Radial basis functions-differential quadrature collocation and a unified formulation for bending, vibration and buckling analysis of laminated plates, according to Murakami's Zig-Zag theory

In this paper, we propose to use the Murakami's Zig-Zag theory for the static, vibration and buckling analysis of laminated plates, by a local radial basis function-based differential quadrature (LRBFDQ) method. The equations of motion and the boundary conditions are obtained by the Carrera's unified formulation, and further interpolated by the LRBFDQ method. The LRBFDQ method combines the excellent approximation of derivatives by differential quadrature (DQ) in a local mesh-free framework by radial basis functions (RBFs). The present mesh-free, local approximation method shows excellent accuracy in the static, free vibration, and buckling analysis of thick isotropic and laminated plates. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.