Assessment of inverse trigonometric zigzag theory for stability analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates

• Buckling behavior of laminated composite and sandwich plates using an inverse trigonometric zigzag theory is presented.
• An efficient C0continuous finite element is employed for the analysis.
• Higher modes of buckling loads with corresponding mode shapes are presented.
• The accuracy of evaluated results signifies the efficiency of the present model.

In this paper, recently developed inverse trigonometric zigzag theory by the authors is extended for the stability analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates. The model satisfies the inter-laminar continuity at layer interfaces as well as the traction free boundary conditions at top and bottom surfaces of the plate. This theory assumes the non-linear distribution of transverse shear stresses. Green–Lagrange non-linear strain–displacement relations are used to represent geometric nonlinearity in buckling analysis. An efficient C0 finite element is employed for discretization of the laminate. Numerical results on buckling load parameters are evaluated for laminated composite and sandwich plates covering with different features such as aspect ratios, span thickness ratios, modular ratios, loading and boundary conditions. To ensure the potentiality of the present theory, the evaluated results are validated with the three dimensional elasticity results and the existing results based on different deformation theories as well. Higher modes with corresponding mode shapes are also presented for laminated composite plates. The exemplary results with minimum percentage error with respect to exact results ascertain the accuracy and efficiency of the present theory.