Thermal buckling of plates

"An approximate method, based on large-deflection plate theory, for calculating the deflections of flat or initially imperfect plate subject to thermal buckling is outlined. The method is used to determine the deflections of a simply supported panel subjected to a tentlike temperature distribution over the plate surface. Experimental results for a particular panel are in good agreement with the theoretical results for the range of temperatures and deflections considered in the test" (p. 1).