Buckling and bending behaviour of initially stressed specially orthotropic thick plates (Q581065)

The virtual work theorem is employed to derive the governing equations of specially orthotropic plates in a general state of non-uniform initial stress, where the effects of transverse shear are included. The equations were adjusted to a generic form by using appropriate transformations. Considering the transformations, introducing generalized parameters and employing a similarity parameter, comprehensive solutions are found to this problem; hence, the curves presented in the text are generic rather than specific. The thick plate equations are solved for a simply- supported rectangular specially orthotropic plate in a state of combined uniform uniaxial compression and bending. The results of the reduced set of equations agree with those obtained by previous investigators.