Thermal postbuckling analysis of moderately thick plates

A thermal postbuckling analysis is presented for a moderately thick rectangular plate subjected to (1) uniform and non-uniform tent-like temperature loading; and (2) combined axial compression and uniform temperature loading. The initial geometrical imperfection of plate is taken into account. The formulations are based on the Reissner-Mindlin plate theory considering the effects of rotary inertia and transverse shear deformation. The analysis uses a deflection-type perturbation technique to determine the thermal buckling loads and postbuckling equilibrium paths. Numerical examples are presented that relate to the performances of perfect and imperfect, moderately thick rectangular plates and are compared with the results predicted by the thin plate theory.