A numerical model based on closed form solution for elastic stability of thin plates

Abstract

An analytical approach for studying the elastic stability of thin rectangular plates under arbitrary boundary conditions is presented. Because the solution is given in closed-form, the approach can be regarded as "exact" under the Kirchhoff-Love assumption. The proposed procedure allows us to obtain the buckling load and modal displacements that do not depend on the number of elements adopted in the numerical discretization using, say, the finite element method. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.