Based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity, the transient response of variable stiffness
composite laminated (VSCL) plates with curvilinear fibers subjected to time-dependent concentrated load
on elastic foundation is investigated. The fiber orientation angle varies linearly with respect to the in-plane
coordinate in each layer. The layerwise theory in conjunction with a mixed integral–differential quadrature
method is used to discretize the equations of motion and relevant boundary conditions in the spatial domain
with arbitrary boundary conditions. Then, a novel multi-step method based on B-spline curves is presented to
obtain a solution for the resulting system of ordinary differential equations in the temporal domain. Simplicity,
accuracy and reliability of the novel combined I-DQ approach and in particular the multi-step techniques
with respect to the Newmark time integration scheme are demonstrated. By performed comparison studies
with available solutions in the open literature, the convergence and accuracy of the presented technique are
demonstrated. Finally, the effects of fiber orientation, different geometric parameters, boundary conditions and
elastic foundation coefficients on the transient behavior of the VSCL plates are parametrically studied. It is
expected that the presented multi-step technique is to be used in a variety of science and engineering problems
in future studies.