Linear eigenvalue analysis of laminated thin plates including the strain gradient effect by means of conforming and nonconforming rectangular finite elements

The paper presents a finite element method to investigate the critical buckling loads and the natural frequencies of laminated Kirchhoff plates including the nonlocal strain gradient effect, which could have considerably consequences at the nanoscale. With respect to the existing literature, the proposed numerical methodology is developed to deal with general stacking sequences of orthotropic layers with arbitrary orientations and various...