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Title

Author(s)

Application of spline finite strip method in stability analyses of


arbitrarily shaped plates

Szeto, Hon-yin.;

Citation

Issued Date

URL

Rights

1992

http://hdl.handle.net/10722/32681

The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights)


and the right to use in future works.

APPLICATION OF SPLINE FINITE STRIP METHOD IN


STABILITY A N A L Y S E S OF ARBITRARILY SHAPED P L A T E S

A t h e s i s presented f o r the degree o f


Master o f P h i l o s o p h y
a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f Hong Kong

S2ET0 Hon-yin, B . S c . ( E n g . ) H . K , , MHKIE


Department o f C i v i l and S t r u c t u r a l E n g i n e e r i n g
U n i v e r s i t y o f Hong Kong
December 1992

Declaration

I hereby d e c l a r e t h a t the present t h e s i s t i t l e d " A p p J i c a t i o n

Spline

Finite

Strip

Method

Shaped Plates"
i n s t i t u t i o n i n a p p l i c a t i o n f o r admission t o a degree,

diploma o r

o t h e r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and c o n t a i n s no m a t e r i a l p r e v i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d
o r w r i t t e n by o t h e r person, except where due r e f e r e n c e i s made.

SZETO Hon-yin

Acknow1edgement

The author wishes t o express h i s s i n c e r e g r a t i t u d e t o Dr. L . G,


Tham,

Senior Lecturer o f

the Department o f C i v i l

and S t r u c t u r a l

Engineering, U n i v e r s i t y o f Hong Kong, f o r h i s guidance, c o n s t r u c t i v e


c r i t i c i s m and

encouragement

a u t h o r ' s study.

throughout

H.

Kwan,

Lecturer of

the

The author i s indebted t o Dr.

Department o f C i v i l

Engineering, U n i v e r s i t y o f Hong Kong,


w h i l e Dr. Tham was on leave.

and S t r u c t u r a l

f o r h i s s u p e r v i s i o n and c a r e

Thanks a r e a l s o due t o Dr.

the Department o f C i v i l and S t r u c t u r a l Engineering,

the author i s g r a t e f u l t o Mr. S.

the manuscript.

i i

W. Y. L i o f

the Hong Kong

P o l y t e c h n i c , f o r h i s h e l p f u l suggestions and d i s c u s s i o n s .
not l e a s t ,

the

H i s v a l u a b l e comments g i v e n d u r i n g the p r e p a r a t i o n

o f t h i s t h e s i s i s much appreciated.
K.

the e n t i r e course o f

L a s t but

Shum f o r p r o o f - r e a d i n g

Abstract of Thesis e n t i t l e d

" A p p l i c a t i o n o f S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Method i n
S t a b i l i t y Analyses o f A r b i t r a r i l y Shaped P l a t e s "

Submitted by SZETO H o n - y i n
f o r the degree o f Master o f P h i l o s o p h y
a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Hong Kong i n December, 1992

i i i

ABSTRACT

The s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method f o r s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s

was

developed s u c c e s s f u l l y by Cheung
of

the c l a s s i c a l f i n i t e s t r i p

subparamet r i e

transformation,

method.
the

method

W i t h the

use

has

extended

a n a l y s i s o f a r b i t r a r i l y shaped s t r u c t u r e s .
includes

static

and v i b r a t i o n a n a l y s i s

been

of

the
to

Research I n t h i s a r e a
of

plates,

shells

and

b o x - g i r d e r b r i d g e s but the a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e method t o s t a b i l i t y


problem i s more o r l e s s unexplored.

The t h e s i s attempts t o f u r t h e r

t h e stud y o f t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method i n the l i n e a r b u c k l i n g


o f a r b i t r a r i l y shaped and loaded p l a t e s through the use o f domain
transformation.

The f i r s t p a r t o f the t h e s i s I s spent on the d e s c r i p t i o n o f the


b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s o f t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method o v e r s t a b i l i t y a n a l y s i s u s i n g low and h i g h o r d e r elements.

As the subparamet r i e

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n forms an important p a r t o f the present method, t h e


t h e o r y behind i s d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l s .
required f o r
explained.

analyzing

the

The plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s

arbitrarily

loaded p l a t e s i s

also

B e f o r e p u t t i n g the method t o p r a c t i c e , t h e s t i f f n e s s

m a t r i c e s formtilated a r e v e r i f i e d by s t a t i c and b u c k l i n g a n a l y s i s o f
simple models.
thoroughly

on

The
mesh

convergency o f
refinement

and

the
the

method i s a l s o
scheme o f

tested

integration.

D i s c u s s i o n s o v e r t h e occurrence o f t h e s p u r i o u s b u c k l i n g modes a r e
a l s o made r e g a r d i n g the use o f h i g h o r d e r elements.

iv

The s t a b i l i t y a n a l y s i s f o r r e c t a n g u l a r , skewed, t r i a n g u l a r and


curved p l a t e s have been i n v e s t i g a t e d f o r d i f f e r e n t combinations o f
boundary c o n d i t i o n s and types o f a p p l i e d l o a d i n g .

Accurate r e s u l t s

can be o b t a i n e d f o r a l l cases f o r b o t h h i g h and low o r d e r shape


functions.

The second p a r t o f the t h e s i s d e a l s w i t h t h e b u c k l i n g o f

p l a t e s under a r b i t r a r y loading.

A plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s I s c a r r i e d

out t o o b t a i n t h e s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n under t h e a p p l i e d l o a d s b e f o r e
f o r m u l a t i n g the geometric m a t r i x .

Numerical

presented and t h e case o f l o c a l b u c k l i n g o f

examples a r e

then

a l o n g p l a t e under

concentrated l o a d s a r e a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d .

The a c c ur a c y o f the present method has been amply demonstrated


i n the t h e s i s and t h e y compare w e l l w i t h the p u b l i s h e d r e s u l t s .

The

s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method c o u p l i n g w i t h the domain t r a n s f o r m a t i o n


and the p l a n e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s i s proved t o be an e f f i c i e n t and
v e r s a t i l e t o o l f o r buckling analysis o f a r b i t r a r i l y
loaded p l a t e s .

shaped and

TABLE OF CONTENT

PAGE

Declaration

Acknowledgement

ii

Abstract

i i i

Table o f Content

vi

Nomenclature

Chapter 1

ix

Introduction

1/1-10

1. 1 H i s t o r i c a l Background

1/1

1.2

The F i n i t e S t r i p Method

1/2

1.3

Scope o f Study

1/4

1.4 E l a s t i c S t a b i l i t y o f P l a t e s

Chapter 2

S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Method

1/5

2/1-26

2.1

General

2/1

2.2

Statement o f t h e Method

2/2

2.3

Displacement I n t e r p o l a t i o n F u n c t i o n

2/5

2.3.1

2/5

B-3 Spline Function

2. 3. 2 M o d i f i c a t i o n o f S p l i n e F u n c t i o n t o

2/9

s u i t edge c o n d i t i o n s
2.3.3
2. 4

P o l y n o m i a l Shape Functions

Domain Transformation by Subparamet r i e


T r a n s f orma t i on.

vi

2/11
2/15

2.5

F or m ula tion o f the S t i f f n e s s and Geometric

2/19

Matrices
2.6

Plane Stress Analysis f o r Buckling of

2/21

A r b i t r a r i l y Loaded P l a t e s
2.6.1

Displacement F u n c t i o n

2/22

2.6.2

M o d i f i c a t i o n o f Edge C o n d i t i o n s

2/24

2.6.3

Formulation o f S t i f f n e s s M a t r i x

2/25

2.6.4 S t a b i l i t y Analysis of Plate

Chapter 3
3.1

V e r i f i c a t i o n and Convergency
General

2/25

3/1-18
3/1

3 . 2 V e r i f i c a t i o n o f the M a t r i x [K ]
s

3/2

3 . 3 V e r i f i c a t i o n o f the M a t r i x [K p]

3/5

3.4

Choices o f Numerical I n t e g r a t i o n

3/7

3.5

Performance and Convergency Study

3/10

3.5.1

Scheme o f I n t e g r a t i o n

3/10

3.5.2

Mesh Refinement

3/15

3.5.3

Computing Time f o r D i f f e r e n t Elements

Chapter 4
4.1

B u c k l i n g o f Rectangular P l a t e s
General

3/15

4/1-15
4/1

4 . 2 P l a t e s under U n i a x i a l Loading

4/2

4 . 3 P l a t e s under B i a x i a l Loads

4/2

4 . 4 P l a t e s under Shear Loads

4/5

4 . 5 P l a t e o f V a r i a b l e Thickness

Chapter 5

B u c k l i n g o f A r b i t r a r i l y Shaped P l a t e s

vii

4/12

5/1-16

5. 1 General

5/1

5.2

Parallelogram Plates

5/2

5.3

Triangular Plates

5/5

5. 4

B u c k l i n g o f C i r c u l a r and E l l i p t i c a l P l a t e s

Chapter 6

B u c k l i n g o f P l a t e s under A r b i t r a r y Loading

5/10

6/1-18

6. 1 General

6/1

6.2

Convergency Test

6/2

6.3

Rectangular P l a t e s under L i n e a r l y - v a r y i n g

6/4

Stress
6.4

P a r t i a l l y Loaded P l a t e s

6/8

6.5

L o c a l B u c k l i n g o f Long P l a t e s

6/8

Chapter 7

7/1-5

C o n c l u s i o n s and Recommendations

7. 1

Conclusions

7/1

7.2

Recommendations f o r F u r t h e r Study

7/4

1-7

References

A/1-11

Appendix
Al

A n a l y t i c a l Solution f o r the Buckling o f

A/1

Rectangular P l a t e s
A2

D e r i v a t i o n o f t h e Geometric M a t r i x ,

A3

Numerical I n t e g r a t i o n

viii

[K ]

A/4
A/7

l i n e a r dimensions o f t h e p l a t e
flexural rigidity
modulus o f e l a s t i c i t y
shear modulus
J a c o b i a n o f domain t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
c r i t i c a l buckling coefficient
s t i f f n e s s matrix
geometric m a t r i x
shape f u n c t i o n used i n the ^ - d i r e c t i o n
u n i f o r m l a t e r a l l o a d i n g on the p l a t e
thickness o f the p l a t e
i n - p l a n e displacement o f the p l a t e
l a t e r a l displacement o f the p l a t e
Cartesian coordinates
natural coordinates
in-plane s t r e s s e s o f the p l a t e
c r i t i c a l buckling stress
eigenvalues
B-3 spline functions
s t r a i n o f the p l a t e
Poisson,s r a t i o
displacement v e c t o r
skew angle o f p a r a l l e l o g r a m p l a t e

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1 . 1 H i s t o r i c a l Background

The essence o f the well-known f i n i t e element method C 1 1 2 l i e s i n


the study and approximation o f the behaviour o f a continuous domain
through the d i s c r e t i z a t i o n o f the continuum i n t o a f i n i t e number o f
elements w i t h a f i n i t e number o f parameters r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e domain.
With the i n v e n t i o n o f powerful computers, the method has been proved
t o be e f f e c t i v e i n h a n d l i n g problems o f a wide range o f n a t u r e.
However,

the a p p l i c a t i o n o f the f i n i t e element method i n a c t u a l

s i t u a t i o n o f t e n i n v o l v e s a l a r g e number o f unknowns and e q u a t i o n s


such t h a t

the computer storage and e f f o r t i s enormous and the

process i s

usually

time

consuming.

Hence

the

need f o r

an

a l t e r n a t i v e method w h i c h can r e t a i n the v e r s a t i l i t y o f t h e f i n i t e


element method and a t the same time minimize computational e f f o r t i s
desirable.

I t i s under t h i s background t h a t the s e m i - a n a l y t i c a l

f i n i t e s t r i p method^ 103 was developed and s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n o f


t h e method over t h e a n a l y s i s o f s t r u c t u r e s such a s b r i d g e s , p l a t e s
and s h a l l o w s h e l l s have been r e p o r t e d
functions f o r the d e s c r i p t i o n o f
introduced l a t e r
gained

[14]

wide

published"5-28.

r 4-7 9 12]
' '
.

The use o f s p l i n e

the displacement f u n c t i o n was

f o r b e t t e r performance and the method have a l s o

acceptance

with

numerous

research

works

The present thesis aims at extending the spline


1/1

f i n i t e s t r i p method t o the s t u d y o f

the s t a b i l i t y a n a l y s i s o f

a r b i t r a r i l y shaped and loaded p l a t e s , an a r e a w h i c h i s r e l a t i v e l y


unexplored by r e s e a r c h e r s .

1 . 2 F i n i t e S t r i p Method

The f i n i t e s t r i p method f o r s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s was proposed b y


Cheung [ 1 0 3 i n t h e l a t e 1960's.

The method i n v o l v e s t h e d i v i s i o n o f

s t r u c t u r e s i n t o s t r i p s o r p r i s m s and t h e use o f
f u n c t i o n which i s

a displacement

made up o f c o n t i n u o u s l y d i f f e r e n t i a b l e smooth

s e r i e s i n t h e s t r i p d i r e c t i o n and a s i m p l e p o l y n o m i a l s i n t h e o t h e r
directions.

Hence
(1.1)

w = [ fm(x)ym(y)
The f u n c t i o n

c o n d i t i o n s o f a s t r i p and a s m a l l e r number o f n o d a l parameters can


be used.

I n t h i s way, a 2 - and 3 - d i m e n s i o n a l problem can be reduced

r e s p e c t i v e l y t o a 1 - and 2~dimensional problem w i t h a s i g n i f i c a n t


r e d u c t i o n i n t h e s i z e and bandwidth o f t h e s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x .

The

f i n i t e s t r i p method i n i t s e a r l y f o r m (known a s the c l a s s i c a l f i n i t e


s t r i p methocT ) u t i l i z e s a b a s i c f u n c t i o n d e r i v e d from t h e s o l u t i o n
o f t h e beam v i b r a t i o n d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n o f t h e form:
(1.2
and is given by
Yiy) =

sin

+ C cos

+ C sinh

1/2

+ C cosh

(1-3)

where t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s

a r e determined by the edge c o n d i t i o n s a t

t h e ends o f t h e s t r i p s and

jn i s a parameter.

boundary c o n d i t i o n s w i t h the v a l u e s o f
and l i s t e d i n r e f .
strip

method

[10].

have

Various types o f

a r e worked o u t e x p l i c i t l y

Works on t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e f i n i t e

been

reported i n

the

area

of

bending

of

r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e s t 3 8 > 3 9 ] , p l a n e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s and t h e a n a l y s i s
o f box g i r d e r and s l a b b r i d g e s [ 4 0 3

and good accuracy was achieved.

A p a r t f r o m t h e r e c t a n g u l a r s t r i p s , curved^ 6 '7 3 and skewed C 1 0 3 p l a n e


s t r i p s were a l s o developed t o handle problems i n v o l v i n g curved
b r i d g e decks and p a r a l l e l o g r a m p l a t e s .

The c l a s s i c a l f i n i t e s t r i p method w i t h the use o f t h e s e r i e s


aforementioned i n

eqn. (1.3)

for

the

displacement

c e r t a i n l i m i t a t i o n s (see s e c t i o n 2 . 1 i n d e t a i l s ) .

f u n c t i o n has

To overcome s u c h

shortcomings, t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method was d e v i s e d b y Cheung

et

al

r 141

polynomial w i t h h i g h l y l o c a l i z e d properties.

The f i r s t d e t a i l e d

s t u d y o f t h e u s e o f t h e s p l i n e f u n c t i o n can be summarized i n t h e
work

by

Cheung,

structures.

F a n and
With

the

transformation analysis

Wu

I14-17]

on r e g u l a r p l a t e

introduction
can

be

of

extended

the
to

and s h e l l

subparamet r i e

arbitrarily

shaped

plates with straight, and curved edges and numerical examples have
been done on the static and vibration of parallelogram, fan-shaped,
circular and elliptical plates as well as singly and doubly curved
shells

12 3 2 7 1

shaped s t r u c t u r e s i s more o r l e s s l e f t untouched.


t h i s a r e a has been r e p o r t e d by Chong and Chen
analysis

of

irregular

plates.

Numerical
1/3

R e l e v a n t work i n
[21]

on the b u c k l i n g

examples

such

as

t r a p e z o i d a l and octagonal p l a t e s a r e considered by d i v i d i n g the


p l a t e s i n t o a combination o f q u a d r i l a t e r a l and t r i a n g u l a r elements.
Lau

and

Hancock

thin-walled

[22 ]

structures

also
but

carried
the

out

study

stability
on

analysis

curved p l a t e s

of

seemed

r e l a t i v e l y unexplored.

1.3

Scope o f Study

The t h e s i s b e g i n s w i t h a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f
methods f o r s t a b i l i t y problems I n s e c t i o n 1.4.

the s o l u t i o n

The b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s

and t h e o r y o f the s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method a p p l i e d i n the b u c k l i n g


o f p l a t e s a r e d i s c u s s e d i n Chapter 2.

The displacement f u n c t i o n

chosen and i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e a l s o d e s c r i b e d together w i t h t h e


treatment o f t h e f u n c t i o n t o s u i t the boundary c o n d i t i o n s o f the
strips-

As the essence o f the present method on the a n a l y s i s o f

arbitrarily

shaped s t r u c t u r e s

lies i n

the

use

of

the

domain

tran s f or m a tion, emphases a r e g i v e n f o r the d i s c u s s i o n o f the theory


behind the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n .

F i n a l l y , the plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s o f

p l a t e s and the i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f the s t r e s s output i n t o the b u c k l i n g


a n a l y s i s o f a r b i t r a r i l y loaded p l a t e s a r e mentioned.

Chapter 3 r s concentrated on the v e r i f i c a t i o n o f the m a t r i c e s


fo rmu la te d i n Chapter 2 and t h e convergency t e s t i n g o f the proposed
method.

