On out-of-plane buckling of anisotropic elastic plate subjected to a simple shear

Out-of-plane buckling of anisotropic elastic plate subjected to a simple shear is investigated. From exact 3-D equilibrium conditions of anisotropic elastic body with a plane of elastic symmetry at critical configuration, the eqution for buckling direction (buckling wave direction) parameter is derived and the shape functions of possible buckling modes are obtained. The traction free boundary conditions which must hold on the upper and lower surfaces of plate lead to a linear eigenvalue problem whose nontrivial solutions are just the possible buckling modes for the plate. The buckling conditions for both flexural and barreling modes are presented. As a particular example of buckling of anisotropic elastic plate, the buckling of an orthotropic elastic plate, which is subjected to simple shear along a direction making an arbitrary angle of θ with respect to an elastic principal axis of materials, is analyzed. The buckling direction varies with θ and the critical amount of shear. The numerical results show that only the flexural mode can indeed exist. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 19772032).