Postbuckling analysis of a rectangular plate loated in compression

Abstract

The stability analysis of a thin rectangular plate loaded in compression is presented. The nonlinear FEM equations are derived from the minimum total potential energy principle. The peculiarities of the effects of the initial imperfections are investigated using the user program. Special attention is paid to the influence of imperfections on the post-critical buckling mode. The FEM computer program using a 48 DOF element has been used for analysis. Full Newton-Raphson procedure has been applied.