Accurate nonlinear buckling analysis of functionally graded porous graphene platelet reinforced composite cylindrical shells.

• An accurate buckling analysis of FG porous GPLRC cylindrical shells is proposed. • Pre-buckling deformations and in-plane boundary conditions are considered. • Unified governing equations are established based on Donnell's theory and HSDT. • Highly accurate critical buckling loads and buckling mode shapes are obtained. • Effects of the material properties on stability of shells are detailedly discussed. Abstract By considering the pre-buckling effect and in-plane constraint, an accurate nonlinear buckling analysis of a functionally graded porous graphene platelet reinforced composite cylindrical shells under axial compressive load is performed. The stability equation is established according to a unified shell theory including the classical thin shell theory and the high-order shear deformation theory. Three types of porosity distributions and graphene platelet reinforced patterns are considered, and the modified Halpin–Tsai model and rule of mixtures are employed to determine their effective material properties. Explicit expressions of buckling equations for clamped or simply supported boundary conditions are obtained by the Galerkin's method. Highly accurate critical buckling loads and analytical buckling mode shapes are obtained simultaneously. A comparison between theoretical prediction and experiment is presented to verify the present method and very good agreement is reported. The influences of material properties on the buckling behaviors are also extensively investigated. It is recommended that the symmetric dispersion pattern is the optimal material distributions for both graphene platelets and porous, and the largest possible weight fraction, specific surface area and average thickness of graphene platelets could induce a better anti-buckling performance for the nanocomposite shell. Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract An accurate nonlinear buckling analysis for functionally graded (FG) porous graphene platelet reinforced composite (GPLRC) cylindrical shells is performed by considering the pre-buckling effect and in-plane constraint. Highly accurate critical buckling loads and analytical buckling mode shapes are obtained by a unified shell theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]