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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
A general analytical solution for the buckling of laminated composite plates and shell panels for all combinations of free, simply supported and clamped edge conditions is presented. The solution is formulated in terms of stress function and transverse deflection. All the boundary conditions for the stress function are exactly satisfied. For the transverse deflection the prescribed boundary conditions are satisfied by including them in the expression for the energy integral. Several types of boundary conditions in which at least a pair of opposite edges of the panel are free and subjected to axial compression are considered. The Galerkin method, with beam vibration functions used as shape functions, is utilised to determine the buckling loads. The results obtained are used to examine the effect of bending-extensional coupling, aspect ratio and the curvature parameter on the buckling load.