On the Resistance to Buckling Loads of Idealized Hull Structures: FE Analysis on Designed-Stiffened Plates

Abstract

In this paper, the buckling analysis on simply supported rectangular plates and stiffened panels is carried out. Three different plate thicknesses were proposed (i.e., 3 mm, 4 mm, and 5 mm). The thickness of the longitudinal stringers and sub-stiffeners were also varied. The material that was used was marine grade steel. The load versus the displacement curve and the total energy were measured. The buckling analysis results were examined via finite element (FE) computation. To ensure that the results of the methodology for the finite element were reliable, the benchmark buckling analysis of the experimental test was reconstructed. For the selection of mesh size, the element to thickness ratio method (ELT) was used. The results revealed that the thickness of the plate increases the strength of the stiffened panel. The plate thickness of 5 mm increased by 65.7% and 20.61% compared with the 3 mm and 4 mm plate thicknesses. A change in the thickness of the sub-stiffeners does not significantly change the strength of the stiffened panels. Material S355JR-EN10210 produced a higher ultimate panel collapse load compared with S235JR-EN10025 (A) and S235JR-EN10025 (B).