3D buckling analysis of FGM sandwich plates under bi-axial compressive loads

Based on the Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT), finite rectangular layer methods (FRLMs) are developed for the three-dimensional (3D) linear buckling analysis of simply-supported, fiber-reinforced composite material (FRCM) and functionally graded material (FGM) sandwich plates subjected to bi-axial compressive loads. In this work, the material properties of the FGM layers are assumed to obey the power-law distributions of the volume fractions of the constituents through the thickness, and the plate is divided into a number of finite rectangular layers, in which the trigonometric functions and Lagrange polynomials are used to interpolate the in- and out-of-plane variations of the field variables of each individual layer, respectively, and an h-refinement process is adopted to yield the convergent solutions. The accuracy and convergence of the RMVT-based FRLMs with various orders used for expansions of each field variables through the thickness are assessed by comparing their solutions with the exact 3D and accurate two-dimensional ones available in the literature.