Buckling analysis of nanoplates based on a generic third-order plate theory with shear-dependent non-isotropic surface stresses

[Display omitted] •A generic third-order nanoplate theory with significant surface stresses is built.•Coupling of surface stresses with transverse shear deformation is established.•Analytical model is constructed and critical buckling loads are derived.•Numerical solutions are verified with benchmarks and excellent comparison is shown.•Effects of surface stresses on buckling of nanoplates are comprehensively analyzed. In this paper, a general third-order shear deformation plate theory (GTSDPT) is employed to investigate the buckling behaviors of rectangular nanoplates. A new model with non-isotropic surface modulus that depends on in-plane and transverse shear strains, such as that for most crystalline faces, is established to analyze the significance of non-isotropic surface effects on buckling behaviors. The governing equations and the corresponding boundary conditions are established by using the principle of minimum potential energy. The analytical critical buckling load solutions are obtained for nanoplates with different boundary conditions. The proposed model is verified by comparing buckling results against the ones from existing plate theories. Using both Reddy’s third order shear deformation plate theory (TSDPT) and GTSDPT, the influence of plate thickness, length-to-thickness ratio, surface modulus, residual surface stress, bulk modulus and boundary conditions on the buckling behavior of nanoplates with surface stress effects is analyzed in detail. It is observed that the buckling results of the nanoplates from TSDPT and GTSDPT exhibit some differences due to the presence of shear stresses on the interface between surface layers and the bulk of the plates. The TSDPT theory may not be able to capture shear stress effect and the GTSDPT theory may need to be employed in this case. Finally, the influence of surface stresses on the buckling behaviors of nanoplates made of gold, nickel, silver and copper and subjected to uni- and bi-axial compressive loads is investigated using the GTSDPT theory.