ABSTRACT
FRP composite plates have two of the three dimensions (length and width) significantly larger than the third dimension (thickness), while the beams have only one of the three dimensions, i.e., length, much larger than width and thickness. A thin plate is defined as the one having a width-to-thickness ratio higher than 10. The length-to-width ratio of a composite plate depends upon the plate stiffness, but a typical plate length-to-thickness ratio should be under 40 to avoid geometric nonlinear responses.
