Buckling analysis of generally laminated composite plates (generalized differential quadrature rules versus Rayleigh-Ritz method)

Due to the importance of buckling analysis of composite structures in various industrial applications a comparative study of buckling behavior of composite plates is presented here. Mathematical modelling developed in the present work for generally laminated plates is based on generalized differential quadrature rule (GDQR) and R-R method. To show the ability and robustness of the mathematical modeling in handling buckling analysis, results obtained using GDQR and R-R are compared with each other and also with some available results based on experimental and analytical works. The efficiency and reliability of the GDQR in comparison with R-R method on the buckling behavior is also discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.