Simple models i n s t a t i c and b u c k l i n g problems a r e t e s t e d

w i t h the program developed t o compare w i t h a n a l y t i c a l s o l u t i o n s .


The convergency t e s t s aforementioned i n c l u d e s those r e l a t i n g mesh
refinement, i n t e g r a t i o n scheme, time o f computing and the comparison
1/4

between low and h i g h order elements.


modes w h i l e u s i n g h i g h order

shape

The occurrence o f s p u r i o u s
functions

and

the

way

to

e l i m i n a t e them from the output are a l s o discussed.

Be f or e e x te nd ing t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method t o the b u c k l i n g


o f a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s ,

rectangular plates are considered

first.

Examples a r e g i v e n i n Chapter 4 f o r p l a t e s o f v a r i o u s aspect

ratios

and

edge

combined l o a d i n g .

conditions

under u n i a x i a l ,

biaxial,

shear

and

V a r i a t i o n i n the t h i c k n e s s o f the p l a t e s as w e l l

as p e r f o r a t e d p l a t e s are a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d .

Buckling a n a l y s i s o f

a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s are presented i n Chapter 5.

The domain

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n by subparametric transformation i s a p p l i e d t o skewed,


t r i a n g u l a r , c i r c u l a r and e l l i p t i c a l p l a t e s t o o b t a i n the c r i t i c a l
s t r e s s e s and t h e mode shapes f o r the buckled p l a t e s .

Chapter
loading.

6 d e a l s w i t h s t a b i l i t y o f p l a t e s under non-uniform

These a r b i t r a r y loads i n c l u d e s l i n e a r l y - v a r y i n g s t r e s s e s

and p a r t i a l l o a d i n g a l o n g the edges o f the p l a t e s .

Good agreement

w i t h the r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d from p u b l i s h e d papers can be observed.


The case f o r a l o n g p l a t e s t r i p under p o i n t loads a t the c e n t r e a r e
a l s o i n v e s t i g a t e d t o study the l o c a l b u c k l i n g behaviour o f p l a t e s
w i t h l a r g e aspect r a t i o .

1.4

E l a s t i c S t a b i l i t y o f Plates

The b u c k l i n g l o a d o f p l a t e s under

in-plane forces

c a n be

determined a n a l y t i c a l l y o r by a f i n i t e element a p p r o a c h 1 1 1 1
1/5

through the s o l u t i o n o f a d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n o r an eigenvalue


problem r e s p e c t i v e l y .

(i)

analytical solution

The governing e q u a t i o n o f the bending o f p l a t e s under v e r t i c a l


l o a d i n g i s g i v e n i n r e f . [49] as:

^+

where w i s t h e o u t - o f - p l a n e displacement, D i s the f l e x u r a l r i g i d i t y


o f the p l a t e and q i s the a p p l i e d l o a d i n g .

Consider now a p l a t e

b u c k l e s s l i g h t l y under t h e a c t i o n o f a s e t o f i n - p l a n e s t r e s s e s <r
cr and cr
y
xy

Each of these force will produce a resultant in the


^

vertical direction of magnitude q^,


30

Sc = x
qy = [ s l n ( ^ +
q

and

respectively

- sin0]
- sin^]

x y = ^xy ^[sin(8+

- s i n e ] + [sin(^+ | | ) - sin^]>

(1.5)

F o r l i n e a r b u c k l i n g problem where 0, are small, we have sine^O,


sliyp and Q^d^f/dx, ^5w/5y.
^ w
1 ,
dxd

substituting
w

Thus eqn. (1.5) can be rewritten as:

_ o w
a n

eqn. ( 1 . 6 )

into

1/6

q=2<r

eqn. (1.4)

o w

r4

~-

and

(1.6

noting

that

a j , ^

ax

ay

a w
2

ax ay

_2
((r

ax

ry 2

,,

^2

+2

ay

<

x y

i )

axay

Eqn. (1.7) i s the governing equation f o r the b u c k l i n g o f


under i n - p l a n e s t r e s s e s .
shapes o f

equation of

conditions o f the plate,

(1.7)

and

By s o l v i n g the

incorporating

the

boundary

the b u c k l i n g s t r e s s e s i s determined t o

produce a n o n - t r i v i a l l a t e r a l displacement, w.
the s t a b i l i t y o f

a plate

The displacement f u n c t i o n f o r t h e mode

t h e b u c k l e d p l a t e i s then assumed.

differential

(1.7)

A t y p i c a l example o f

a b i a x i a l l y loaded rectangular p l a t e w i t h

two

clamped and two simply-supported edges i s considered i n Appendix A l


t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e s o l u t i o n procedure.

( i i ) F i n i t e Element Approach

The governing e q u a t i o n f o r the b u c k l i n g o f a p l a t e i s d e r i v e d by


taking

the

geometric n o n - l i n e a r i t y o f

the

account i n t h e s t r e s s - s t r a i n r e l a t i o n s h i p .
both

in-plane

and l a t e r a l

deformed p l a t e

into

For a p l a t e s u b j e c t e d t o

loading w i t h i n f i n i t e s i m a l

but

not

e x c e s s i v e l y l a r g e displacement, t h e l a t e r a l deformation w i l l produce


membrane s t r a i n on t h e s u r f a c e o f the p l a t e .

Hence the i n - p l a n e and

l a t e r a l displacement can no longer be d e a l t w i t h s e p a r a t e l y as i n


t h e case o f s m a l l d e f l e c t i o n problems.

To i l l u s t r a t e t h i s ,

an

example o f a p l a t e s u b j e c t e d t o b o t h i n - p l a n e and l a t e r a l l o a d i n g i s
considered.

The s t r e s s and s t r a i n o f the middle s u r f a c e o f a p l a t e

I s g i v e n by:

1/7

The membrane a c t i o n w i l l induce a d d i t i o n a l terms i n t h e s t r a i n e


due t o the e x t r a s t r e t c h i n g o f t h e middle s u r f a c e .

C o n s i d e r i n g the

e x t e n s i o n i n the x - d i r e c t i o n ,

dx

ax

ifaw

2[dx

du
dx

)}

dx

and s i m i l a r e x p r e s s i o n s c a n be d e r i v e d f o r

and

xy

Hence

eqn.(1.8) can be rewritten as

(1.9)

1/8

where

Po

Bo

strain respectively and

the non-linear parts of the strain.

The

non-linear strain matrix, B can similarly be expressed as :


0

[B]

The

(1.10)

total tangential stiffness matrix, K

m
is then given by
(1.11)

where K s is the usual small displacement stiffness matrix


is the large displacement matrix containing the non-linear
terms of eqn.(1,9) and (1.10), and
K

is the initial or geometric matrix which is related to the

stress level of the plate, i.e.

(1.12)

G dV

In which

the matrix, G,

is derived from

relating the first derivative of

the displacement and

For

IX

wly
aco
a

the following equation

the

the nodal

(1.13)

initial

stability

problem o f

plates

subjected t o

in-plane loads only,

the s m a l l d e f l e c t i o n theory g i v e s an exact

s o l u t i o n and

By c o n s i d e r i n g t h e t o t a l s t r a i n e n e r g y o f t h e

= 0.

p l a t e and t h e c r i t e r i a o f t h e a d j a c e n t e q u i l i b r i u m o f a b u c k l e d

1/9

s t r u c t u r e , we have:
([K ] + X[K ] )
S

I n which A denotes the f a c t o r on t h e s t r e s s l e v e l o f t h e a p p l i e d


l o a d i n g i n o r d e r t o achieve n e u t r a l e q u i l i b r i u m , and hence
([K ] + A[K ] ) {d5} = {0}.
S

F o r n o n - t r i v i a l s o l u t i o n t o be obtained, the problem reduces t o a


standard eigenvalue problem o f the form
I[K
] + A[K ] I1 = 0
1
S

(1.14)

w i t h the e i g e n v a l u e s \ , A
1

o f the eqn. (1. 14) represent


n

the n b u c k l i n g l o a d r a t i o o f the p l a t e under t h e a p p l i e d l o a d i n g .

1/10

CHAPTER 2

S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Method

2.1

General

The s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method f o r s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s

was

[14]

developed by Cheung

s e m i - a n a l y t i c a l f i n i t e s t r i p method which has been d e s c r i b e d i n


Chapter 1, t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p employs the s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s f o r
t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f the displacement f i e l d s a l o n g the s t r i p d i r e c t i o n
(ri a x i s ) .

Choices o f

these s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s

may i n c l u d e

the

X - s p l i n e s ^ 1 8 > 2 1 ^ and t h e B - 3 splines^" 1 5 3 and the l a t t e r w i l l be used


throughout the p r e s e n t method.

There a r e s e v e r a l advantages o f the B - 3 s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s over


the t r a d i t i o n a l b a s i c functions

(see e q n . ( 1 . 3 ) )

when t h e f i n i t e

s t r i p method was f i r s t i n t r o d u c e d and they can be summarized a s


follows
1.

The

B-3

spline

function

is

continuous

derivatives everywhere along the strips

up

(i.e. C

to

the

second

continuous).

satisfactory displacement function chosen for a structure should be


able to represent not only the displacement itself but also
higher

derivatives.

continuous

in

the

In
0th,

other
1st

words,

and

2/1

2nd

the

function

derivatives

should
to

its
be

simulate

r e s p e c t i v e l y the d e f l e c t i o n , r o t a t i o n and t h e moment d i s t r i b u t i o n


but d i s c o n t i n u o u s i n the 3 r d d e r i v a t i v e t o r e p r e s e n t t h e s h e a r
distribution.

The i n t r i n s i c p r o p e r t y o f i n f i n i t e c o n t i n u i t y o f

t h e c l a s s i c a l s t r i p f u n c t i o n has l i m i t e d i t s a p p l i c a t i o n and
hence t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method was developed t o overcome
t h i s drawback.
2. The l o c a l i z e d p r o p e r t y o f t h e s p l i n e f u n c t i o n g r e a t l y r e d u c e s the
bandwidth o f

the

stiffness

and

geo m et ric m a t r i c e s

and

thus

computer s t o r a g e and e f f o r t r e q u i r e d f o r s o l u t i o n p r o c e s s c a n be
minimized.

The d e t a i l s o f the l o c a l i z e d p r o p e r t y i s I l l u s t r a t e d

i n l a t e r sections.
3. The boundary c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e p l a t e s can be s a t i s f i e d e a s i l y by
m o d i f y i n g t h e l o c a l s p l i n e s n e a r t h e edges and i s u s e f u l i n
d e a l i n g w i t h s t r u c t u r e s o f complex edge c o n d i t i o n s .
the

same

purpose,

f u n c t i o n (see eqn.

the

coefficients of

the

To a c h i e v e

classical

strip

1 . 6 ) have t o be worked o u t e x p l i c i t l y such

t h a t t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n s c a n a p p l y .

I n t h i s chapter the essence and the procedures of the spline


finite strip method over the linearly buckling of thin arbitrarily
shaped plates under uniform or arbitrarily loading are discussed.

2.2

Statement of the Method

Linear

buckling

analysis

can

be

summarized

as

eigenvalue problem which takes the form (see section 1.3):

2/2

standard

(2.1)

where K
The

i s the s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x and K

present

method

involves f i r s t l y

i s the geometric m a t r i x .

the

transformation o f

any

i r r e g u l a r p l a t e s i n the o r d i n a r y c a r t e s i a n c o o r d i n a t e system t o a
s t a n d a r d square p l a t e i n t h e r e c t a n g u l a r domain

(Fig. 2.1).

The

domain t r a n s f o r m a t i o n process i s

the

the

done

through

use

of

subparametric t r a n s f o r m a t i o n and w i l l be d i s c u s s e d I n d e t a i l s i n
s e c t i o n 2.4.

The ' mapped' p l a t e i s then d i s c r e t i s e d i n t o a number

o f s t r i p s and the displacements o f the s t r i p s are expressed i n terms


of

the n a t u r a l

c o o r d i n a t e v a r i a b l e s w i t h the s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s

a p p l i e d i n t h e 71-direction and an o r d i n a r y shape f u n c t i o n i n the


^-direction.

The normal procedures f o r s o l v i n g a s t a b i l i t y problem

can t h e n be a p p l i e d [ 1 1 ] .

The b u c k l i n g loads and mode shapes a r e

o b t a i n e d a s t h e e i g e n v a l u e s and t h e e i g e n v e c t o r s o f

(eqn.

2.1)

r e s p e c t i v e l y and t h e former i s u s u a l l y expressed i n terms o f t h e


b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t (ic

cr

) i n the f o l l o w i n g form

Eir 2
cr

(2.2)

12(l-y2)

In case of plates under arbitrary loading, a plane stress analysis


is done to determine the stress distribution within the plate before
carrying out the buckling analysis.

2/3

12

11
-1,1)

12
-

11

10

(1,1)
strip

(-1,-1)

Fig.2.1

Subparametric

mapping

with

the

twelve

defining the plate geometry

jth nodal line


(j +1)th nodal line

1st node
2nd node

1st section

3rd node

2nd section

4th node

mth node

(m-l)th section

(m+1)th node

mth section

(m+2)th node
(m+3)th node

Fig. 2.2

Typical strip

2/4

(1,-1)

nodal

points

2.3

Displacement I n t e r p o l a t i o n F u n c t i o n

The i n t e r p o l a t i o n f u n c t i o n o f displacement,

w, o f the s t r i p s

w i l l be g i v e n as products o f B - 3 s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s

(and shape

f u n c t i o n s (N ), i . e .
B

[#(]

[(7])]

[N o (5)]

(2.3)

{5K

The displacement vector, {6>, is defined by:


{6}T =

[(a )T,(a
w

wr

)T,(a
,(a f
],
j
w j +1
w r j +1

where a
and a
are
w,j
wr,j
respectively at

the parameters

the jth nodal

line.

rectangular plate in the domain

(2.4)
related

to w and

Every strip

of

dw/d^

the mapped

is partitioned into m sections

along the longitudinal direction as shown In Fig 2.2.

Note that the

1st and (m+3)th nodal point are introduced in order to evaluate the
spline functions at the 1st and mth section.

2.3.1

B-3 Spline Function

The word ^piine

is originally a kind of

tool used by

the

draftsman to draw segments of smooth curves and the spline functions


were developed by mathematicians
functions in the same sense.

[4446]

as a versatile interpolating

As the name implies, the B-3 spline

function is a polynomial of degree three and the general expression


for an unequal spline function ^(t)) as used in eqn. 2.3 is given as
2/5

follows
[?})] =

[<t> , ( 7 ) ) . . .

(j> ( 7 ) ) ,

(p

A.
( n )
l 11-2
where

(2.5)

(7))]

71

>
f
< (7})

[7}

^2' ^

[7}

[1

, 7]]

i 1

V
i+l

and

iU^i-2)
3

( m , J + c (v

. (V)
V

-!)

for

+ Di(71i.-v)'
3

i+l

+2
(2.6)

with the coefficients given by

[h
[h
C
D

i
i

i-l
i+2

= -(h

(h

i-l

(h
i

+h )(h
+h +h
)]
i
i-l i i+l
+h

)(h

+h

+h )]'

+h 4-h
+h
)x[h
h (h
+h ) (h
+h
+h )]"
i-1 i i+l i+2
i-1 i i+l i
i+2 i+l i

= -h
+h +h
+h
)x[h
h
(h
+h ) (h
+h
i-1 i i+l i+2
i+2 i+l i+l i
i+l
i

2/6

i-1

}]'

F o r the case o f h

= h = h

i - 1

i + l

= h

an equal spline), the

f u n c t i o n reduces t o t h e form

(7?
=
1

:
6h"

1 2

h + 3h (7)-7}
) + 3h( tq-t) ) 2 -3 ( n ) 3
i-1
i-1
i-i
li3+ 3h2(7]

i+l

(v.

- 7]) + Shin

- 7 } ) 2 3(7?

i +'

-7])

-v) 3

for

(2.7

The shapes of a single spline function and their relative positions


along a strip are shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2.3a to 2.3c.

One

can see that any single point along the 7)-axis is affected by at
most four local splines only, and hence the localized property of
the spline function can be demonstrated.

/T;.

Fig. 2.3a

Fig 2.3b

An Equal B-3 Spline Function

An Unequal B-3 Spline Function

Fig. 2.3c B-3 splines along a strip

2/8

2.3.2

M o d i f i c a t i o n o f S p l i n e F u n c t i o n t o s u i t edge c o n d i t i o n s

I n o r d e r t o s a t i s f y the support c o n d i t i o n s a t t h e two ends o f


the s t r i p s , the l o c a l s p l i n e s a t and immediately adjacent t o t h e end
p o i n t have t o be m o d i f i e d i n accordance w i t h Table 2a, i n w h i c h the
r e s t r i c t i v e condition h = h
(or
1
2
added t o

simplify

Boundary c o n d i t i o n

the

= h
likewise)
m+l
m+2

has been

expression.

Modified l o c a l spline

Free

(f>Q

Simply-supported

Eliminated

Clamped

Eliminated

(p1

Eliminated

^-0.

Table 2a Modified local spline for end support

The verification of the modification for 7)=1 is given below and that
for i}=-l can be derived similarly.

Let the displacement and the

rotation at the end of the strip be w

2/9

and 0
o

respectively.

Hence

i ) s i m p l y supported end:
a

+ ^ 6 + ^ a ) N (f) ,

[ 0 + ( ^ - 44

)5 + ( ) 5 ] N ( O

(h +h
h

from Table 2a,

(h

(h +h ) (h +h +h )
- 1 - 1 0
1 0

.-.w

J [(4 - 4)5

(h +h ) (h +h +h
- 1 - 1 0 1 0 - 1

N C?)

