Analytical solutions for buckling of simply supported rectangular plates due to non-linearly distributed in-plane bending stresses

Rigorous analytical solutions are obtained for the plane stress problem of a rectangular plate subjected to non-linearly distributed bending loads on two opposite edges. They are then used in a Galerkin type solution to obtain the corresponding convergent buckling loads. It is shown that the critical bending moment depends significantly on the actual edge load distribution and further the number of nodal lines of the buckled configuration can also be different from that corresponding to a linear antisymmetric distribution of the bending stresses. Results are tabulated for future use while judging approximate numerical solutions.