Abstract
Constant developments in manufacturing technology have made it possible to introduce integrally stiffened elements into load-bearing, thin-walled structures. The application of thin-walled elements with integral stiffeners potentially increases buckling and critical loads to maintain the mass of the structure and lower production costs. This paper presents the results of experimental investigations and numerical Finite Element Modelling (FEM) analyses of low-profile, isosceles grid stiffened, aluminium alloy plates subjected to pure shear load. Conducted research included analysing buckling and post-buckling states of deformation, taking into account both geometrical and physical nonlinear effects. Use of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system during the experimental tests created representative equilibrium pathways and recorded displacement field distributions over the plate surface. The model was initially validated against the experimental results. The results for the stiffened plate were compared to the reference structure in the form of a smooth plate with equivalent mass. Comparative analyses included examining the displacement fields and stress efforts over the plates. The stiffening configuration under examination increased the critical buckling load by 300% in comparison to the unstiffened structure with the same mass. Obtained results also indicate potential problems with areas of concentrated stress in the case of an incorrect geometry design near to the boundary conditions.
Highlights
Thin-walled, stiffened panels are the most common load-bearing elements in the design of light-weight structures in many areas of engineering
This paper presents results of experimental and numerical investigations of post-buckling states of deformation of a low-profile, isosceles grid stiffened plate
Resultsofofthe theexperimental experimental investigations investigations are with numerical analysis results
Summary
Thin-walled, stiffened panels are the most common load-bearing elements in the design of light-weight structures in many areas of engineering. The constant development of new production methods such as numerically controlled machining tools allows for the creation of so-called integral constructions, in which both the skin and stiffeners are made of one piece of material. Such an approach makes it possible to reduce the weight of the structure, by eliminating elements connecting individual parts, and has an influence on increasing the damage tolerance [8,9].
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