Stability behaviour of angle ply plates subjected to various types of inplane loadings

Investigations on the stability characteristics of rectangular angle ply pl ates subjected to various types of inplane loading are reported here. Varia tionally consistent governing equations and boundary conditions are derived for this purpose. The possibility of bifurcation instability in angle ply plates subjected to various types of inplane loading is examined. Employing a four node rectangular finite element having ten degrees of freedom per n ode solves the governing equations. The prediction accuracy of the element is demonstrated through series of numerical examples. The effect of lay-up, aspect ratio, type of loading (uniaxial/biaxial/positive and negative shea r/tension-compression/compression-tension/inplane edge moment) and boundary conditions are studied in detail. Some interesting observations on the sta bility behaviour of angle ply plates are made.