Computational Methods in Engineering

A semi-analytical finite strip method was developed for the buckling analysis of laminated composite plates based on zigzag and third order shear deformation theories. The displacement functions of the plates were evaluated using a continuous harmonic function series in the longitudinal direction that satisfied the simply supported boundary conditions and a piecewise interpolation polynomial in the transverse direction. By considering the displacement-strain relations and strain-stress relations, the standard and geometric matrices were evaluated using the virtual work principle. The numerical results related to the buckling of single-layer and multi-layer plates were presented based on two different plate theories. The effects of different  boundary conditions, length to thickness ratio, fiber orientation and modulus of elasticity were also investigated through numerical examples.