An Analytical Approach for Thermal Stability Analysis of Two-layer Timoshenko Beams

This study deals with the thermal buckling behavior of two-layer shear-deformable beams with partial interaction between the layers. The Timoshenko kinematics are considered for both layers and the shear connection is represented by a continuous relationship between the interface shear flow and the corresponding slip. Geometrically nonlinear behavior based on the von Kármán simplification of the Green strain tensor is accounted in the formulation. A set of differential equations is obtained from a general 2D bifurcation analysis using the aforementioned assumptions. The stability equations are obtained on the basis of the adjacent equilibrium criterion. It is shown that, due to the existence of the stretching–bending coupling effect in the composite beams, the bifurcation state occurs only for beams with both edges clamped.