Buckling analysis of shear loaded finite plates with circular cutout based on complex analysis

In this paper, the complex variable method is used to study the buckling of finite isotropic shear loaded plates with circular cutout. The prebuckling stress distribution is calculated by introducing the generalized complexpotential functions and the in-plane boundary conditions are applied by using the principle of virtual work. The energy of the plate is calculated based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the Ritz method is employed to calculate the buckling load. The effects of the cutout size and the boundary conditions on the buckling load are investigated.