S i n c e h = h and t h a t h = h
1
2
- 1 0

+h +h +h ) h
- 1 0 1 2 0

h h (h +h ) (h +h +h )
-101 0
21 0

h (h +h ) (h +h +h
1 1 0 1 0 -

h (h +h ) (h +h +h

and from eqn. 2.

= h by d e f a u l t o f the program,

+ (1 - 1)5 ] N ( f )
1

B ^

= 0
Thus w i s always z e r o f o r any s e t o f
0

ii) clamped end:


(

[0 + 0 + ( - C L 5 + ) 6 ] N (

-1

(h +h ) (h +h +h )
-1 0
1 0 -1

0.5

2/10

and from eqn. ( 2 . 1 ) ,

(h+h
h

(h +h ) (h +h +h
-1 1 0 1 0 -1

(h
h

+h +h +h )h"

h (h +h ) ( h +h +h )
-101 0
21 0
and that h h =

Again sinceh ,

(1 - 2 + 1) 6

h (h +h ) ( h +h +h

by default of the program,

N (f)

K d i )N B

M^(?)

( ? )

W h e r e

[0 + 0 + W - 0.5+

3 ( h 4-h

3h
h

( h +h ) (h +h +h
-1 - 1 0
i o -i

3(h
h

(h +h ) (h +h +h
- 1 - 1 0 1 0 - 1

+h +h +h )h
- 1 01 2
0

-3h

h ( h +h ) ( h +h +h )
- 1 01 0
21 0

h (h +h ) (h +h +h

6h (

Thus w and 0

2.3.2

"3

M^Cf)

B(?)

a r e always z e r o f o r any s e t o f a

a , a

and N ( ? ) .

P o l y n o m i a l Shape F u n c t i o n s

I n the
functions,

present
N (^),
B

method,

four different

types o f

the

shape

have been used f o r comparison and t h e y can be

c l a s s i f i e d a s low o r d e r and h i g h e r o r d e r elements.


2/11

The h i g h e r o r d e r

s t r i p s a r e formed e i t h e r by i n t r o d u c i n g c e n t r e nodes i n a d d i t i o n t o
the

edge

nodes

interpolating

or

higher

parameters.

derivatives
Like

the

of

higher

displacements
order

as

elements i n

o r d i n a r y f i n i t e element a n a l y s i s , such h i g h e r o r d e r s t r i p s a l l o w
c o a r s e r meshes t o be adopted i n the analyses but r e q u i r e
computer s t o r a g e and e f f o r t f o r f o r m u l a t i o n and s o l u t i o n .

more

The shape

f u n c t i o n s used a r e summarized as f o l l o w s :

1)

2 - 0 - 2 low o r d e r elements
S t r a i g h t l i n e w i t h displacement and f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e a t t h e end
nodes ( F i g . 2 . 4 ) :
[N ( ? ) ] = [N ( ? ) , h M ( ? ) , M (?), h N ( ? ) ]
B

3 ?

+2 ?

N 2 (C) = (1 -

N 3 ( ) = 3l 2 ~ 2f3
N 4 ( ? ) = 2 -f )
f = (C , ) / h .
j
j

2)

3-0--3 h i g h o r d e r elements
S t r a i g h t l i n e w i t h displacement, f i r s t and second - d e r i v a t i v e s a t
t h e end nodes ( F i g . 2 . 5 ) :
[N ( ? ) ] = [N ( ? } , h N ( f ) , h X ( f ), N ' C f ) , h N ( ? ) , h
H

N^Cf) = 1 -

J ^

15?4- S f 5

2/12

J o

Nmi
j

N 2 ( ? ) = (1 - 652+ 8 ? 3 - 3? 4 }
N 3 ( ? ) = f 2 ( 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 ? + 1.52- 0 . 5 ? 3 )
N ( O = 10C 3 - 15?4+ 6^5)
4

N5(?) = (- 4?2f 7 f - 3 f )
N (?) = 2 ( 0 . 5 f - f 2 + 0 . 5 f 3 )
6

3)

2 - 1 - 2 h i g h o r d e r elements
S t r a i g h t l i n e w i t h displacement, f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e a t the end
nodes and displacement a t the c e n t r e node ( F i g . 2 . 6 )
[N (?)] = [N (f), h N (?), N (f), N (?), h N (?)]

1
Jl 2
^
j w
N j f ) = 1 - l l f 2 + 1 8 f 3 - 8^4
M2(f) = 5(1 - 4? + 5?2- 2f3)
N 3 ( f ) = 1 6 f 2 - 3 2 5 3 . 16? 4
N ( f ) = -5C 2 + 1 4 f 3 - 6 f 4
4

3f 2 + 2? 3 )

N 5 C?) =

4)

2 - 2 - 2 h i g h o r d e r elements
S t r a i g h t l i n e w i t h displacement, f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e s a t t h e end
and c e n t r e nodes ( F i g . 2 . 7 :
[Nb(?)] = [N^C?), h.N2(f), N3(?)f
( ? = 1 - 23?2+ 66C3- 68f 4 + 2 4 f
( = (1

N (?) = 16l

- 6 ? + 1 3 ? 2 - 12?3+ 4C 4 )

- 32?3+ 16?4

2/13

N5(C), hN^)]

2.4

2 - 0 - 2 low order element

2.5

3 - 0 - 3 h i g h order element

o-

2.6

o
w
c

.74

j+1

j+1

2 - 1 - 2 h i g h order element

4
VT

o
w

W
c

j+1

2 - 2 - 2 h i g h o r d e r element
2/14

2.4

Domain T r a n s f o r m a t i o n b y S u b p a r a m e t r i c T r a n s f o r m a t i o n

I n o r d e r t o model p l a t e s o f geometry o t h e r t h a n t h e r e c t a n g u l a r
shape, v a r i o u s types o f s t r i p s l i k e t h e s k e w " 0
strips

and curved plate

[67]

have been developed and have been proved to be useful

for the analysis of parallelogram and circular plates and sectors.


To extend the present method to arbitrarily shaped plates, the plate
has

to

undergo

domain

transformation

subparametric transformation.

with

the

use

of

the

The essence of the process is that

the arbitrarily shaped plate is mapped from the x-y plane through
twelve chosen nodal point on the boundary into a standard square
plate in the natural coordinate system (see Fig. 2.1).

The standard

finite strip method for a rectangular plate can then be applied.


For convenience of description, let the transformation be
i=12

=T

N.

(2.8)

1 =1 2

:I

where
plate and

N C?,7])y? = Y ( ^ v )

(2.9)

y^) are the coordinates of the ith boundary node of the


( C a r e the cubic serendipity shape functionsC53

given in Table 2b.

as

One can show readily that the twelve nodal

points given in Fig, Z. 1 will be mapped to the corresponding points


in the rectangular domain (C,by s u b s t i t u t i n g s u i t a b l e v a l u e s o f
a n d

i n t o the equations.

2/15

Corner node

- 2

( i = 1,4,7,10)

Mid-side node
(i = 2,3,9,8)

2.,.i 0

5 i ( 1 + ? i ? ) ( 1 ^) ( 1 + 9 V )

M i d - s i d e node
( I = 5,6,11,12)

32U

2%

tj) ( l - f 2 ) (l+9f )
^

) 10]

= 1

..
1 \

,.
1

=+i - = + i
- i

T a b l e 2b - Shape f u n c t i o n s , N., f o r the c u b i c s e r e n d i p i t y element

The J a c o b i a n determinant o f the mapping used I n t h e i n t e g r a t i o n


during transformation i s
X- V

yl

<0aco
ya
jp-

co

Xz

where

(2.10)

(2.11)

(2.12)

df}
2/16

5y

1 =12

dNi
W

(2.13)
15

3
9

the f i r s t and second d e r i v a t i v e s o f x and y o f the


CO

Furthermore,

d e f l e c t i o n o f the p l a t e c o n s t i t u t i n g the geometric and the s t r a i n


matrices i n a b u c k l i n g problem can a l s o be w r i t t e n as d e r i v a t i v e s o f
^ and

7} i n the a n a l y s i s .

The mathematical expression f o r such

r e l a t i o n s are g i v e n as f o l l o w s .

F i r s t d e r i v a t i v e s ([K ] matrix)

a?
dx
a?
By

(ii)

37? 5w
dx
M
3w
dy .

(2.14)

Second d e r i v a t i v e s ([K ] matr ix)

w
<0

dx

w
_
c
fr

w 2

dV

dxdy

>

T) J

where [T ] I s the transformation m a t r i x and i s g i v e n by:

<0

13

2/17

(2.15)

5?
dx

m
dx

[T

a?
ay

"dxdy

3y

dx

a?

dy

5
dx

a?

dV
dx

Uyj

(
ax

dv

5C

dx

3?

fa?]

(dri)

fSv)

ac

dV

dV

dxdx

dV

fair})
te
ay

dV

a7?d

fiQ)

(djl}

^Sydy
"dxdy

8y

dyd^
Bydy

dju
3v

dyd^dy J
dxdy dxdy

(2.16)

and d^/dx. d^/dy, dT]/dx and drj/dy can be obtained by differentiating

eqn (2.8) and (2.9):

ax a?
dg dx

dX dv
dr} dx

(2.17)

SY S

av aji

(2.18)

dri dx

ax a

ax

dri dy

Qv

ay a

(2.19)

SY

(2. 20)

dri dy

and the f o u r equations t o be solved accordingly-

2/18

2. 5

F o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e S t i f f n e s s and Geometric M a t r i c e s

S i n c e t h e d e f l e c t i o n o f each s e c t i o n o f the s t r i p I s o n l y g i v e n
i n terms o f

t h e d e f l e c t i o n parameters o f

t h a t s e c t i o n and

two

a d j a c e n t s e c t i o n s , the s t i f f n e s s a s w e l l a s geometric m a t r i c e s c a n
be o b t a i n e d by c a r r y i n g o u t n u m e r i c a l i n t e g r a t i o n s e c t i o n b y s e c t i o n
f o r each s t r i p .

The s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x f o r each s e c t i o n i s

[B] T [D] [B] I J|dCd7],

(2.21)

where [B] i s t h e s t r a i n m a t r i x a s g i v e n b y eqn (2.15)and [D] is the


property matrix given by

[D]

D
y

0
and

D , D , D
x

and

0
D

xy

are

the

Timoshenko and Woinowsky-Krieger

[2 ]

orthotropic

constants

E t
12(l-y
v E V

v E V

Gt
"12

12(l~v v

2/19

used

by

The geometric m a t r i x f o r each s e c t i o n I s

(2.22)

[G] [cr] [G] |J |

where
[cr]

(cr

cr

cr

a r e the in-plane s t r e s s e s

and their orientation are shown in Fig. 2.8) and

[G] is given by

eqn. (1. 12) and

the

(2.14).

For

the first

part

of

analysis a

uniform state of stress distribution is assumed for the plates and


consequently

[cr] will

Fig. 2.8

be

identical

for

all

the

sections.

Stress constituting the geometric matrix

The integration stated

in eqn. 2.21 and 2.22 are carried out

numerically by the Gaussian Integration and the basic principle and


effect of

the choice

of

integration scheme on

2/20

the

solution are

d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l s i n Chapter 3.

The f o r m u l a t i o n o f the geometric

m a t r i x f o r a s e c t i o n o f a s t r i p i s worked out i n Appendix A2.


f o r the s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x has been determined i n r e f .
w i l l not be i n c l u d e d here.
as s t a t e d i n eqn.

That

[15] and hence

The s o l u t i o n t o the eigenvalue problem

2. 1 i s then obtained by the Subspace I t e r a t i o n

Method and the theory and procedures o f the method are d e s c r i b e d i n


ref.

[47].

Numerical examples o f b u c k l i n g of p l a t e s o f v a r i o u s

shapes and boundary c o n d i t i o n s under uniform loading a r e presented


i n Chapter 4 and 5.

2.6

P l a n e S t r e s s A n a l y s i s f o r B u c k l i n g o f A r b i t r a r i l y Loaded P l a t e s

The assumption made a t the end o f the l a s t s e c t i o n t h a t the


s t r e s s w i t h i n the p l a t e s i s

uniform i n both

the

and

the

T7~direction has r e s t r i c t e d the a n a l y s i s t o p l a t e s under u n i f o r m


u n i a x i a l , b i a x i a l , shear o r i n - p l a n e l o a d i n g a p p l i e d normal t o the
edges o f the p l a t e s .

I n a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n , i t i s v e r y common t h a t

the a p p l i e d l o a d i n g i s non-uniform o r asymmetric which may render


the assumption o f unif or m s t r e s s i n a p p l i c a b l e .

I n order t o c a r r y

out b u c k l i n g a n a l y s i s o f a r b i t r a r i l y loaded p l a t e s , the d i s t r i b u t i o n


o f t h e s t r e s s e s w i t h i n the p l a t e s under such k i n d o f l o a d i n g has t o
be

determined b e f o r e e s t a b l i s h i n g the

geometric m a t r i x .

Thus

i n - p l a n e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s i s c a r r i e d out t o o b t a i n d i r e c t and shear


s t r e s s e s a t the Gaussian p o i n t s o f each s e c t i o n o f the s t r i p and the
[cr] m a t r i c e s w i l l v a r y among t h e s e c t i o n s .

In t h i s section,

t h e o r y behind t h e p l a n e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s i s portrayed.
2/21

the

The t h e o r y

b e h i n d t h e s t a b i l i t y a n a l y s i s can f o l l o w those d e s c r i b e d i n p r e v i o u s
sections.

2.6.1

Displacement F u n c t i o n

The s t r e s s e s w i t h i n t h e p l a t e under t h e a r b i t r a r i l y i n - p l a n e
l o a d i n g a r e determined by s o l v i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g equation
K
where K

[6 ] = {F}
P

(2.22)

and {F} is the stiffness matrix for plane stress and the
The displacement vector [ ] i s g i v e n by

force vector respectively.

t h e d i s p l a c e m e n t u and v i n the x and y d i r e c t i o n r e s p e c t i v e l y and


t h e s t r e s s - s t r a i n r e l a t i o n s h i p i s g i v e n by

Et

vEt
1-p2

1 -v 2
[<r]

pEt

Et
2

1-y

(2.24)

1-p2
Et
2(1+p)

Before carrying out the stress analysis, the plate is mapped

2/22

from the x - y plane


coordinate plane

into

rectangular

domain i n

the n a t u r a l

(7? p l a n e ) by u t i l i z i n g the domain t r a n s f o r m a t i o n

a s d e s c r i b e d i n s e c t i o n 2 . 4 , and the mapped p l a t e i s d i v i d e d i n t o a


number

of

strips

accordingly.

The

interpolation functions of

d i s p l a c e m e n t s o f t h e s t r i p s are g i v e n as a pro duct s o f B - 3 s p l i n e


f u n c t i o n s and p i e c e w i s e polynomials, i . e.

-I

[ $ (7))]

{ 1 =

[$(l5)]

where

[Np(?)]=[()()]
MJ?)

.f

{6 >

N2(f) =

h =s ^
j j+i

= (C " .)/11.,

(2.25)

{a w } T = [{a ) T , (a ) T ^ , ( a ) T , ( a

in

which

II,i

respectively.

and

v, i

are

parameters
^

The s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s ,

described in eqn. (2.5) and

(2. 6).

related

to

and

[(7)) ] will take the form as


The transformation matrix[Tp],

for the strain matrix can be derived from the following equations:

(iil}

^xy

O ( ) + (11) (11) + ()(S, ^

2/23

h e n C e

ul
Vlul

(2.26)

P
i

CO

(2.27)

a?
dy

PIX

[T ]

-y

CO

where

p-ly

CO
o

a?
dx

2.6.2 Modification

There a r e two ways o f s e t t i n g t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n s o f the


p l a t e , I . e.

The l o c a l s p l i n e s a t the ends o f the s t r i p s can be m o d i f i e d t o s u i t


t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n s i n the same way a s the simply-supported case
o f Table 2a.

Mote t h a t separate s p l i n e f u n c t i o n s a r e r e q u i r e d f o r

t h e displacement u and v i f d i f f e r e n t edge c o n d i t i o n s a r e a p p l i e d .


I f the l o a d i n g I s u n i f o r m o r symmetric such t h a t no t r a n s l a t i o n a l o r
rotational

instability i s

induced

to

the

plate,

no

boundary

c o n d i t i o n may be s e t t o the f o u r edges s i n c e e q u i l i b r i u m o f t h e

2/24

p l a t e I s s a t i s f i e d under the a p p l i e d l o a d i n g .

2.6.3

Formulation o f S t i f f n e s s M a t r i x

The

stiffness

matrices

for

the

plane

stress

analysis

Is

f o r m u l a t e d by c a r r y i n g out numerical i n t e g r a t i o n s e c t i o n by s e c t i o n
f o r every s t r i p s .

The equation used can be summarized a s f o l l o w s :

j [ B p ] T [ D p ] [ B p ] J | d ? di]

Kp =

(2.28)

where [D^] I s t h e p r o p e r t y m a t r i x g i v e n by eqn 2.24


J i s the J a c o b i a n (see s e c t i o n 2 . 4 )
[Bp Is the strain matrix defined by eqn 2. 23.
The

resulting

displacements,

and

hence

the

stresses,

can

be

[13]
determined by using the frontal solver method
.

2.6.4

Stability Analysis of Plate

The second stage of the analysis Involved the determination of


the critical buckling load under the stress distribution determined
by the stress.

The governing equations and the formulation of the

stiffness matrix is the same as derived In section 2.5.

The direct

and shear stresses used in constituting the geometric matrix are


selected
analysis.

from

the

corresponding

element

output

of

the

stress

Numerical examples on stability of plates imder various

2/25

a r b i t r a r i l y l o a d i n g are presented i n Chapter 6.

