Buckling of biaxially compressed orthotropic plates at small scales

In this article, the elastic buckling behavior of orthotropic small scale plates under biaxial compression is studied. Analysis is carried out with the consideration of small scale effects. Employing nonlocal elasticity theory (Eringen, 1983) governing equations for the aforementioned problems are derived. Explicit expressions for modified buckling loads are obtained for micro/nanoplates with isotropic and orthotropic properties; and under uniaxial and biaxial compressions. The effects of the small scale on the buckling loads of plates considering various material and geometrical parameters are examined. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.