Thermal buckling of symmetric and antisymmetric cross-ply composite la
minates is investigated. The first order shear deformation theory in c
onjunction with the Rayleigh-Ritz method is used for the evaluation of
the thermal buckling parameters of structures made out of kevlar, car
bon and glass fibres together with an epoxy matrix. The validity of th
e present approach is evaluated by comparing the results with those of
other investigators. Finally, a parametric study for several types of
laminates is given for different boundary conditions and changing the
values of various parameters such as lay-up sequences, slenderness ra
tios and transverse shear moduli. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.