Analysis of Single Variable Thick Plate Buckling Problems using Galerkin Method

Three-dimensional (3D) structural members whose in-plane dimensions are much larger than their transverse dimensions, and which carry in-plane compressive loads in one or both of the directions are commonly encountered in engineering applications in the fields of civil, mechanical, aeronautical, marine and geotechnical engineering.Such plates are susceptible to buckling failures when certain critical in-plane loads are attained even when their material strengths had not been reached.It is therefore prudent that buckling analysis aimed at finding the least in-plane compressive force that can cause buckling failure is a vital component of their design.The behaviour of plates under in-plane compressive loads also depends on whether the plate is thin or thick.Thin plates are those plates with ratio of Charles Chinwuba Ike / NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research 7(2) 2025 pp.235-252 235 depth h, to width, a, (h/a) less than or equal to 0.05.When h/a is more than 0.05, but less than 0.10, the plate is moderately thick, and thick when h/a exceeds 0.10.