Elastic-plastic buckling analysis of rectangular plates subjected to biaxial loads

In order to calculate the buckling load of a rectangular plate, the analytical approach is used in this study. The plate is assumed to be simply supported on four edges and loaded by uniform stresses along the edges. If the plate is slender, the buckling is elastic. However, if the plate is sturdy, it buckles in the plastic range. Then, the instantaneous moduli in the constitutive equations depend on the external loading. In this study, the elastic and plastic buckling equations are derived for rectangular plates under biaxial loading, and the corresponding interaction curves are presented. The influences of aspect ratios, load ratios and hardening factors on the buckling stresses are investigated for rectangular plates. From the plastic buckling analysis, the optimal combination of loads is given for the buckling strength.