2/26

CHAPTER

V e r i f i c a t i o n and Convergency

3.1

General

Before applying the s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method t o the s t a b i l i t y


a n a l y s i s o f a r b i t r a r i l y shaped and loaded plates,

the s t i f f n e s s

matrices [K s ] and [K p ] e s t a b l i s h e d i n the l a s t chapter are v e r i f i e d


by c a r r y i n g out simple model t e s t i n g .

For the former,

static

problem, o f a p l a t e under l a t e r a l loads are tested and the maximum


d e f l e c t i o n and the
results.

moment are compared w i t h a v a i l a b l e published

The b u c k l i n g a n a l y s i s o f a column under a x i a l compression

I s then considered.

The matrix [K p ] i s v e r i f i e d by comparing the

bending s t r e s s e s obtained from a plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s of a simple


beam model under v e r t i c a l load w i t h that derived from the simple
s t a t i c beam theory.

I n the second p a r t o f the chapter, attempt i s

made f o r the comparison o f the r e s u l t s obtained using d i f f e r e n t


methods o f munerical i n t e g r a t i o n and the influence o f which i s
studied.

The present proposed method i s a l s o tested f o r convergence

by adopting v a r i o u s mesh s i z e s and the scheme o f I n t e g r a t i o n t o be


used i n the a n a l y s i s .

F i n a l l y , the performance o f the low and h i g h

order shape f m i c t i o n s i n terms o f the speed of convergency and the


computing time r e q u i r e d f o r a n a l y s i s a r e discussed.

3/1

3 - 2 V e r i f i c a t i o n o f the M a t r i x [K ]
s

1.

S t a t i c A n a l y s i s o f Thin P l a t e

Clamped and s i m p l y supported square p l a t e under u n i f o r m l a t e r a l


l o a d i n g a r e considered.

A p p l i c a t i o n o f the s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p

method o v e r the s t a t i c a n a l y s i s o f p l a t e s and s h e l l s have been


c o n s i d e r e d i n d e t a i l s by Fan
basic principles of

the

[153

and L i [ 2 5 3

method w i l l

be

and hence o n l y the

described here.

The

g o v e r n i n g e q u a t i o n s o f the problem i s g i v e n by:


[K ] { 8 }
5
B

{F>

(3.1)

where [K s ] a r e the s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x a s d e s c r i b e d i n Chapter 2,


{S } a s g i v e n i n eqn. 2 . 3 ,
6
{F} i s t h e l o a d v e c t o r which i s d e f i n e d as:
ff[ 1 ] ] }
JJ
A
B

[ A] _

_
^

[(] _

[N ] is the shape functions as given in section 2.3.2.

The problems is solved by applying the Frontal Solution Method and


the

moment

of

the

plates

are

determined

by

the

stress-strain

relationship:
{(r} = [M , M , M
x

xy

] = [D] {eh

The maxiimm deflection and moment at the centre and along the edge

3/2

o f the p l a t e s a r e summarized i n Table 3a.


order

elements

yield

satisfactory

Both the h i g h and low

results

when

compared w i t h

c l a s s i c a l s o l u t i o n s s t a t e d i n r e f . [2].

2.

B u c k l i n g o f an a x i a l l y loaded column

The governing d i f f e r e n t i a l equation f o r a pin-ended s t r u t o f


l e n g t h 1 s u b j e c t e d t o a x i a l load, P I s given by
EI Iii
dx 4

dx2

4r

(3.2)

where u i s the displacement normal t o the column a x i s ( x - d i r e c t i o n ) .


By s o l v i n g eqn.

(3.2) and a p p l y i n g the boundary c o n d i t i o n s ,

the

c r i t i c a l b u c k l i n g l o a d i s c a l c u l a t e d t o be
P

cr

2 ^

where n=l, 2,3. . . . etc

The smallest value of P


n=l.

(3*3)

for an equilibrium state is obtained when


2

In which case, P=ir EI/1 and this is commonly referred as the

uer critical load for a pin-ended strut.

In the present method,

the column is treated as a special type of plate with a large aspect


ratio a/b.

Hence, the dimensions a and b are the lengtli and the

width of the column respectively.

The critical buckling load

obtained in terms of the buckling stress


the strut.

<
r

cr

is

applied at the ends of

The results is shown in Table 3b and good accuracy is

achieved.

3/3

0=1,

i
? = 0. 3,

udl = q

displacement = qa /EV
mutllplier for

(i)

moment = qa 2

Simply-supported
Present
Deflection
Deflection
Mx, My aat
Mx,
t centre
centre

Ref.
Ref.

12]

0.04439

0.0443

0. 004801
0
4801

0.0479
.0479

Present

Ref. [2]

0.01379

0.0138

0.02313

0.0230

(ii) Clamped

Deflection
Mx, My at centre

Table 3a

Deflection and maximum moment of a square plate

/ P

cr

1.013

1.016

1.028

1.059

Table 3b

P = Buckling Load
from present method
P

cr

= Euler load

Buckling Load of a pin-ended strut


{ P

cr

=n^I/12 )

3/4

3 . 3 V e r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e M a t r i x [K ]

The

stress

distribution

of

beam

under

bending

action

i s determined w i t h t h e use o f the p l a n e s t r e s s f i n i t e s t r i p method


d e r i v e d I n Chapter 2.

By simple s t a t i c , the governing e q u a t i o n s f o r

t h e bending o f a beam i s g i v e n by
2

d y
EI__ + H = 0
d x

(3.4),

and

<j = M-y/I

(3.5)

The t)6nd.iiig stresses obtained from the spline finite strip mctiioci
and the beam theory for beams under different applied point loads
and

support

conditions are plotted

in

Fig.

3. la

to

Fig.

3. id.

Fairly accurate results can be achieved in all cases for sufficient


fine mesh.

fibre stress a t

-20
0.251

-40

-70
1

b e a m
x

tlieorj

spline ( 1 2 strips)

spliae (8 strips)
spliae (16 strips)

Fig. 3la Simplysupported beam


under two sjminetrie point poads
(fe=d=l, 1=5, P=i0, E=10_
3/5

fibre stress &t 7=-0.4718

4U

fibre atreas at 7=-0.4718

30
-20
-30
-40

40
-60

-30

-70
-80

0.5

-40
1-5

2.5

0.5

spline {8 strips)

2.5

spline8 strips)

spline (16 strips)

;(12 strips)

1.5

spline {12 strips)

F i g . 3.1b S i m p l y - s u p p o r t e d b e a m
under point load a t centre
(b=d=:l, 1=5P=10, = 1 0 0 0 0 }

splineIB strips)

Fig. 3.ic C l a m p e d supported b e a m


u n d e r point load at centre
( b = d = l , 1=5, P = 1 0 , E = 10000)

At soffit
30
25
20
15

10
5

0
-5
-10

15

Fig. 3. Id Plane stress analysis of


clamped beain under point loads
{b=d=l, 1=5, P=i-25, 1=10000)

3/6

3.4

C h o i c e s o f Numerical I n t e g r a t i o n

As t h e f u n c t i o n s i n v o l v e d i n the f o r m u l a t i o n o f the s t i f f n e s s ,
geometric and o t h e r r e l e v a n t m a t r i c e s are o f t e n h i g h l y complex i n
n a t u r e w h i c h render o r d i n a r y I n t e g r a t i o n d i f f i c u l t if not at all
impossible, to be applied, the use of numerical integration plays an
Important

role

in

the

finite

element

method.

Basically,

the

required integrals in the formulation process can be summarized as :

1)

one dimensional : J F(^) d

2)

two d i m e n s i o n a l J G(^,tj) d?d7|, and

3)

three dimensional

These

integrals

are

t) d^dTjdt.

evaluated

numerically

by

the

following

equations:
1)

En

(3.6)

2)
3)

III

t ) d^dTjdt = [

w h e r e a and
and
G

(g
i
and H

tk)

are the weighing factors,

,t 3 are the n selected points at whichthe functions, F,


k!
are

integration.

to be

evaluated

The term En are

respectively during

the

nxomerical

tlie error matrices which in general

are not evaluated aBd for a 2-dimensiona 1 plate problem, only the
second equation of eqn. 3.6 is relevant.

There are in general two

ways o f choosing the n sampling p o i n t s : e i t h e r they are evenly


spaced w i t h i n the
#
integration

range of i n t e g r a t i o n as I n the

[13]
[13]

accuracy as i n the

the two methods and the constants involved (oc^ and

) are given i n

Appendix A3.

I t can be v e r i f i e d that with the same number o f sampling points,


the order o f the polynomial that can be integrated without e r r o r by
using the Gauss Quadrature i s greater than that o f the Newton-Cotes
method and hence makes the use of Gauss Quadrature more a t t r a c t i v e .
Nevertheless,

the Newton-Cotes formula may be e f f i c i e n t i n other

areas o f a p p l i c a t i o n l i k e the non-linear analysis.


type

of

numerical

coefficient f o r

integration
square

should

be

used,

simply-supported p l a t e

To decide which
the

buckling

under b i a x i a l

in-plane loading (4x4 mesh) i s determined with the use o f the two
mentioned numerical i n t e g r a t i o n methods.

The r e s u l t s are tabulated

i n Table 3d and 3e f o r both low and h i g h order elements.

I t can be observed from the tables that the Gaussian Integration


i s more accurate than the Newton-Cotes Integration and the e f f e c t o f
the

choice o f

the

numerical

integration

s i g n i f i c a n t f o r the high order element.

method i s p a r t i c u l a r
When the matrices are

(3x2 pts. 3, the perforroance o f the Newton^Cotes


metliod i s f a r from being s a t i s f a c t o r y .

With the same mimber o f

i n t e g r a t i o n p o i n t s , the accuracy o f the Gauss Quadrature method i s


f a i r l y good even tliough spurious modes can a l s o be observed i n
between the c o r r e c t modes.

Hence i t i s considered that the Gaussian


3/8

Number o f
sampling
points

Table 3d

The f i r s t three k

cr

values

Gauss
Quadrature

Newton-Cotes

2x2

1.768
3.899
4.388

(1, l)1*
(1,2)
(2,1)

2.000
5.009
5.017

(1,1)
(1,2)
(2,1)

3x3

2.000
4.990
4.996

(1,1)
(1,2)
(2,1)

2.001
5.025
5.035

(1,1)
(1,2)
(2,1)

Comparsion between d i f f e r e n t i n t e g r a t i o n

method

order 2 - 0 - 2 element ( r e f . [ 2 ] gives

for

low

5.00 f o r

the lowest two mode)

Number o f
sampling
points

f i r s t s i x ic
Newton-Cotes

Gauss
Quadrature
8 1o 1 1 8

06

9 o 9 6 9 2
3 o 9 o 4 o
L c\34.5.l/5

o 9o
2o 6 5 5 6 9 3 8
o
9 6 7 1 7 8 9 2o 1
o 1
6 7 8 2 3 97 9 8 96

ddddz.CNi

Table 3e

0,0
0,0
0,0
0, 0
0,0
0,0

values and mode shape

2
0
2

2- 001

5. 000
5.061
8. 033
10.000
10. 825

Comparsion between d i f f e r e n t i n t e g r a t i o n method f o r


order 3 - 0 - 3 element ( r e f , [2gives k

cr

high

= 2.00 & 5.00

the lowest two modes}


t tlie
mode shape has a and n no- of half waves in xdi recti on respectively.

3/9

and y-

for

Integration i s more e f f e c t i v e than the Newton-Cotes Integration and


w i l l be used throughout the fore-coming analysis.

3.5

Performance and Convergency Study

A f i n i t e element analysis i s b a s i c a l l y an I d e a l i z a t i o n of an
a c t u a l p h y s i c a l problem i n t o a mechanical d e s c r i p t i o n and then t o
obtain

the

finite

element

solution

of

that

idealization.

Furthermore, i t i s necessary that t h i s s o l u t i o n should converge t o


the a n a l y t i c a l s o l u t i o n as the number of elements increases.

In

t h i s section, the convergency of the present method i s investigated


by studying the buckling o f a rectangular plate, e i t h e r clamped or
simply-supported.

In general,

the rate of convergency and the

accuracy of a f i n i t e element problem are affected by two f a c t o r s :


the

fineness

of

the

i n t e g r a t i o n adopted.

mesh used

and

the

scheme

of

numerical

Their e f f e c t on the convergency o f the r e s u l t s

w i l l be discussed i n the f o l l o w i n g sections.

3.5.1

Schemes o f Integration

The

convergency

of

the

stability

analysis

of

clamped

rectangular p l a t e (6x6 mesh) under b i a x i a l loads are shown Ixi Table


3f.

For the low order 2-0-2 elements, f a s t convergency can be

observed and f a i r l y accurate r e s u l t s


i n t e g r a t i o n scheiae o f 3x3.

can be obtained w i t h an

Further increase i n the nmaber o f

sampling p o i n t s has l i t t l e o r no e f f e c t s on the r e s u l t s .


3/10

In general

2x2 Gaussian points are s u f f i c i e n t f o r low order element.

The same p l a t e model i s tested again w i t h the use o f h i g h order


elements (2-1-2 and 3-0-3) and the r e s u l t s o f the f i r s t s i x buckling
load f a c t o r s and mode shapes are shown i n Table 3g and 3h.

Unlike

the r e s u l t s obtained from low order elements, f a l s e b u c k l i n g modes


w i t h non-zero eigenvalues

and zero displacement of

mode shapes

(denoted by (0,0) i n the tables) can be found among the true modes
when lower Integration scheme (eg. 2x2 and 3x3 Gaussian p o i n t s ) .
The occurrence of such spurious modes i s resulted from the use o f
reduced i n t e g r a t i o n as discussed i n Appendix A3 and i s expected t o
vanish as the number of i n t e g r a t i o n points increases.

By varying

the combinations o f the Gaussian Integration points, i t i s p o s s i b l e


t o determine the lowest i n t e g r a t i o n scheme f o r the type o f shape
f u n c t i o n s used t o eliminate the occurrence of the spurious modes.
The minimum number o f i n t e g r a t i o n points required i s summarized i n
Table 31 together w i t h the order of the p a r t i c u l a r shape f u n c t i o n
and the s t i f f n e s s matrix o f a rectangular plate.

I t can be observed

that an a d d i t i o n a l i n t e g r a t i o n point i s required as the order o f the


shape f u n c t i o n increases by one.

The e f f e c t o f reduced i n t e g r a t i o n to the s t i f f n e s s matrix on


s t a t i c a n a l y s i s o f square p l a t e w i t h

two opposite clamped and

simply-supported p l a t e under uniform l a t e r a l load I s investigated.


I t i s b e l i e v e d that the r e s u l t s may be a f f e ct e d f o r the i n t e g r a t i o n
scheiae

that

create

spurious

modes i n

the s t a b i l i t y a n a l y s i s .

Comparison o f the displaceiaent w i t h other reference

(Table 3j3

r e v e a l s t h a t the accuracy i s poor w i t h reduced i n t e g r a t i o n (2x2


3/11

P l a t e Geometry f o r Table 3 f to 3h :
Clamped Square P l a t e under B i a x i a l Loading
(Lowest buckling load f a c t o r = 5.30 given by r e f . [30])

No of Gauss ism Point of Integration (Mesh: 4x4)

Nth
Buckling

2 x 2

Stress

3 x 3
Mode

8 x

4 x 4

Mode

Mode

Mode

5.37

1,1

5.32

1,1

5.32

1,1

5.32

1,1

9.73

2,1

9.35

2,1

9.35

2,1

9.35

2,1

10. 11

1,2

9.72

1,2

9.72

1,2

9.72

1,2

13.61

2,2

13.19

2,2

13.18

2,2

13. 18

2,2

17.88

3,1

15.82

3,1

15.81

3,1

15.81

3,1

19.64

3,1

17.13

3,1

17.12

1,3

17.12

1,3

Table 3 f Convergency t e s t on scheme of integration (2-0-2 low order)

No of Gaussian Point o f Integration (Mesh:4x4)

Nth

3 x 3

2 x 2

Buckling
Stress

8 x 8

4 x 4

Mode

Mode

Mode

Mode

1.59

0,0

5.32

1,1

5.32

1,1

5.32

1,1

1.61

0,0

9.35

2,1

9.35

2,1

9. 35

2,1

1.62

0,0

9.72

1,2

9, 72

1,2

9.72

1,2

1.63

0,0

13.19

2,2

13.18

2,2

13.18

2,2

5.70

1,1

15.82

3,1

15, 81

3,1

15.81

3,1

6.05

0,0

17.13

1,3

17.12

1,3

17.12

1,3

3
4

Table 3g Convergency t e s t on scheme o f integration (2-1-2 h i g h order}

3/12

No o f Gaussian Point o f Integration (Mesh: 4x43

Nth
Buckling
Stress

2 x 2
k

Mode

8 x 8

4 x 4

3 x 3
Mode

Mode

Mode

1.57

0,0

1.63

0,0

5.32

1,1

5.32

1,1

1.61

0,0

5.32

1,1

9.34

2,1

9.34

2,1

1.70

0,0

6.51

0,0

9.72

1,2

9.72

1,2

2. 16

0,0

8.94

2,1

13. 18

2,2

13.18

2,2

2.22

0,0

9.72

1,2

15.74

3,1

15.74

3,1

5.42

1,1

12.77

2,2

17.04

1,3

17.03

1,3

Table 3h Convergency t e s t on scheme of i n t e g r a t i o n (3-0-3 h i g h order)

Type o f f u n c t i o n

Order of
function

Order o f
[K ]
s

ininimuiB no. of
Gaussian p i s .
2

B-3 spline

2-0-2 low order

2 (4)

2-1-2 h i g h order

3 (5)

3-0-3 h i g h order

10

4 (6)

N o t e ; The f i g u r e

in

bracket

is

the

r e q u i r e d t o i n t e g r a t e without
equals t o t h a t o f

number

error

of

Gaussian

polynomial

of

points
order

[K ] ( i . e .
s

Table 3 i Minimum no. o f Gaussian poi n t s o f i n t e g r a t i o n t o e l i m i n a t e


spurious mode

3/13

Gauss,

p t s . ) f o r high order s t r i p s

but

the accuracy i s

more

s e n s i t i v e to the increase o f the number o f i n t e g r a t i o n p o i n t s than


the buckling analysis.

