Nonlinear torsional buckling of corrugated core sandwich toroidal shell segments with graphene-reinforced coatings in temperature change using the Ritz energy method.

• Nonlinear torsional buckling of toroidal shell segments is presented using the Ritz energy method. • The corrugated core sandwich toroidal shell segments with FG-GRC coatings are considered. • The thermal forces are added to improve the homogeneous model for the corrugated core. • Ritz energy method, Donnell shells theory, and Pasternak's foundation model are applied. • Effects of corrugated core, material and geometrical parameters on the buckling behavior of shells are investigated. An investigation on the nonlinear torsional buckling of corrugated core sandwich toroidal shell segments with functionally graded graphene-reinforced composite (FG-GRC) laminated coatings in temperature change is mentioned in this paper using the Ritz energy method. The complex configuration of sandwich toroidal shell segments with double curvatures and the combination of the corrugated core and the FG-GRC coatings create the special behavior of structures. A homogenization model for corrugated structures and the extended Halpin-Tsai model can be applied to estimate the stiffnesses of shells. The effects of uniform temperature change are taken into account by supplementing the thermal forces into the total forces of shells. The Donnell shell theory and Pasternak's foundation model are used to establish the total potential energy of the structures. Ritz energy method is applied, and the closed condition and circumferential stress are taken into account, the postbuckling curve expressions of torsion-deflection and torsion-twist angle are obtained in explicit forms. The numerically obtained examples can show the significantly beneficial effects of FG-GRC laminated coatings and corrugated core on nonlinear buckling responses of structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]