In this paper, buckling analysis of thick plate with cutout is carried out using Element Free Galerkin (EFG) method based on the third order shear deformation theory. It should be mentioned that the EFG method does not need any mesh generation in problem domain and its boundaries. The Radial Point Interpolation method (RPIM) is used to discrete the problem domain. Since the produced functions using RPIM has the Kronecker delta function property, the essential boundary conditions can be enforced in a simple way. To verify the proposed method, the obtained results are compared with other methods, including analytical method and other numerical methods. Several numerical examples are analyzed using proposed method and effects of aspect ratios, boundary conditions, location and radius of cutout with uniaxial, biaxial and shear loading are discussed in details. Based on the obtained results and the advanced method of three-dimensional rotation interpolation, new relationships have been presented to estimate the buckling load of a thick plate with cutout

Keywords