Comparative Study of Elastic Buckling of Plates Stiffened with Angle Bar Stiffeners

Interactions of different buckling modes in stiffened plates reduce Euler stress. In lieu of detailed analysis, in classification societies rule and in the literature, each buckling mode is treated independently and restraining effect of the adjacent elements is considered as rotational spring. It is the main aim of the present work to compare different rule-based and literature-based expressions proposed for the stiffness of these rotational springs and to determine the accuracy and applicability of them using energy method. Different buckling modes including, plate, torsional, and web buckling and interaction of them are investigated. Upon comparison with given expressions and finite element method, it is found that some of the proposed expressions for stiffness of rotational spring are not applicable in certain conditions.