The critical shear load of rectangular plates
This NASA technical report from 1933 studies the critical shear buckling load of rectangular plates, written for engineers and aeronautical researchers. Its pictures are engineering graphs and contour maps: buckling-stress contour plots over 30 by 15 cm plates, a family of curves on a chart of coefficients against a parameter, and a load-deflection plot with test curves. A designer could take the dense, flowing contour line patterns as abstract texture and layered topographic-style forms.
