Buckling of symmetrical cross-ply composite rectangular plates under a linearly varying in-plane load

An exact solution for buckling of simply supported symmetrical cross-ply composite rectangular plates under a linearly varying edge load is presented. It is developed based on the first-order shear deformation theory for moderately thick laminated plates. Buckling loads of cross-ply rectangular plates with various aspect ratios are obtained and the effects of load intensity variation and layup configuration on the buckling load are investigated. The results are verified using the computer code ABAQUS.