Buckling of shear-deformable orthotropic laminated plates with elastic restraints

Abstract

This paper presents solutions for the buckling load of rectangular shear-deformable orthotropic laminated plates under uniaxial compression within the framework of Reddy's third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT). The supporting effect of the surrounding structure is represented by laterally attached rotational restraints. First, an analysis approach is presented that uses a simple energy-based formulation in the form of a Rayleigh-quotient for which specific and rather straightforward shape functions for the out-of-plane buckling deformations as well as for the rotational degrees of freedom are employed. Second, a Lévy-type solution is derived for the plate buckling problem in the framework of the TSDT. A comparison of the results with the Lévy-type solution and reference results shows that the analysis approach works with satisfying accuracy, thus making it suitable for engineering analysis of plates with arbitrary thickness especially when computational time and effort are essential factors.