BUCKLING STRENGTH OF CROSS-PLY LAMINATED PLATES UNDER BIAXIAL COMPRESSION

Abstract

A theoretical analysis is presented for the post-buckling behavior of simply supported crossply laminated plates without initial imperfection subjected to in-plane biaxial compression. A method based on the second variation of total potential energy is then proposed for evaluating the stability of the post-buckling equilibrium state and the inevitable secondary buckling is derived analytically. Numerical results are obtained for carbon-epoxy composite square plates. The effects of the average axial strain, post-buckling deflection, biaxial compressive ratio are illustrated graphically and discussed.