Thermal-Driven Bifurcation and Modal Characteristics of Interference-Mounted GPL-Reinforced Composite Annular Plates for Precision Power-Transmission Components

This study investigates the thermo-mechanical analysis of a thin composite annular plate mounted onto a rigid shaft with an interference fit (as a power transmission system), wherein the inner radius of the plate is initially smaller than that of the shaft. The structure is made of functionally graded (FG) graphene platelet-reinforced nanocomposites homogenized through the Halpin–Tsai formulation, assuming uniformly dispersed and randomly oriented graphene platelets (GPLs) within each ply. The first-order shear deformation plate theory is adopted to capture through-thickness kinematics. Both uniform and linear temperature rises are considered. The governing geometrically nonlinear equilibrium equations are first derived to clearly distinguish the pre-buckling and buckling response paths generated by the interference fit. Subsequently, the linearized free-vibration equations in the pre-buckling state, as well as the linearized stability equations, are solved using a semi-analytical formulation in which the circumferential dependence is represented by trigonometric functions while the radial domain is discretized via the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method. The analysis yields the natural frequencies in the pre-buckling configuration and the critical conditions associated with thermal and geometric instability. Parametric studies are performed to evaluate the influence of the interference-fit radius, temperature rise, and material nano-reinforcement parameters on the critical shaft radius, critical thermal loading, and natural frequencies. The results provide insights into the interplay of thermal effects, interference fitting, and GPL reinforcement on the stability characteristics of composite annular plates, offering useful design guidelines for advanced thermally loaded nano-enhanced structures.