In practice,

the scheme o f the i n t e g r a t i o n should be chosen

before the buckling analysis to determine the minimiim number o f


i n t e g r a t i o n p o i n t s to be used and consideration should be given
separately f o r the shape functions employed i n both. axes.

Owing to

the p o s s i b l e occurrence o f spurious modes w i t h non-zero eigenvalues


when using high order s t r i p functions,
after

the a n a l y s i s

should a l s o

be

the mode shapes obtained

observed c a r e f u l l y f o r

the

presence of these f a l s e buckling modes.

D = 1,

y = 0. 3,

udl = q

m u t i l p l i e r f o r displacement = qa 4/lOOEt
(2.09 as gi ve n i n r e f .

No. o f Gaussian
points

2-0-2
elements

3-0-3
elements

2-2-2
elements

2 x 2

2.094

3.443

5.430

3 x 2

2.093

2.094

2.095

4 x 2

2.093

2. 094

2.094

8 x 2

2.093

2.094

2.094

Table 3 j E f f e c t o f reduced i n t e g r a t i o n on s t a t i c a n a l y s i s o f
a s - c - s - c p l a t e under i m i f o lateral load

3/14

3. 5 . 2

Mesh Refinement

The e f f e c t o f the mesh s i z e on the b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s i s


studied i n t h i s section.

Square, t r i a n g u l a r and c i r c u l a r p l a t e s o f

d i f f e r e n t edge co n d i ti o n s are inve st igat e d t o t e s t the convergency


o f the method u t i l i z i n g the domain t r a n s f o m a t i o n .
depicted i n Fig.

3.2 t o F i g .

3.4.

The r e s u l t s are

and f a s t convergency can be

observed f o r both the low and high order elements.

For the square

p l a t e good accuracy can be achieved even f o r a mesh s i z e o f 2x2.

In

a l l other cases, a 4x4 mesh i s s u f f i c i e n t t o g i v e comparable r e s u l t s


w i t h the a v a i l a b l e reference.

The r a t e o f convergency f o r the high

order s t r i p s i s i n general f a s t e r than the low order s t r i p s , though


not so s i g n i f i c a n t .

3.6

Computing Time f o r D i f f e r e n t Elements

L i k e the h i g h er order elements i n the normal f i n i t e element


procedure, the h i g h er order s t r i p s a l l o w coaser meshes t o be adopted
i n the analyses and the convergency i s i n general f a s t e r than t h e i r
low order counterparts.

However, the use o f h i g h order elements

i m p l i e s t h a t the number o f v a r i a b l e s involved I n the a n a l y s i s i s


g r e a t e r due t o the a d d i t i o n a l degree of freedom o r the centre nodes,
and hence the computing time and e f f o r t .

The required computer CPU

time f o r a n a l y z i n g the buckling o f a b i a x i a l l y loaded p l a t e i s shown


i n Table 3k and i t should be pointed out that a l l the s o l u t i o n s
obtained fro the examples have a percentage e r r o r of l e s s than one
{see r e f . [30]).

Taking i n t o account o f the r a t e o f coiwergency and


3/15

the time required f o r computing i n t o consideration, the 2 - 1 - 2 high


order element i s a b e t t e r choice o f shape f u n c t i o n than the 3-0-3
elements f o r the f o l l o w i n g reasons
1)

the 2-1-2 elements require less number of integration points to


eliminate the occurrence of the spurious modes,

2)

the required computing time is lesser, and

3)

the rate of convergency Is comparable to the 3-0-3 elements.

,,
Model

CPU time (sec.)


2-0-2

2-1-2

3-0-3

10x10 mesh
5x5 G. pt.

45.5

56.2

73.9

X
Sh
in
iAmrG.pt.
410x10

32. 1

49.3

61-7

R e s u l t s f r o m the buckling o f a biaxial 1 y

1 o a d e d c l a m p e d square plate

Table 3k Computing time for various elements used

3/16

CO

O
iO

0
0X

O
C
0J!

g
<

IS C
S

2 SCCM
CO *
n
2
5 55

w
- oC

V
'

o! o
N

S S
!

T
1
OJt ^
0 0 s

C
O
s

CO

u
>
t3a

X
w

5 I
^-E
^ S
"
w

0
O
C

rnH
n

VQ

s
4
V
Xi

CO

N
^
u
c

q
w
t?
sH ^ 1

OC
O

N
-

o
S
S
I
9
C
%
1
0

o
0

<i>

^ tj 5

p<^
ri
P4.S
5?
SS
3
<
4- > I s
O
U u s
"2
0 CO
m
*^4

1 . 6

2x2

3x3

4x4

6x6

8x8

Mesh Size

Low order

2-1-2

3-0_3

- E e f . [8]

Fig. 3.4 Convergency due to mesh size


clamped circular plate
concentric loading

3/18

CHAPTER 4

B u c k l i n g o f Rectangular P l a t e s

4.1

General

The s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method i s applied t o the s t a b i l i t y


analysis of

rectangular p l a t e s i n t h i s chapter.

The general

procedure o f the method can be summarized as follows


1) The plates in the normal Cartesian coordinates system is mapped
to the natural

coordinate utilizing the domain transformation

as discussed In section 2.4.


2) The

spline functions are modified according

to

the bomdary

conditions of the plates (see section 2.3.2).


3) The mapped square plate is then discretised into a number of
strips with the strips further divided into sections.
4) The stiffness and the geometric matrices are formed section by
section as discussed in section 2.5.

The scheme of integration

is chosen accordiiig to the type of the shape functions used as


recomiiended
matrix,

in

section

a unifo

3.5.1.

stress

In

assembling

distribution

within

the
the

geometric
plate

is

assumed.
5) The Subspace Iteration is employed to obtain, the eigenvalues and
eigenvectors of the problem.

4/1

Numerical examples f o r rectangular p l a t e s under d i f f e r e n t types


o f loading and edge conditions are tested and p l a t e s w i t h v a r i a b l e
thickness are a l s o discussed.

The c r i t i c a l buckling load i s defined

i n terms o f the material and geometrical properties of the p l a t e s as


w e l l as the buckling load f a c t o r , i . e .

12(1-y }

4 . 2 P l a t e s under U n i a x i a l Loading

Square p l a t e s of various boundary conditions are Investigated.


The f i r s t and second buckling c o e f f i c i e n t s are given i n Table 4a and
the r e s u l t s agree favorably w i t h that suggested by r e f . [3].

The

v a r i a t i o n o f the buckling loads w i t h the aspect r a t i o of the p l a t e s


i s a l s o explored.

Results f o r the f i r s t four buckling modes w i t h

the corresponding mode shapes of a clamped p l a t e whose aspect r a t i o


ranges from 0 . 3 t o 4 i s depicted i n F i g . 4.1.

I t can be observed

that the lowest buckling mode f o r p l a t e s of a r e l a t i v e l y smaller


aspect r a t i o i s the simple (1,1)

shape.

As the aspect r a t i o

increases, the r e s u l t s reveal that the p l a t e w i l l buckle Into a


higher mode shape pattern ( I . e . w i t h more points o f contraflexure)
more e a s i l y than the simpliest mode.

4 . 3 P l a t e s under B i a x i a l Loads

The case f o r p l a t e s imder constant r a t i o o f s t r e s s i n the x - and


4/2

length o f the s i d e

Support conditions

Present
1st mode
2nd mode

Ref.
1st mode

[3
2nd mode

S""S

4.00

6.25

4.00

6.25

c-c-c-c

10.08

11.63

10.08

11.93

c-s-c-s

7.70

8.61

7.69

8.60

f-s-s-s

1.40

4.39

1.44

SS

Table 4a. Buckling load factors f o r square p l a t e s under u n i a x i a l load

length of the s i d e

Support conditions

Present
1st mode
2nd mode

Ref.
1st mode

[3
2nd mode
5.00

2. 00

5. 00

2.00

5.31

9.35

5.61

3.83

5.93

3.83

5.92

4.33

7.53

4.31

Table 4b. Buckling load factors for square plates iinder biaxial load
4/3

40 r

u
o
o
30

-P

T5
d
0
O
b

Hc
M
O

PQ

_
_ ^

_
_'_

Aspect r a t i o

F i g . 4.1 Buckling load f a c t o r f o r


p l a t e ( M = number o f h a l f

simply-supported rectangular
waves i n x - d i r e c t i o n ;

o f h a l f waves i n y - d i r e c t i o n ) .

4/4

=
=

y d i r e c t i o n i s investigated f i r s t .
obtained

from

low

order

strips

The buckling c o e f f i c i e n t s
are

given i n

Table

4b

for

simply-supported, clamped and c - s - c - s support conditions and good


accuracy can be achieved when compared to other reference

[8 ]

The

r e l a t i o n of the buckling c o e f f i c i e n t s with the aspect r a t i o are


determined w i t h the use of high order elements and the r e s u l t s are
shown i n F i g . 4.2 and 4.3 f o r clamped and simply supported p l a t e s .
S i m i l a r r e l a t i o n as i n the u n i a x i a l case can be observed but the
buckling loads f o r a l l mode shapes are f a i r l y constant f o r p l a t e s of
aspect r a t i o greater than 2.

P l a t e s under unequal stresses i n the x - and y - d i r e c t i o n can be


analyzed by assuming a constant r a t i o of

i n assembling the

geometric matrix and the buckling loads can be obtained as I n the


usual case.

The case f o r a p l a t e under compressive s t r e s s i n one

d i r e c t i o n and t e n s i l e s t r e s s i n the other can be applied w i t h the


same argument-

The buckling loads f o r a clamped square p l a t e under

such k i n d o f loading i s investigated and the r e s u l t s are depicted


F i g . 4.4 and 4. 5, and again good accuracy can be achieved.

4 . 4 P l a t e s under Shear Loads

Rectangular p l a t e s under pure shear loading are investigated.


The b u c k l i n g shear load f o r plates of d i f f e r e n t types o f boxmdary
c o n s i t i o n s are computed and tabulated i n Table 4c u s i n g the low
order s t r i p s and they
results.

compare f a i r l y w e l l w i t h the published

To i l l u s t r a t e how the p l a t e deforms under the b u c k l i n g


4/5

EiS

fs.

C
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shear, the 1st and 2nd mode shape are a l s o shown i n F i g . 4.5a f o r
the simply-supported case.

The r e l a t i o n between the b u c k l i n g load

f a c t o r and the aspect r a t i o of the p l a t e i s determined by u s i n g the


h i g h order s t r i p s and the r e s u l t s are depicted i n F i g . 4.6 t o 4 . 7
f o r p l a t e s w i t h a mixed type of
f-s-s-s).

edge conditions

(c-s-s-s

and

For both cases, the buckling c o e f f i c i e n t s converge t o a

constant value as the aspect r a t i o Increases and t h i s agree f a i r l y


w e l l w i t h r e f . [31].

The i n t e r a c t i o n curve f o r the buckling load f a c t o r o f a square


p l a t e under combined shear-compression load i s depicted i n F i g . 4 . 8
and 4.9.

The c r i t i c a l shear and a x i a l stresses i n the p l o t are

normalized w i t h respect to the c r i t i c a l buckling stresses under pure


shear, pure u n i a x i a l and b i a x i a l loads respectively.

The r e s u l t s

f u r t h e r confirm the above conclusion.

Table 4c. Buckling load f a c t o r s f o r square plates under shear load

length of the s i d e

Support conditions
-s-

Present
1st mode
2nd mode

Ref. [8]
1st mode
2nd mode

9.33

11.56

9.40

14.66

16. 96

14- 58

12. 58

14.23

12.28

4/8

1st mode shape

2od mode shape

Rg. 4.5a Mode shape of a simpiy-supported sq, plate under pure shear

4/9

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4 . 5 P l a t e o f V a r i a b l e Thickness

The use o f p l a t e of var i a bl e thickness o r s e c t i o n a l properties


i s very common i n a c t u a l construction i n d u s t r i e s due to economic as
w e l l as a e s t h e t i c purposes.

In the context o f the s p l i n e f i n i t e

s t r i p method, p l a t e s of non-uniform cross-section can be coped w i t h


e a s i l y due t o the f a c t that a l l

the matrices involved i n the

analysis

section.

are

formed section

by

To

demonstrate

the

v e r s a t i l i t y of the present method over t h i s area, models o f p l a t e


w i t h v a r i a b l e thickness, e i t h e r varying i n one d i r e c t i o n o r a t the
centre,

are

analyzed.

Various

edge conditions of

the p l a t e s

i n c l u d i n g a mixed type and the presence of a c e n t r a l support have


a l s o been incorporated.

The r e s u l t s are tabulated i n Table 4d Fig.

4.10 and 4.11 and it can be noted that the present method can yield
results fairly

close

to

those given

4/12

in

ref.[8,32].

a = length o f square p l a t e
1 .St

a/2

a/2

t , 1 . 5 t : thickness
cr

t .

Load
Direction

Support conditions

Present

Ref.[8]

5.988

5.988

1.512

1.511

8.512

8.512

2.257

2.255

12.683

12.681

2.584

2.582

s-f-s-s

1.981

1.981

s-f-s-f

1.505

1.505

s-f-s-c

2.349

Z.349

s - s - s - s and
support a t (j

2.275

2.272

s-c-s-c

Table 4d. Values o f

cr

(boundary c o n d i t i o n s are s p e c i f i e d from the top edge i n an


anti-clockwise direction)

4/13

100

kcr

60

40

20

0.5

D2/D1
spline

ref.[32]

Fig. 4.10 Simply-supported sq. plate


Thickness variable a t tlie centre

4/14

1,5

0.25

0.5

spline

0.75

ref.[32]

Fig.
Thickness variable a t the centre

4/15

CHAPTER 5

Buckling of A r b i t r a r i l y Shaped P l a t e s

5.1

General

The

numerical

examples

rectangular i n shape.

discussed i n

Chapter

are

mainly

Although the domain transformation Is s t i l l

a p p l i e d to the analysis,

the advantages of

the transf ormat i o n

cannot be f u l l y demonstrated as a l l the edges are s t r a i g h t and a l l


angles between them are r i g h t angles.

In t h i s chapter, p l a t e s of

more i r r e g u l a r geometry w i l l be Investigated.

The use of the domain

transformation as a powerful t o o l f o r mapping of curved boundaries


t o s t r a i g h t ones i s i l l u s t r a t e d by using c i r c u l a r and e l l i p t i c a l
plates.
over

The v e r s a t i l i t y of the s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method applied


skewed

parallelogram

and

triangular

plates

are

also

demonstrated.

The procedures f o r the analysis o f the a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s


can f o l l o w those as l a i d down i n s e c t i o n 4.1.

The choice of the

p o s i t i o n o f the twelve points i n the x - y plane to define the


bomidaries o f the p l a t e s i n applying the domain transformation may
vary according t o

the

geonictry o f

tb.6 plates

such that

transfornied square can f u l l y represent the o r i g i n a l shapes.


w i l l be discussed i n l a t e r section.

5/1

the

Details

5.2

Parallelogram Plates

The f i r s t t y p e o f a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s t o be d i s c u s s e d i s a
s e t o f skew p l a t e s a s t h e y c a n b e r e g a r d e d a s a s i m p l e m o d i f i e d c a s e
of

the rectangular plates.

The p o i n t s c h o s e n f o r d e f i n i n g t h e

p l a t e s d u r i n g the subparametric transformation a r e s i m i l a r t o the


r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e ( T a b l e 2 a ) and t h e n o d a l p o i n t s o f a t y p i c a l model
made u p b y 6 s t r i p s and 6 s e c t i o n s b e f o r e a n d a f t e r t h e domain
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a r e shown i n F i g . 5 . 1 .

A p a r t f r o m t h e p r e s e n t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n method, a skew p l a t e may


also

be

mapped

to

rectangular

domain

by

other

simple

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a s suggested i n r e f . [ 2 0 ] :
x = a ? + kbi)

%
i
)

y = b7?

(5.1)

A s c a n be seen i n t h e equation t h a t t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s based o n a


l i n e a r r e l a t i o n i n and

(compared t o t h e c u b i c e q u a t i o n s o f t h e

s u b p a r a m e t r i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a s shown i n T a b l e Z a ) .

Owing t o t h e

l i n e a r p r o p e r t i e s o f the transformation, the transformation matrix


a s w e l l a s t h e s t r a i n m a t r i x i n t h e n a t u r a l c o o r d i n a t e s system can
be simplified.

Skew p l a t e s u n d e r s t a t i c l o a d s h a v e b e e n t e s t e d

u s i n g t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e method a n d t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n g i v e n b y
eqn. (5.1) i n r e f .

[20].

The r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e p r e s e n t

s u b p a r a m e t r i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n f o r a s - f - s - f skew p l a t e o f v a r i o u s
skew a n g l e u n d e r p o i n t l o a d a r e compared t o t h o s e g i v e n i n r e f . [20]
a n d [9] I n f i g . 5 . 2 .

The p l a t e s a r e d i v i d e d i n t o t h e same n i M b e r o f

s e c t i o n s a n d s t r i p s (8x6

mesh)

for

5/2

both

method

and i t

rH

a>

-p
0
01

u
c6

.D

-b
6

A
Q
01
<r-t

IN

m
-H
u.

rs

rs
3
a)
u
JX
J

.0

v^-

observed t h a t t h e subparametric transformation g i v e s b e t t e r r e s u l t s ,


a s compared t o t h e s o l u t i o n o b t a i n e d b y Ramstad[ 41 .

