Instability of an Axially Fiber-Reinforced Elastic Slab under Axial Loads

Abstract

The instability problem stated in the title is analyzed on the basis of Biot's mechanics of incremental deformations. The slab is reinforced by inextensible, completely flexible fibers in the direction of its axis. The analysis indicates that there exists a universal solution to this instability problem. It is found that the slab under compressive load becomes unstable with two distinct buckling patterns, antisymmetric and symmetric, while no buckling occurs under tensile load, as expected. When the slab buckles, the stress singularities represented by the Dirac delta distribution appear in the boundary fibers.