Abstract: This paper gives the basic differential equations for finite deflections of elastic plates according to Reissner’s approximate stress distributions. The buckling and postbuckling problems of elastic rectangular plates, including the effect of transverse shear deformation, are solved and discussed, by using perturbation method suggested in ref. [8]. The postbuckling equilibrium paths of perfect and imperfect moderately thick rectangular plates are presented and compared with the results based on thin plate theory.

Key words: double-deck reticulated circular shallow spherical shell, nonlinear stability, equivalent continuum method, modified iteration method, stationary complementary energy principle