POST-BUCKLING DESIGN FOR VERY THIN STIFFENED PLATES UNDER REPEATED AXIAL LOADS

When designing a very thin stiffened plate subjected to axial compressive loads beyond its plate buckling strength, post buckling behaviour of the plate should be taken into consideration. Allowing the plate buckling in service would raise two important strength issues to be considered. One is the residual strength of the buckled stiffened plate until its ultimate strength and the other is the fatigue strength of welded joints due to repeated plate buckling. In this paper, with the aid of non-linear finite element analysis and the modified Miner rule, applicability of the post-buckling design concept to welded thin stiffened plates of ship deck structures was demonstrated.