Buckling analysis of thin rectangular plates with cutouts subjected to partial edge compression using FEM

The purpose of this paper is to present elastic buckling behaviour of simply supported and clamped thin rectangular isotropic plates having central circular cutouts subjected to uniaxial partial edge compression. Analysis is carried out for four different kinds of partial edge compression and it is extended to study the effect of aspect ratio of plate on buckling load.

A finite element method technique is used in the current work to solve the buckling problem of plate using eight node quadrilateral element and plate kinematics based on first order shear deformation theory. Results obtained from finite element analysis are first validated for isotropic square plates, without cutouts, subjected to uniaxial partial edge compression with some earlier published literature.

From the current work it is concluded that the buckling strength of square plates is highly influenced by partial edge compression, as compared to plate subjected to uniform edge compression; but with increase in aspect ratio, influence of partial edge compression on plate buckling load decreases.

This paper usefully shows how partial edge compression of plates affects the buckling strength of plate having circular cutouts. Generally, simply supported plates subjected uniaxial partial edge compression of Type I and Type III are found to be stronger than plates subjected to partial edge compression Type II and Type IV, respectively.