Deterministic and probabilistic buckling response of fiber–metal laminate panels under uniaxial compression

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the deterministic elastic buckling behavior of cylindrical fiber–metal laminate panels subjected to uniaxial compressive loading and the investigation of GLAss fiber-REinforced aluminum laminate (GLARE) panels using probabilistic finite element method (FEM) analysis. Design/methodology/approach The FEM in combination with the eigenvalue buckling analysis is used for the construction of buckling coefficient–curvature parameter diagrams of seven fiber–metal laminate grades, three glass-fiber composites and monolithic 2024-T3 aluminum. The influences of uncertainties concerning material properties and laminate dimensions on the buckling load are studied with sensitivity analyses. Findings It is found that aluminum has a stronger impact on the buckling behavior of the fiber–metal laminate panels than their constituent uni-directional or woven composites. For the classical simply supported boundary conditions, it is found that there is an approximately linear relation between the buckling coefficient and the curvature parameter when the diagrams are plotted in double logarithmic scale. The probabilistic calculations demonstrate that there is a considerable probability to overestimate the buckling load of GLARE panels with deterministic calculations. Originality/value In this study, the deterministic and probabilistic buckling response of fiber metal laminate panels is investigated. It is shown that realistic structural uncertainties could substantially affect the buckling strength of aerospace components.