Assessments of refined theories for buckling analysis of laminated plates

Linearized buckling analysis of laminated plates subjected to combined bi-axial/shear loading is described in this work. Isotropic, orthotropic and anisotropic plates are referred to. Two-dimensional plate modelling is considered. The Principle of Virtual Displacement (PVD) is applied. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is adopted in order to approximate the solution. The same cases-study are handled using different kinds of plate Finite Elements (FEs), with the purpose of providing some guidelines/benchmarks useful for identifying the most appropriate modelling for each class of buckling problem. The considered set of FEs is hierarchical in the sense that a variable kinematics approach is employed: both Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) and Layer-Wise (LW) variable descriptions are implemented, keeping the expansion order for thickness variables generic. FE matrices are obtained in compact form by referring to Carrera’s Unified Formulation (CUF). When available, exact solutions are referred to in order to assess the FEM results.