Behaviour and design of stiffened plates under predominantly compressive loads1

Abstract

Consideration is given to the behaviour of unstiffened plate elements and of stiffened panels. The main parameters that influence their load-carrying capacity are identified and their effects are discussed. Existing methods to predict plate strength are presented and a special treatment is provided of simplified methods for use in design work. A series of calculations is performed with various design methods to provide a basis for comparison. Predictions of the simplified methods are compared with experimental results and numerical calculations to assess the accuracy of present day stiffened plate design methods.