Studies of the buckling of composite plates in compression

As part of the Network of Excellence on Marine Structures (MARSTRUCT), a series of studies has been carried out into the buckling of glass-fibre-reinforced polymer plates with in-plane compression loading. The studies have included fabrication and testing of square, laminated panels with various thicknesses and initial geometrical imperfections, material testing, advanced finite element modelling studies and finally parametric studies covering a range of slendernesses and imperfection amplitudes. The paper provides an overview of the studies, which involved several participants in the Network.