Simplified numerical analyses of stiffened panels

Abstract

Stiffened panels are basic constituents of wide scope of structures and thus one of the most important study topics in the field of strength analysis. Although they are successfully dealt using FEM these days, related models are complex and time consuming. In this paper, a simplified strength calculation procedure is proposed. FEM models are reduced to unstiffened thin plates only, while influence of stiffeners is directly incorporated in plates` stiffness matrixes. Elastic parameters of unstiffened panels are obtained for the case of both membrane and bending response of the structure, and derived from the assumption that maximum displacement and Von Mises stress are equal in stiffened and unstiffened panels. Orthotropic plate theory is widely used for modeling the bending behavior of unstiffened panels. Proposed method is thoroughly explained and tested in few examples by comparison with results obtained for conventional models of same structures.