Thermal effect and active control on bistable behaviour of anti-symmetric composite shells with temperature-dependent properties

Anti-symmetric cylindrical shells with two stable configurations have been proved to offer novel morphing structures in advanced engineering fields. The bistable behaviour of anti-symmetric composite shells under thermomechanical loading is analysed herein theoretically combined with a finite element modelling. The properties of the composite material in current study are considered to be functions of temperature. The shell is subjected to two different thermal load, i.e. the uniform temperature field and through-thickness thermal gradient. The influence of this two temperature field on the shell's stable shapes was predicted analytically, which thereafter is determined by finite element results. This provides a feasible approach of controlling the deformation of the bistable shell through adjusting the applied temperature field. For this purpose, a superposition of uniform temperature field and through-thickness thermal gradient is imposed and its influence on the bistable shapes of bistable shells is therefore investigated, which is of great importance to the design and application of morphing structures manufactured from bistable composite shells.