B u c k l i n g a n a l y s i s o f p a r a l l e l o g r a m p l a t e s o f skew a n g l e v a r i e s
from 45

t o 75 i s also carried out.

The b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r

v a r i o u s boundary conditions under b i a x i a l loads a r e given i n Table


5 a u s i n g low o r d e r e l e m e n t s .

a = length of the side


0 = skew a n g l e

Support

Skew a a g l e
45

conditions

60

75

A. U n i a x i a l l o a d
Present

10.36

5.93

4.40

Ref.[8

9.08

5.62

4.38

Present

20.76

13.60

10.84

ssss

Present

3.71

2.55

2.12

CCCC

Present

9.96

6.87

5.64

Ref.[8]

9.88

6.85

5.64

-c-c

Biaxial load

Table 5a. Buckling load f a c t o r s f o r parallelogram p l a t e s


2 - 0 - 2 element)

5/4

(low

order

The r e l a t i o n between t h e b u c k l i n g l o a d s and t h e skew a n g l e s f o r


u n i a x i a l l o a d i n g u t i l i z i n g h i g h o r d e r s t r i p s i s shown g r a p h i c a l l y i n
3Fig. 5 . 3 .

N o t e t h a t t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e method s t a r t s t o d e c l i n e

f o r skew a n g l e s m a l l e r t h a n 6 0 .

I t i s believed t h a t a t such sharp

angle, t h e assumption of a uniform s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n around t h e


a c u t e c o r n e r may b e i n v a l i d a n d h e n c e t h e r e s u l t s d e v i a t e .

The 1 s t

a n d 2 n d b u c k l i n g mode s h a p e o f a 4 5 s k e w e d p l a t e s a r e a l s o s h o w n i n
Fig. 5 . 4 f o r reference.

5-3

Triangular Plates

Buckling a n a l y s i s f o r triangular p l a t e s under uniform s t r e s s I s


carried

out.

To

make t h e a n a l y s i s p o s s i b l e ,

t h e geometrical

transformation i s a f f e c t e d by t r e a t i n g each p l a t e a s a degenerated


q u a d r i l a t e r a l b y a s s u m i n g two a d j a c e n t c o r n e r s o f t h e q u a d r i l a t e r a l
t o almost coincide with each other

28]

and t h e d e t a i l s o f

the

transformation a r e depicted i n Fig. 5. 5.

Within t h e analysis,
triangular

plates

equilateral

under

conditions a r e considered.

different

and r i g h t - a n g l e d
combinations

of

isosceles
boundary

The l o a d i n g i s a p p l i e d n o r m a l t o t h e

t h r e e e d g e s a s shown i n F i g . 5 . 6 .

The b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r low

a n d h i g h o r d e r s t r i p s a s w e l l a s t h e mode s h a p e s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n
Table 5 b and Fig. 5 . 7 - 5.8.
b e obtained.

I n general, satisfactory r e s u l t s can

S i m i l a r t o t h e skew p l a t e s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e l a s t

section, t h e accuracy of the triangular p l a t e s with sharp angle I s


n o t a s good a s t h o s e w i t h l a r g e r a n g l e ( t h e v a l u e s w i t h i

5/5

> 3 of

Joljsn

M.JS

fnasld tln;vIMo

squs

\s

OJ

(sop)JgTlm
09

O
C
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2

ci W
TP

O
O
C3

IQ

uoJtoIJfp

t
s

0 i > s

taiap

onbfnxlQa)uorJlaulJOJSUBJ

09

2/

tlijd

Imol

onc3

1 s t mode shape

3-3
2nd mode shape -

F i g . 5 . 4 B u c k l i n g mode shape o f
a clam ped skewed p l a t e

5/7

-kJ

oWBId

oo/s

( o

JdTn CBIJ

14 r

&

:
0

r.

r
o

Geometry

Present

1 s t mode
2nd mode

.00

1 s t mode
2nd mode

11. 15
18.43

11.20

1 s t mode
2nd mode

96
14 87

20

1 s t mode
2nd mode

00
10 04

5.00

1 s t mode
2nd mode

14. 22
21.29

14.29

1 s t mode
2nd mode

9.36
15.84

,42

1 s t mode
Znd mode

7.82
13.71

7.87

1 s t mode
Z n d mode

10 . 44
17.31

10.74

,34

2 8
8 7
&
csi
1

1 s t mode
Z n d mode

clamped

R e f . [8]

18.52

,82

simply-supported

T a b l e 5b- B u c k l i n g l o a d f a c t o r s f o r t r i a n g u l a r p l a t e s

5/9

r
o
f

1
t

c
e
s

1
V

e
r
p

so
a
e
r

es
t.
a
1
p

a
r
o
o
o
T
x
e

5.4

e
h
t

r
o

_i

a
00
r
a
p

i
F

Fig. 5.6

Triangllar p l a t e s subjected t o uniform s t r e s s e s

Buckling o f Circular and Elliptical Plates

The s t a b i l i t y o f c i r c u l a r p l a t e s u n d e r c o n c e n t r i c l o a d s a r e
investigated i n t h i s chapter.

This i s t h e f i r s t time i n t h e p r e s e n t

method t o apply t h e subparametric transformation t o a r b i t r a r i l y


shaped p l a t e s w i t h curved edges.

The n o d e s o f t h e c u b i c S e r e n d i p i t y

elements a r e s o chosen t h a t they l i e e q u a l l y on t h e circumference o f


the

circle.

The

layout

of

the

mesh

before

and

after

the

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s shown i n F i g . 5 . 9 a n d t h e d o m a i n t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
c a n b e p r o v e d t o b e a n e f f e c t i v e mapping t o t a c k l e w i t h p l a t e s o f
curved boundaries.

The b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r

clamped and

s i m p l y - s u p p o r t e d p l a t e s a r e determined and p l o t t e d i n T a b l e 5 c .

The

solution using high order s t r i p s a r e also given alongside f o r


comparison.
high order

I t i s worth mentioning t h a t accurate r e s u l t s f o r t h e


elements

integrations.

can only be

achieved i n

lower

scheme

of

T h e e f f e c t o f v a r i a t i o n o f t h e number o f G a u s s i a n

5/10

CPJ-E .n
)admlx

dmjsopoui pug

odeijs

Il/S

crtslxs's,3PJO

salaosogj

Iulqco

snds
**4

02

^
jo

2rH/s

p o i n t s o f i n t e g r a t i o n on the b u c k l i n g l o a d i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g .
5 . 10.

The good a c c u r a c y o f t h e 2 - 0 - 2 l o w o r d e r s t r i p i s v i r t u a l l y

u n a f f e c t e d by the v a r i a t i o n .

F o r t h e h i g h o r d e r elements, r e s u l t s

s t a r t s t o d i v e r g e a s t h e number o f i n t e g r a t i o n p o i n t s i n c r e a s e f r o m
three.

T h i s phenomenon i s r a t h e r u n u s u a l a s t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e

results

normally

Increases.

improves

as

the

number

of

integration points

Hence, I t i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s h o u l d

b e made i n o r d e r t o a c c o u n t f o r t h i s a b n o r m a l b e h a v i o u r .

The s e c o n d s e t o f c u r v e d p l a t e s p r e s e n t e d i s t h e e l l i p t i c a l
plates.
natural

To e n s u r e t h a t t h e e l l i p s e i s mapped c o r r e c t l y t o t h e
coordinates plane,

the

corner

nodes o f

the Serendipity

f u n c t i o n a r e chosen t o be t h e f o u r extreme p o i n t s o f t h e e l l i p s e ,
i . e . a t x = a a n d y = b ( s e e F i g . 5 . 1 1 ) .

The b u c k l i n g s t r e s s e s o f

clamped e l l i p t i c a l p l a t e s a r e computed.

The v a r i a t i o n s o f

the

b u c k l i n g load f a c t o r w i t h t h e aspect r a t i o s (major axis/minor a x i s )


a r e shown I n F i g . 5 . 1 2 .

Comparison o f t h e p r e s e n t r e s u l t s t o t h o s e

o b t a i n e d b y W o i n o w s k y - K r e i g e r [1

indicates that f a i r l y accurate

r e s u l t s a r e o b t a i n e d f o r low and h i g h o r d e r s t r i p s f o r e l l i p t i c a l
p l a t e s of r e l a t i v e l y smaller aspect r a t i o

^ 2).

For l a r g e r

P - v a l u e s , t h e p r e s e n t method a p p e a r s t o b e n o t a s e f f e c t i v e .

5/13

Support conditions

Present

simplysupported

clamped

Ref,[8]

2-0-2

2-1-2

3-0-3

,426

0.427

429

426

1.489

1.488

1.487

1.490

T a b l e 5 c . B u c k l i n g l o a d f a c t o r s f o r c i r c u l a r p l a t e s (6x6 mesh)

ref. [ 8 ]

2-0-2

2-1-2

3-0-3

E l e m e n t u s e d (XG.pt c o n s t a n t )
Z Y-G.pt

3 Y-G.pt

5 Y-G.pt

8 Y-G.pt

Fig. 5.10 Effect of integration scheme


on buckling of simply-supported
circular plates

5/14

r-i

c6

U
3

G
aS
U

-->

\
IN

a/b
ref. [i]

2 - 0 - 2 element

2 - 1 - 2 element

3 - 0 - 3 element

Fig. 5.12 Clamped elliptical plates


Buckling load factor vs aspect ratio
(6x6 mesh with 3x3 Gauss, pts.)

5/16

CHAPTER 6

B u c k l i n g o f P l a t e s under A r b i t r a r y Loading

6.1

General

I n t h e p r e v i o u s two c h a p t e r s , a l l t h e examples a r e a n a l y z e d w i t h
t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e p l a t e s a r e under a u n i f o r m s t a t e o f s t r e s s
Induced b y the loading.

A s mentioned i n s e c t i o n 2.6 i t i s v e r y

common t h a t n o n - u n i f o r m s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n i s e n c o u n t e r e d i n a c t u a l
situation.

I n o r d e r t o a p p l y t h e p r e s e n t method t o t h e s t a b i l i t y o f

p l a t e s under a r b i t r a r y loading,

a plane s t r e s s analysis has t o be

c a r r i e d o u t f i r s t a n d t h e g e n e r a l p r o c e d u r e o f t h e method c a n b e
summarized a s f o l l o w s :

1)

Domain t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i s c a r r i e d o u t a s s t a t e d i n s t e p

1 of

section 2.4.
2 ) A plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s i s carried out t o determine t h e s t r e s s
d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h i n t h e p l a t e under t h e a r b i t r a r y loading.
3 ) The s t i f f n e s s m a t r i x i s formeda s u s u a l .
4 ) The g e o m e t r i c m a t r i x i s formulated w i t h t h e c o n s t a n t s t r e s s e s
assumed i n t h e p r e v i o u s chapter r e p l a c e d b y t h o s e

taken from t h e

corresponding element i n t h e s t r e s s analysis.


5)

T h e b u c k l i n g s t r e s s a n d t h e b u c k l i n g modes a r e o b t a i n e d b y
s o l v i n g t h e e i g e n v a l u e problem a s discussed previously.

6/1

Rectangular

plates

of

different

boundary

conditions

under

v a r i o u s non-uniform In-plane loading a r e u t i l i z e d t o demonstrate t h e


v e r s a t i l i t y a n d a c c u r a c y o f t h e method.

Special attention i s also

g i v e n t o the l o c a l b u c k l i n g behaviour o f p l a t e s w i t h l a r g e aspect


r a t i o under p a r t i a l compressive loads.
i n

terms o f

The b u c k l i n g l o a d s a r e g i v e n

the buckling coefficients

cr

f o l l o w i n g forms

En

(I)

12(1-

(ii)

(iii)

where cr

cr

Et
C

, N

c r

and P

(6.1)

12(lV)
a r e the c r i t i c a l buckling s t r e s s e s and load

respectively.

6.2

Convergency Test

The c o n v e r g e n c y o f t h e combined method o f s t r e s s a n d b u c k l i n g


a n a l y s i s i s t e s t e d b y using a simply-supported trapezoidal p l a t e
under an arbitrary load pattern i n the y-direction.

The r e l a t i o n

between t h e buckling load c o e f f i c i e n t s obtained and t h e meshes used


a r e plotted i n Fig.

6.1.

I t can b e observed t h a t t h e r e s u l t s

c o n v e r g e s a s t h e number o f s t r i p s u s e d i n t h e a n a l y s i s i n c r e a s e s and
a mesh o f 4 x 8 e l e m e n t s i s s u f f i c i e n t f o r a n a c c u r a t e r e s u l t .

6/2

3.8 -

3.6

TX
/
3.4

3.2
0

iO

12

14

16

no. of s e c t i o n s i n strips
present

Fig. 6.1 Convergency on mesh fineness


Simply-supported trapezoidal plate
(4 no. of strips used in model)

Figure 6.2

Loading Pattern f o r L i n e a r l y Varying S t r e s s

6/3

6. 3

Rectangular P l a t e s under Linearly-varying S t r e s s

B u c k l i n g o f r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e s o f d i f f e r e n t aspect r a t i o under
l i n e a r l y - v a r y i n g s t r e s s are c a r r i e d out.

The l o a d i n g p a t t e r n I s

shown o n F i g . 6 . 2 a n d i s symmetric above t h e 7}-axis.


of

F o r the case

<7^= 0 a n d 0^= cr, t h e p r o b l e m r e d u c e s t o a p l a t e under t r i a n g u l a r

stress

and

may

simulate

hydrostatic

pressure

considered

i n

the

(s=simply-supported,
analysis,

at

the
the

effect
edges.

analysis

are

c=clamped).

of

vertical
The

plates

boundary

s-s-s-s

under

conditions

and

c-s-c-s

I n performing the plane s t r e s s

a c o n v e n i e n t magnitude o f l o a d i n g i s u s e d a n d t h e t r u e

b u c k l i n g l o a d i s d e t e r m i n e d b y m u l t i p l y i n g t h e presumed l o a d i n g b y
t h e e i g e n v a l u e s o b t a i n e d ( t h i s method a p p l i e s t o a l l t h e examples
l i s t e d i n t h i s section).

The r e s u l t s a r e p l o t t e d i n F i g . 6 . 3 a n d

F i g . 6 . 4 a n d t h e y compare f a i r l y w e l l t o t h o s e p u b l i s h e d b y o t h e r
investigators.

The s e c o n d example o f l i n e a r l y - v a r y i n g l o a d i n g t o b e d i s c u s s e d
I s r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e s under bending s t r e s s .

This i s the case f o r

cr = -cr a n d cr = cr w i t h t h e n e u t r a l a x i s l y i n g i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e
1

plate.

The c r i t i c a l b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t k v e r s u s t h e a s p e c t r a t i o

i s p l o t t e d f o r b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f s - s - s - s c and

Again

g o o d a c c u r a c y i s o b t a i n e d a s i n d i c a t e d i n F i g . 6 . 5 and F i g . 6 . 6 .

The r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d f o r l i n e a r l y - v a r y i n g l o a d s r e v e a l a t r e n d
of

the buckling load coefficients

common t o a l l e x a m p l e s .

The

l o w e s t b u c k l i n g mode w i l l change f r o m t h e s i m p l e s t ( 1 , 1 ) s h a p e t o
t h e ( 2 , 1 ) a n d ( 3 , 1 ) mode a s t h e a s p e c t r a t i o i n c r e a s e s .
6/4

The c a s e i s

O
FL

Cft
C

ff5

O1
tJ
O

O
L
D

.SO
5 C
S Y
:2 O
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^ lM
CQ

5
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TU) 5
C 2
-N _ C

in
\
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f
l

0)
T?
D
0

Q
C

S
5
^
X?
S

WD^
-2
1 1
O
T! ^
-S

0 S ^
Ck J3

If I



1 u S,
J
A
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g atD
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c -r-t s
a. C2

.5 c ^

D
K

CD

m
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u

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K! cj

S H

'H
m,

O
C3
5 C
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. 2

O"
v
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^ O S.
D
5 pC
5
-T!
C
D 05
.F
R S S

Tj

V
D

0
X?

J"T O
S M
'A
O
C

S
4)

V4

iO

C^
TS O
FEFIC
i? * sc
1
1xj
* 1
Q .
w
S

1FT>A
2? ^ 2
UIS-S
. F-S
1
ID

<
o

FEIJ
#*4
1
;

v e r y easy t o observe i n F i g . 6 . 4 t o 6.6 a s there i s

a point of

c o n t r a f l e x u r e a t a s p e c t r a t i o a r o u n d one b u t n o t f o r F i g . 6 . 3 a t
which

the

transition

takes

relatively

smoother

path.

This

b e h a v i o u r c a n a l s o be f o u n d i n r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e s u n d e r u n i f o m
a x i a l l o a d i n g (see F i g . 4 . 1 t o 4.3).

As the aspect r a t i o increases

further,

approaches

the

buckling coefficient

a fairly

constant

value.

The

interaction

simplysupported
stress

i s

curve

for

square p l a t e

depicted i n

Fig.

the

buckling

under

6.7.

load

combined
The

factor

shear

critical

and

of

bending

stresses

are

normalized w i t h respect t o the b u c k l i n g s t r e s s e s under pure shear


and

pure

b u c k l i n 0g

bending

loads

coefficient

respectively t o

ratio

(i.e.

cr /<r
e

obtain
c r

and

dimensjlonless
t /t

c r

The

s a t i s f a c t o r y r e s u l t s obtained f u r t h e r confirm t h e accuracy o f t h e


p r e s e n t method.
normalized bending stress

0,4

0.4
normalized shear stress

spline

ref. [8

Fig. 6.7 Simply-supported plate under


combmed

shear and bending stresses


6/7

6.4

P a r t i a l l y Loaded P l a t e s

Two

sets of partially

program.

