Postbuckling of Orthotropic Plate Structures

The perturbation technique in conjunction with a double Fourier series method are used to yield the postbuckling deflections, bending moments and membrane forces in simply supported orthotropic skew plate structures subjected to oblique in-plane forces. The analysis is based on the solution of the von Karman-type large-deflection plate equations in terms of the force function and the lateral deflection of the plate. All the boundary conditions including those involving the bending moment at the plate edges are satisfied. The convergence of the series solution and its range of applicability are discussed in detail. Numerical results presented for typical cases indicate good convergence of the solution for the range of the deflection considered, as well as provide an insight into the problem of postbuckling behavior of such structures. An example is given to illustrate the use of the data generated in design.