NONLOCAL THEORY FOR BUCKLING OF NANOPLATES

Classical plate theory (CLPT) and first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) of plates are reformulated using the nonlocal elasticity theory. Developed nonlocal plate theories have been applied to study buckling behavior of nanoplates. Nonlocal elasticity theory, unlike traditional elasticity theory introduces a length scale parameter into the formulation to take into account the discrete structure of the material to some extent. Both single-layered and multilayered nanoplates have been included in the analysis. Navier's approach has been used to obtain exact solutions for buckling loads for simply supported boundary conditions. Dependence of the small scale effect on various geometrical and material parameters has been investigated. Present study reveals the presence of significant small scale effect on the buckling response of nanoplates. The theoretical development and the numerical results presented in the present work are expected to promote the use of nonlocal theories for more accurate prediction of stability behavior of nanoplates and nanoshells.