The

first

set

loaded p l a t e s a r e used t o

test

is

different

rectangular

plates

of

the

a s y m m e t r i c u n i a x i a l l o a d s above t h e g - a x i s w i t h t h e e d g e s o f t h e
p l a t e s e i t h e r s i m p l y - s u p p o r t e d o r clamped.

The c r i t i c a l b u c k l i n g

s t r e s s a r e obtained f o r various aspect r a t i o s


r e s u l t s p l o t t e d i n F i g . 6 . 8 and F i g . 6 . 9 .
r e s u l t s c a n be obtained.

= a/b) and the

For both cases, accurate

Both o f the load patterns r e v e a l t h a t the

b u c k l i n g c o e f f i c i e n t s converge t o a c o n s t a n t v a l u e a s t h e a s p e c t
r a t i o i n c r e a s e s and t h e problem w i l l t h e n approach t h e c a s e o f
b u c k l i n g o f a column o f l e n g t h a under compressive a x i a l l o a d .

The s e c o n d s e t i s p l a t e s under u n i f o r m u n i a x i a l l o a d s o f v a r y i n g
length.

The p r o b l e m I s r e d u c e d t o t h e c a s e o f p l a t e s u n d e r p o i n t

compression l o a d f o r a loaded length equals zero.

Square p l a t e s o f

v a r i o u s boundary c o n d i t i o n s : s - s - s - s , s - c - s - c , c - s - c - s and c - c - c - c
a r e considered w i t h length o f u n i a x i a l loads v a r i e d from zero t o the
length o f the s i d e o f the plates.
factor,

Graphs o f c r i t i c a l b u c k l i n g l o a d

cr

6 . 10 t o F i g . 6 . 13.

The b u c k l i n g l o a d i n c r e a s e s m o n o t o n i c a l l y w i t h

t h e l o a d e d l e n g t h and t h e r e s u l t s compare w e l l w i t h t h a t g i v e n I n
r e f . [8].

6.5

L o c a l B u c k l i n g o f Long P l a t e

The s t a b i l i t y o f a s q u a r e

plate

6/8

under

point

loads

has

been

&

%
S
"S,

s
H

.
T

.
U

>
-
&

0
"T
^
u
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1

cj

OLi -p

I;
-S
3
G
)
^
^
^

^
I!

X
^
O-

O
C
E

O
C

o
CD

O
t/i

O
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\

V
O

15
C
5
C
r*-*
-

C
3
59 .
D

>

I
I

C
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^
- ^
^
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C
A
CW
^ K
>
Q
M
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KA

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O
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rA

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->4

o
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U<
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xr

O "O

T3 Q
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V
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FE

discussed i n the previous section.

I t i s a n t i c i p a t e d t h a t when one

o f t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e p l a t e becomes l a r g e enough,
b e h a v i o u r w i l l change f r o m a g l o b a l t o a l o c a l t y p e .

the b u c k l i n g

Local buckling

o f s t r u c t u r e s may happen t o t h e webs o f a b o x - g i r d e r b r i d g e , l o n g


o i l

transporting

loading.

tubes

and a i r c r a f t

components

under

localized

To i n v e s t i g a t e t h i s e f f e c t , a s e r i e s o f p l a t e s o f v a r i o u s

b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s w i t h a s p e c t r a t i o r a n g i n g f r o m 0 . 6 t o 100 h a v e
been tested.

When t h e edges o f t h e p l a t e g e t f u r t h e r away f r o m t h e

p o i n t l o a d a t t h e c e n t r e , t h e u s u a l way o f d i v i d i n g t h e p l a t e i n
equal

strips

becomes

inappropriate

because

the

actual

stress

d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h i n t h e p l a t e cannot be t r u l y d e t e r m i n e d due t o s u c h
w i d e a p a r t elements i n the s t r e s s analysis.

Hence t h e mesh I s f i n e r

a t t h e v i n c i n i t y o f t h e p o i n t l o a d and u n e q u a l s p l i n e s t r i p s may be
used.

The b u c k l i n g l o a d v e r s u s t h e a s p e c t r a t i o f o r a s i m p l y - s u p p o r t e d
p l a t e I s p l o t t e d i n F i g . 6. 14.

I t can be observed t h a t t h e

c o n v e r g e s t o a c o n s t a n t f i g u r e f o r p=2 and onwards.

The g r a p h f o r

s - f - s - f p l a t e s u n d e r i d e n t i c a l arrangement o f l o a d i n g a l s o r e v e a l s
t h e same phenomenon a t t h e same v a l u e o f p (see F i g . 6. 15) d e s p i t e
the f a c t that the
f o r p < 2.

Thus i t i s apparent t h a t t h e b u c k l i n g behaviour a r e no

l o n g e r a f f e c t e d Tby t h e boundary c o n d i t i o n a t th u n l o a d e d e d g e s j i d
l o c a l b u c k l i n g w i t h i n t h e l o n g s t r i p commences.

A n o t h e r way t o i n d i c a t e t h e p r e s e n c e o f l o c a l b u c k l i n g modes i s
t o p l o t t h e d e f l e c t i o n o f t h e buckled p l a t e s

mode s h a p e )

a l o n g t h e l o n g e r s i d e a , i n t h e ? - a x i s ( F i g . 6.16 t o 6.19).
6/12

It c a n

yuQd

(suonlpuoo
.spun

II

OJ^SO30
d'rqs

ft
CD

nT/9

{pfi>VIOddI\s-x{dmlps
9J)XIoo
dlis

pw
s
Jco
odcslls
0

opoul

<UPJ Mflo^ WUOJfi

jjboi
b jo

-ISIP

Qs

^1/9

Muon

o5

^tfojl-VCJOd
a
jo

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ISBOI
B

^vfitrn

Mco^Mflo-S*s.sp

sro

flonsuaTJ

q
O

3-o*saofeuol-

9S

be seen t h a t the maximum d e f l e c t i o n and the d e f l e c t e d geometry of


t h e p l a t e s f o r 3 = 3,

4 and

10 a r e i d e n t i c a l within a length of

about 3 u n i t s above the centre.


along the r e s t of t h e p l a t e .

No displacement can be observed

Since no energy i s contributed by t h i s

p o r t i o n of the p l a t e s due t o zero displacement, the buckling load


remains

the

same

value

as

the

strip

lengthens.

The

stress

d i s t r i b u t i o n f o r |3 = 3 5 and 10 under the compression load i s a l s o


p l o t t e d i n Fig. 6.20 t o 6.22. The graph shows t h a t the magnitude of
cry diminishes within approximately the same region a s the d e f l e c t e d
mode shape and t h i s confirms once again with the aforementioned.

P l a t e s of aspect r a t i o larger than 20 have been t e s t e d but the


accuracy of t h e c r i t i c a l buckling load s t a r t s t o decline.

It is

expected t h a t once t h e l o c a l buckling phenomenon commences,

the

buckling load should remain constant regardless of the increase i n


t h e length of t h e p l a t e .

The e r r o r obtained i n the a n a l y s i s f o r

v e r y long s t r i p s i s due t o inadequate fineness of the mesh, around


t h e region where t h e point load i s applied and consequently t h e
a c t u a l s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n within the p l a t e s cannot be c o r r e c t l y
determined.

This e f f e c t i s demonstrated i n Table 6a where t h r e e

4x10 meshes of d i f f e r e n t fineness near the application point of t h e


loading a r e t e s t e d and t h e b e t t e r accuracy of t h e f i n e s t mesh near
t h e p o i n t load ( i . e . mesh 1) over the other two i s obvious.
p l a t e s with aspect r a t i o g r e a t e r than 20,

For

even the f i n e s t mesh

y i e l d s unacceptably poor r e s u l t but i t i s expected t h a t i f t h e


number of s t r i p s i s s u f f i c i e n t and the computer can handle such a
large

mesh,

the results

can be

improved.

On conclusion,

the

adecjuacy of the mesh around the loaded area, stiould. be c a r e f u l l y


6/15

considered before carrying out the s t r e s s analysis such t h a t the


s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n within the p l a t e can be c o r r e c t l y determined and
t h e buckling mode shapes can be s u f f i c i e n t l y represented by t h e
nodal p o i n t s of t h e model.

d i s t . a l o n g l o n g <ige

aspect ratio = 3

Fig. 6.20 Stress distribution


SSSS long strip

6/16

d i s t . a l o n g l o n g edge
x

aspect ratio = 5

Fig. 6.21 Stress distribution


SSSS long strip

d i s t . a l o n g l o n g ed g e
O

a s p e c t r a t i o = 10

Fig. 6.22 Stress distribution


SSSS long strip

6/17

mesh

(not e

mesh 2

mesh 3

4 no. o f sections are used f o r a l l s t r i p s )

4.59 f o r Ref. [8] }


Aspect Ratio
mesh 1

mesh 2

mesh 3

4.47

.42

4.61

10

4.43

.72

6. 15

15

4.51

.39

8.02

20

4.70

.25

10.01

50

7.22

100

12. 60

Table 6a. Buckling load f a c t o r s f o r SSSS long p l a t e s under


d i f f e r e n t mesh fineness

6/18

CHAPTER 7

C o n c l u s i o n s a n d RecoimBendations

7 . 1

Conclusions

The s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method has been s u c c e s s f u l l y a p p l i e d t o


t h e l i n e a r buckling problem of a r b i t r a r i l y shaped and loaded p l a t e s
u s i n g low and high order elements.

The i r r e g u l a r p l a t e s In t h e x - y

domain i s

square p l a t e

mapped

to

standard

in

the

natural

coordinate system by t h e subparametric t r a n s f ormation with t h e use


of t h e cubic S e r e n d i p i t y shape functions.

The usual procedures of

t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method a r e then applied on t h e transformed


plates

to

obtain

subparamet r i e

the

buckling

transformation

loads

as

and

mode

powerful

tool

shapes.
for

The
domain

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n over various p l a t e geometry i s demonstrated (see Fig.


5.15.5, 5.9

and 5.10)

and i t s b e t t e r accuracy over o t h e r type of

transformation i s v e r i f i e d by using t h e s t a t i c a n a l y s i s of a skewed


p l a t e a s an example (Fig. 5 , 2 ) .

Convergency t e s t s f o r

the present

method a r e

performed by

v a r y i n g t h e s i z e of t h e mesh and t h e scheme of numerical I n t e g r a t i o n


and f a s t convergence f o r both t h e low and high order elements I s
observed.

The

performance i n

terms of

the

accuracy

and

the

computing time i s compared f o r d i f f e r e n t types of shape f u n c t i o n s


used.

The e f f e c t of t h e scheme of numerical i n t e g r a t i o n on t h e

7/1

results

is

also

studied

and i t

was

discovered

that

reduced

i n t e g r a t i o n may cause the occurrence of spurious mode shapes among


t h e t r u e modes f o r higher order elements.

The minimum numbers of

i n t e g r a t i o n p o i n t s f o r various shape functions a r e worked out (Table


3 i ) and i t i s recommended t h a t the suggested schemes of i n t e g r a t i o n
should be used t o eliminate the possible occurrence of the spurious
mode shapes.

The buckling a n a l y s i s of rectangular p l a t e s under uniform a x i a l


and shear s t r e s s e s i s investigated.

The edge conditions a r e e i t h e r

simply-supported, clamped or of a mixed type and the r e s u l t s f o r low


and high order elements agree favourably with the published r e s u l t s .
The study of t h e a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s are then performed.

The

accuracy of the method can be demonstrated f o r most of the examples


quoted including s t r a i g h t edged

(skewed and t r i a n g u l a r )

curved-sided ( c i r c u l a r and e l l i p t i c a l ) p l a t e s .

and t h e

The v e r s a t i l i t y of

t h e domain transformation technique over t h i s area i s a l s o v e r i f i e d .


Nevertheless,

there

are

certain

limitations

p r e s e n t method t o a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s .
domain

transformation

twelve-points

adopted

subparametric

in

mapping

this

when

applying

F i r s t of a l l ,

thesis

utilizing

(section 2 . 4 )

can

the
the
the

only be

s a t i s f a c t o r i l y applied t o p l a t e s whose geometry can be c l e a r l y


d e f i n e d by t h e twelve nodal points (see Table 2b}.

In o t h e r words,

t h e term " a r b i t r a r i l y shaped p l a t e s ' i s t o a c e r t a i n extent not a s


t r u e a s "the meaning of th6 words implies.

Secondly, the accuracy o f

t h e p r e s e n t method when applying t o p l a t e s with sharp corners/angles


(i.e.

skew and t r i a n g u l a r p l a t e s ) i s not as good a s t h e other

7/2

examples l i s t e d i n the t h e s i s .

The performance of the method i s

a l s o not s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r e l l i p t i c a l p l a t e s of aspect r a t i o g r e a t e r
t h a n 2.

The incorporation of the plane s t r e s s analysis i s proved i n the


t h e s i s t o be e f f e c t i v e i n solving s t a b i l i t y problems of a r b i t r a r i l y
loaded p l a t e s .

Various types of a r b i t r a r y loads such a s p a r t i a l and

l i n e a r - v a r y i n g loading have been considered.

The local buckling

behaviour of long p l a t e s under concentrated loading a t the c e n t r e i s


a l s o discussed.

For the examples used i n the t h e s i s , local buckling

commences a t an aspect r a t i o between 2 t o 3 and no v a r i a t i o n i n the


buckling load and t h e mode shapes can be observed a s the aspect
r a t i o increases.

I t i s a l s o found t h a t the accuracy of the r e s u l t s

i s g r e a t l y a f f e c t e d by the fineness of the mesh used i n the s t r e s s


a n a l y s i s near the applied point load.

Unequal meshes with more

elements located near the loaded area i s recommended i n order t o


o b t a i n the a c t u a l s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n within the p l a t e and t h e mode
shapes r e s u l t e d I n l o c a l buckling can. be s a t i s f a c t o r i l y represented
by s u f f i c i e n t nodal points.

To conclude, t h e s p l i n e f i n i t e s t r i p method transformation I s


proved t o be an e f f e c t i v e , e f f i c i e n t a s well a s v e r s a t i l e t o o l f o r
s t a b i l i t y problems of p l a t e s .

With the use of t h e subparametric

transformation and t h e application of the plane s t r e s s a n a l y s i s , t h e


buckling
conditions

of

plates

with

and a r b i t r a r y

irregular
loads

can

accuracy.

7/3

geometry,
now be

mixed

boiiBdary

analyzed with

good

7 . 2

Recommendations f o r F u r t h e r Study

Research work over the application of the spline f i n i t e s t r i p


method and t h e domain transformation f o r s t r u c t u r a l a n a l y s i s have
been done by numerous authors on the s t a t i c and v i b r a t i o n of p l a t e s
and s h e l l s .
quite

References on the s t a b i l i t y analysis are nevertheless

limited.

The present t h e s i s covers the area of e l a s t i c

s t a b i l i t y of t h i n p l a t e s only and there a r e other areas i n t h i s


f i e l d which worth paying a t t e n t i o n to.

F i r s t of a l l , i n addition t o the various geometry of the p l a t e s


s t u d i e d i n the t h e s i s , the buckling of perforated p l a t e s with square
o r c i r c u l a r openings could be investigated.

In a c t u a l p r a c t i c e ,

openings a r e f r e q u e n t l y c a s t i n wall s t r u c t u r e s f o r a e s t h e t i c s
purposes and hence t h e i r s t r u c t u r a l behaviour under In-plane loading
i s a t o p i c worth considering.

S t r e s s analysis f o r the p l a t e I s

recommended t o determine the s t r e s s d i s t r i b u t i o n within the p l a t e ,


e s p e c i a l l y around the corners of the opening.

In view of

the

s a t i s f a c t o r y r e s u l t s presented i n the present works on p l a t e s , i t s


e x t e n s i o n t o t h e s t a b i l i t y of s h e l l s t r u c t u r e s i s expected.

The

v i b r a t i o n of s i n g l y and doubly curved s h e l l s have been considered In


details in ref.

[25] using d i f f e r e n t type of s h e l l theory^ 3 6 3 7 ]

from which f u r t h e r works

may

be based on.

The

local

buckling

behaviour discussed i n t h i s t h e s i s can also be extended t o s h e l l


structures.
effective

F i n a l l y , e f f o r t could be spent i n devising a more


domain

t r a n s f ormat i on

technique/procedure

that

can

overcome t h e shortcoming of the present twelve-points subparametrIc

7/4

transformation t h a t has been mentioned i n previous paragraph such


t h a t p l a t e s with r e a l l y a r b i t r a r y shapes can be d e a l t with.

7/5

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2.

Timoshenko S . a n d Woinowsky-Krieger S .

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3.

T i m o s h e n k o S . a n d G e r e J . H-

Theory of E l a s t i c S t a b i l i t y ' , 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill


1961
4.

Cheung Y . K. and Cheung H. S.

' F l e x u r a l Vibration of Rectangular and Other Polygonal P l a t e s ' ,


Journal of Eng. Mech., Proc. f ASCE, 97, EM 2 pp. 391-411, April,
1971
5.

Cheung Y. K.

'Analysis

of

Box

Girder

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by F i n i t e S t r i p

Method',

Concrete Bridge Design, ACI Publications SP-26, 357-378, 1971


6.

Cheung Y. K.

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Structural Engineering 29-11, 1969


7.

Cheung M. S.

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International Association for

Br igdes

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Structural
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Engineering

31-1, 1971

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9.

Cheung Y. K .

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Finite S t r i p Method i n Structural Analysis Pergamon Press,


Oxford, England, 1976
11. Zienkiewics 0 . C .

