Postbuckling analysis of laminated composite plates using the mesh-free kp-Ritz method Original Research Article

A Ritz method based on kernel particle approximation for the field variables is proposed for the postbuckling analysis of laminated composite plates. The first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) is employed to model the plate flexure. The Ritz method is used to obtain the discretized non-linear equations. A geometrically non-linear analysis is used to trace the postbuckling paths of the plate. Typical numerical examples including isotropic plates, and cross-ply and angle-ply laminated composite plates have been solved using the proposed method. The results are in close agreement with the series solution as well as previous finite element results available in the literature.