Closed-form analysis of the buckling loads of uniaxially loaded blade-stringer-stiffened composite plates considering periodic boundary conditions

A closed-form solution for the buckling loads of compressively loaded composite plates longitudinally stiffened by blade stringers is developed. The approach is based on adequate formulations for the buckling shapes for both the plate and the stringers in the form of rather simple functional representations. As a by-product, a closed-form solution for a clamped stringer plate is derived. Furthermore, a full series expansion is developed for comparison purposes. The method works with satisfying accuracy and requires negligible computational expenses when compared to accompanying finite element calculations.