Post Local Buckling of Skew and Trapezoidal Plates

Abstract

A numerical procedure is developed for the post-buckling analysis of skew and trapezoidal plates. The procedure uses virtual work method in conjunction with the natural coordinates. The post-buckling equilibrium path is controlled by the Hookean strains and the total potential energy is formulated as a function of the compressive strain rather than stresses. The method is programmed, and several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the scope and ability of the procedure. Initial local buckling results obtained for skew plates are compared with known solutions in the literature. Post-buckling behavior of skew and trapezoidal plates is studied for different geometries. The non-dimensional loads carried in the plate and dimensionless lateral displacements of skew and trapezoidal plate in the post buckling region are given in several tables.