experimentally verifi ed in subsequent studies.