Buckling of Anisotropic Composite Plates

The Galerkin method is utilized to formulate the buckling problem of anisotropic composite plates. The plates are made from either particulate or fiber reinforced homogeneous or laminated composite material. The plates are simply supported and are subjected to combined uniform membrane loads. The effects of the various coupling responses on the plate's buckling load and the range of application of the buckling interaction equation are investigated. Verification results of this formulation with other theories and with available experimental data are presented. Design data is presented for various anisotropic plates with several aspect ratios and subjected to various loading conditions. Coupling responses have severe effects on the buckling loads when the magnitude of the coupling terms in the plate's constitutive equations is comparable to that of the uncoupling terms. Anisotropic plates can be oriented to provide maximum buckling resistance for specific applications. Laminated plates exhibit greater buckling resistance than homogeneous. The layer arrangement affects the buckling load. The buckling interaction equation predicts conservative results when the plate aspect ratio is near unity.