Buckling Behavior and Effective Width Design Method for Thin Plates with Holes under Stress Gradient

This paper aims at investigating the elastic buckling behavior and the effective width method (EWM) to predict the ultimate strength of the simply supported rectangular plates under gradient stress (SSRPSG) with circular or rectangular holes. The analytical models of SSRPSG with circular or rectangular holes were established by using the finite-element (FE) software ABAQUS. The FE parametric study covered the aspect ratio, slenderness ratio, and stress gradients of plate and the dimension and spacing of holes. The FE analysis included eigenvalue buckling analysis and ultimate strength analysis. The eigenvalue results show that the buckling coefficient of the perforated plate gradually decreases, and subsequently, it gradually increases with the increase of the dimension of the hole. The buckling mode changes from the buckling including hole to the buckling of plate strip adjacent to hole at the section of the hole. The increasing stress gradient causes an increasing effect on buckling coefficient. The buckling coefficients are less affected by the aspect ratio and the slenderness ratio of the perforated plate and the spacing of hole when the hole spacing meets a certain limitation. The buckling coefficient equations of the SSRPSG with circular or rectangular holes were developed according to results obtained by FE analysis. Finally, the effective width design method was developed based on FE results and developed buckling coefficient equations. The comparisons on ultimate strength between FE results and the predicted results for SSRPSG with circular and rectangular holes and between the predicted results and test results for perforated columns and beams indicate that the proposed effective width design method is accurate, which can be used to predict the ultimate strength of SSRPSG with circular or rectangular holes.