Buckling behavior of a graphite/epoxy composite plate under parabolic variation of axial loads

This paper investigates the buckling behavior of a symmetrically laminated composite rectangular plate composed of AS4 graphite fibers and 3501-6 epoxy resin under parabolic variation of axial loads. The plate is assumed to be general anisotropy and symmetric about its mid-plane. Two loading conditions are considered. They are (a) an axial load that varies parabolically with respect to the plate longitudinal direction, and (b) an axial load that varies parabolically with respect to the plate transverse direction. Analytical solutions of buckling load and mode shape are obtained based on classical laminated plate theory and the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The influences of plate aspect ratio and fiber orientations have been investigated. Some numerical results from the present study are compared with published results and good agreement is found.