The F i n i t e

Element

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limited, 1977
12. C h e u n g Y. K . a n d Cheung M . S-

'Vibration

Analysis

of

Cylinder

Panels J .

of Sound and

Vibration, 22, No. 1, 1972


13. B a t h e K . J .

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Engineering

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Cliffs, New Jersey^ 1982

14. C h e u n g Y . K - , F a n S . C . a n d W u C . Q .

Spline F i n i t e S t r i p i n Structural Analysis Proceedings of the


International Conference on Finite Element Methods, Shanghai,
pp. 704-709. Science Press, Beijing, Chian, Gordon and Breach,
Science Publishers, I n c . , N.Y., 1982
15. F a n . S . C .

' S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Method i n Structural AnalysisPh. D.


Thesis, University of Hong Kong, 1982
16_ F a n S . C . a n d C h e u n g Y . K .

Analysis of Shallow Shells by Spline F i n i t e S t r i p MethodEng.

Struct., Vol 5, pp. 255-263, 1983


17. F a n S . C . a n d C h e u n g Y . K .

' F l e x u r a l Free Vibrations of Rectangular P l a t e s with Complex


Support Conditions Journal of Sound and Vibration, pp. 81-94,
1984
18. Y a n g H . Y . a n d C h o n g K . P.

Finite S t r i p

Method with X-Spline

Functions Computers 8

Structures, Vol. 18f No. 1, pp. 127-132, 1984


19. C h e u n g Y . K , a n d F a n S . C.

* S t a t i c Analysis of Right Box Girder Bridges by Spline F i n i t e


S t r i p Method*, Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs., Part 2, pp. 311-323,
1983
20. T h a m L. G., L i W . Y. and Cheung Y. K.

'Bending

of

Skew

Plates

by

Spline-Finite-Strip

Method",

Computers S Structures, VoL 22, No. 1, pp. 31-38, 1986


21. Chong K, P. and Chen J. L.

'Buckling of Irregular Plates by Splined F i n i t e S t r i p s ' ,

AIAA

Jnl. 24, pp. 534-536, 1986


22. L a u S. C . W . and G . J. Hancock

B u c k l i n g of

Thin Flat-walled Structures by a Spline F i n i t e

S t r i p Method Thin-walled Structures, 4, pp. 269-294, (1986)


2 3 . L I VY

Cheung Y. K. and Tham L. G.

' S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Analysis of General P l a t e s ' , ASCE, Journal


of Engineering Mechanics, Vol* 112, No, 1, pp. 43-54, 1986
24. Cheung Y. K., Tham L. G. and L i W. Y,

'Application of S p l i n e - f i n i t e - s t r i p Method i n t h e Analysis of

Curved Slab Bridge,,

1986
25. L i

W. Y .

' S p l i n e F i n i t e S t r i p Analysis of A r b i t r a r i l y Shaped P l a t e s and


S h e l l s ' , Ph. L Thesis, University of Hong Kong, 1988
26. Cheung Y. K., T h a m L. G. and L i W . Y.

' F r e e Vibration Analysis of A r b i t r a r i l y Doubly Curved S h e l l by


Spline F i n i t e S t r i p Method Journai of Sound and Vibration,
1988
27. Cheung Y. K., L i W. Y. and Tham L. G.

Free Vibration Analysis of Singly Curved Shell by Spline F i n i t e


Strip

Method Journal of Sound and Fibration,

128(3), pp.

421-422, 1989
28. T h a m L. G. and Szeto H. Y.

'Buckling Analysis of A r b i t r a r i l y Shaped P l a t e s by Spline F i n i t e


Strip

Method,

Computers S Structures, Vol. 36, No. 4,

pp.

729-735, 1990
2 9 . H a r i k I. E . a n d E k a m b a r a m R .

Elastic

Stability

of

Orthotropic

Plates'

Thin-walled

Structures 6 pp. 405-416, 1988


3 0 . T a y l o r G . I.

* Th Buckling Load f o r

si Rectangular P l a t e with Four Clainpedi

EdgeZAMM, Bd. 13, pp. 147-152, 1933


3 1 . C o o k I. T . a n d H o c k e y K . C .

* Shear Buckling of Rectangular P l a t e s with Mixed Condition,,


Aero. Quart. t Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 349-356, 1963
32. Paramasivam P.

R a o

Buckling of P l a t e s of Abruptly Varying S t i f f n e s s ' , Proc.

ST 6f Vol.
33. Han L . S .

* The Buckling and Deflection of Isosceles-Triangular PlatesJ.


Appl^ Mech. , Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 207-208, 1960
34. Yoshimura Y. and Iwata K.

'Buckling of Simply Supported Oblique PlatesJ. Appl. Mech.,


Vol. 30t No. 3, pp. 363-366, 1963
35. Timoshenko S.

* The S t a b i l i t y of the Webs of P l a t e Girders', Eng'g. Vol. 138,


pp. 207-209, 1934
36. X u Z . L.

Elasticity People's Education Press, Peiking, China, 1978


37. Vlazov V .

'General Theory of Shells and i t s Application in Engineering',


NASA TT F-99, April, 1964
38. L o o Y. C. and Cusens A . R.

'A Refined F i n i t e S t r i p Method f o r the Analysis of Orthotropic


Plates Proc. Inst. Civ. Engrs. 40, 85-91, 1971
39. Cheung Y . K .

'Othotropic

Right

Bridges

by Spline Finite S t r i p

Method

Concrete Brodge Design, ACI Publications Sp--26, 182-205, 1971


40. Cheung M. S.Cheung Y. K. and Ghali A.
'Analysis

of

Slab

and Girder Bridges

by the F i n i t e S t r i p

Method,,
41.

Ramjstad H -

'Parallelogram Elements i n Bending Accuracy and Convergency of

Results*,

The Technical

University

of Norway, Trondeim, 1967

42. Froberg C. E .

Introduction t o Numerical Analysis,,


Company, Reading, Mass.,1969
43. L o x a n A . N . , D a v i s N- a n d L e v e n s e n A .

* Table of the Zeros of the Legendre Polynomials of Order 1-16


and

Weight

Coefficients

for

Gauss'

Mechanical

Quadrature

Formula Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, Vol.


48,

pp.

739-743, 1942

44. Ahlbeg J. H . , Nilson E. N. and Walsh J. L.

'The Theory of Spline and Their Applications', Academic Press,


New York, 1967
45. Greville T . N . E .

'Theory and Application of Spline FXinctionsAcademic Press,


New York, 1969
46. Schultz M . H .

^ Spline Analysis', Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1973


47. Bathe K. J. and Vilson E. L.

'Numerical Methods i n F i n i t e Element Analysis,,

Prentice-Hall,

1978
48. Todd J. D.
1

S t r u c t u r a l Theory and Analysis,, The Macmillan Press L t d . ,

London, England, 1981


49. Ghali A. , Neville A. M. and Cheung Y. K .

, S t r u c t u r a l Analysis 1 , Chapman and Hall, London, 197S


5 0 . B r u s h D . 0 . a n d Almorth B- 0 .

Buckling of Bars, P l a t e s and ShellsMcGraw-Hill Book Company,


1975

APPENDIX A l

A n a l y t i c a l S o l u t i o n f o r t h e B u c k l i n g o Rectangular Plates

The s o l u t i o n process f o r the c r i t i c a l loads of a r e c t a n g u l a r


p l a t e w i t h two clamped and two simply-supported edges under b i a x i a l
l o a d i n g i s presented.

The case f o r o t h e r

edge c o n d i t i o n s and

l o a d i n g type can be analyzed with s i m i l a r method.

Consider a c - s - c - s p l a t e under b i a x i a l loading

The governing equation f o r the buckling of the p l a t e I s glvon In


eqn. ( 1 . 7 ) t o be:
4

5w
dx

aw
dy

2
z

R =^ j

A 4 W . A 4 W A+W _

Let

{ cr
x

dx dy

Putting the r a t i o

ax

OX
e(

+ R U

^ ' (Al.l)

= f(y) s i n ( ^ - )
A/1

(Al.l)

dy
c a n

be w r i t t e n a s :

CA1.2)

It

can be observed t h a t

the assumed displacement s a t i s f i e s t h e

boundary conditions In the x - d i r e c t i o n .

Substituting the f u n c t i o n

w i n t o eqn.(Al.2),

"

+r

(y) - _ _ )

f (

) - R(s)f"(y) = 0

where f " " denotes the f o u r t h d e r i v a t i v e of the function f and so on.

... f " . . ( y ) +[

-2)2]r.+[)(S)(^2]f(y) = o

(A1.3)

The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c equation f o r the d i f f e r e n t i a l eqn. (Al.3) i s :


r /

r/

RJO^X J

\ f

\ 2-1

[ ] =

Ks) - N)
LITM]

\4

(R-l)

bD

(Note t h a t the condition

CA1.4)

bD

^ (R-l)

i s assumed.)

Let the r o o t s of eqn. (Al. 4) be a and p, i . e . X=a or A=|3.


Thus the function f (y) can be determined as:
f (y)

= C e a y + C e""ay + C cosily) + C s i n O y )
1
2
3
4

r (y) = a C ^

- aC 2 e" a y - p ^ s i n O y ) + p ^ c o s O y )

(A1.5)
(A1.6

The boundary conditions i n the y - d i r e c t i o n should be s a t i s f i e d such


t h a t : f (0) = f , (0) = f ( b ) = r (b) = 0.

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

C + C + C = 0
1

-aC + aC o +
1

= 0

+ C 2 e a b + C 3 c o s 0 b ) + C 4 sinOb) = 0
A/2

(iv)

-aC ea
1

+ ccC e a b 2

N o n - t r i v i a l s o l u t i o n s of {C > e x i s t i f and only i f

e"" ab
-aea

eab
ae ( X b

cos Ob)

s i n Ob)

-psin(pb)

j3cos(J3b)

2<x3 + ( a 2 - p 2 )sinh(ab)sin(pb) - 2(X/3cosh(<x^)cos(pb) =^0

(Al.7)

For a rectangular p l a t e under uniform b i a x i a l load, ( i . e . R=l,


a=b),

the c r i t i c a l buckling load,

cr

from eqn.(A1.7) by t r i a l and e r r o r :


(i)

f o r t h e 1st buckling mode (m=l),

( i i ) f o r the 2nd buckling mode Cm=2),

A/3

cr

APPENDIX A 2

Derivationo f the Geometric Matrix,

[K ]

The geometric matrix f o r an element i n the s t r i p i s formulated


i n t h i s appendix.

Due t o the localized property of the s p l i n e

f u n c t i o n , t h e displacement within the element i s only a f f e c t e d by


s i x t e e n nodal parameters of the s t r i p , i . e .

i t h eIement

Hence the displacement of the element i s expressed i n t h e form a s


given i n e q n . ( 2 . 3 ) (take t h e low order s t r i p as example)

[[N], [N]

[N], W]]

[N] = [ N i , N ^ ]
N (f) =

1 - 3?

N (C) =

""

+ 2?

() = 3 F 2 - 2C
N( ? ) =

D ,

A/4

[]4x4

{5} = {w

The matrix

[ I ] i s a 4x4 i d e n t i t y matrix and

w . 0 c , wo, e o , w , 0

w0^}1

[K ] I s formulated a s (see eqn.(1. 12)):

[K ]

[G]

[G] d

[N*]$

where [G]

[ N ] [ N ' [ N ' ]$

[N] R

IN]

[N] R

[N] ^
2x16

[ r ] = a[N]/ac ,

=
and

and a g a i n

cr

a r e the s t r e s s e s per u n i t width of t h e

element.

The geometric matrix can then be worked out and expressed I n an


explicit

form a s

shown i n Table

Aa i n terms of

the following

integrals

= f [N]T[r ] d?

= S [N,]T[N] D ?

= S [N, ] T [ N ] D ?

I1

= S

dn

i 2 = X r T dv
ij
i J

= X

dn

11

2 I

ij

i j

A/5

12

22

= X [N] T [N] D C

= X

V.

SYM

Table Aa

E x p l i c i t form of the matrix [] f o r a s t r i p element

A/6

APPENDIX A 3

Numerical Integration

The b a s i s of t h e numerical i n t e g r a t i o n of a f u n c t i o n J
i s essentially

procedure

to

determine

another

F(xdx

f u n c t i o n P(x)

through given v a l u e s of F(x ) and approximate the i n t e g r a l by J

P(x)dx.

The number of the sampling p o i n t s , x . , and the p o s i t i o n s of

t h e s e p o i n t s determine how c l o s e t h e f u n c t i o n P(x) w i l l approximate


F(x) and hence t h e e r r o r of t h e numerical i n t e g r a t i o n .

There a r e many choices of t h e f u n c t i o n , Pbut i t i s convenient


t o c o n s i d e r t h e i n t e r p o l a t i o n by u s i n g a polynomial which t a k e s t h e
form:
P(x) = a +a x
0

+a x

+ a xk

Assume t h a t t h e f u n c t i o n F h a s been evaluated n+1 times w i t h i n t h e


i n t e g r a t i o n i n t e r v a l of {a,b}, i . e . FCx^), FCx^), Fx2)FCx^).
A unique polynomial P(x) of order n can then be found such t h a t i t
passes

through

these

n+1

points.

By

the

Lagranglan

Interpolation[13],
(x-x ) (x-x ) (x-xx-x ) (x-x + 1) r xN )
0
X
2
J-L
J
1 (x) = .
^
j
( x r x o ) ( x r x i ) . ( x r x j ^ i ) ( x r x j + i ) . . Cxrxn)
, ,

where 1 ( x = d
and 5
i s t h e Kronecker d e l t a s a t i s f y i n g tlie
j i
ij
ij
f o l l o w i n g relations
A/7

= 1 for i=j

and

ij

= 0 f o r i

t h e f u n c t i o n P i s then taken t o be
P(x) = FCx )1 (x) + F(x )1 (x) + F(x )1 (x+
o

+ F(x1 (x).
n

- ( A 3 . 1)
and t h e i n t e g r a l Xb F(x)dx can be evaluated accordingly.
d
.

( i ) T h e Newton-Cotes Integration

In t h i s method, the n+1 sampling p o i n t s a r e assumed t o be evenly


spaced w i t h i n t h e I n t e r v a l {a,b}.

Hence we have

x- a and x = b.

Using eqn. (A3.1), t h e i n t e g r a l Xb F(x)dx i s approximated by:

Sha F(x)dx = ^

1 (x)dx F(x )
i

or simply

= ( b - a ) y c n F(x.) + E
L

I=0

where E I s t h e remainder or e r r o r term f o r the integration.


n

The

v a l u e s of the constant C: have been evaluated 1 " 4 2 3 and a r e tabulated


i n Table Ab f o r n = 1 t o 6.

The case f o r n=l and n=2 a r e commonly

known a s t h e t r a p e z o i d a l and Simpson r u l e s f o r numerical I n t e g r a t i o n


respectively.

In general, the niiniinuin. number of sampling p o i n t s

r e q u i r e d t o i n t e g r a t e without e r r o r a polynomial of order n i s n+1.

(ii) T h e Gaussian Quadrature

The essence of t h e Gaussian Integration method l i e s i n t h e use

A/8

of unevenly spaced sampling p o i n t s t o improve t h e accuracy o f t h e


approximation.
F(x)dx

The b a s i c equation i s

i n which both
constants

+ k n F(x )

:F(x ) + k^F(x )+ k ^ F ( x ) +
and x, a r e unknowns t o

(A3.2)

be determined

a r e r e f e r r e d a s t h e weights of the i n t e g r a t i o n .

and. t h e
A new

polynomial i s used t o approximate t h e f u n c t i o n F:


F(x) = P(x) + f (x) (a + a x + a x +
where P(x) a s defined i n eqn.(A3.1) and
f ( x ) = (x - x ) (x - x )
I

I n t e g r a t i n g FCx),

x - x ).

we o b t a i n

F(x)dx

1 (x)dx F(x )

The unknown values of

( i = l , 2 , . . . n)

(x)dx

(A3.3)

can be determined by t h e

f o l l o w i n g equations
S

f(x)x

dx = 0

0,

1 2 ,

-1

The v a l u e s f o r the weights and t h e sampling p o s i t i o n s of eqn. (A3.3)


have been e v a l u a t e d t 4 3 3 and those f o r n=l t o 6 a r e given i n Table Ac
for

reference.

Note t h a t

the v a l u e s

shown i n

the t a b l e a r e

g e n e r a l i z e d t o r e p r e s e n t the i n t e g r a t i o n i n t e r v a l of {-1,1}.
actual practice,

t h e , constants should

i n t e r v a l {a,b} a s appropriate.
n

Gaussian

points

are

be

modified t o s u i t

In
the

Unlike t h e Newton-Cotes method, only

needed

to

integrate

without

error

an

( Z n - l ) - o r d e r polynomial.

I n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of numerical i n t e g r a t i o n i n the formulation

A/9

of t h e s t i f f n e s s matrices, i t i s very o f t e n t h a t a c c u r a t e r e s u l t s
may be obtained with the use of a smaller number of sampling p o i n t s
than t h a t

would

functions.

be

required f o r

the exact

i n t e g r a t i o n of

the

The reason i s t h a t the displacement formulation i n t h e

f i n i t e element a n a l y s i s w i l l r e s u l t i n an overestimation of t h e
s t i f f n e s s of t h e system.
t h e

error

induced

may

By not i n t e g r a t i n g the matrices e x a c t l y ,


compensate

those

resulting

overestimation and t h e s o l u t i o n can be s a t i s f a c t o r y .

from

the

Thus 'reduced

i n t e g r a t i o n ' i s o f t e n used by researcher t o minimize the computer


e f f o r t s involved i n the f i n i t e element formulation.

Number of
intervals,

12

32
90

90

288

75
288

50
288

41
840

216

840

27
840

90
19

Table Ab

32
90

90

50

75

288
272
840

288

19
88

27
840

16
40

41
840

Newton-Cotes constants f o r n=l t o 6

A/10

0 . 0 0 0 0 0 00000 00000

2.00000 00000 00000

0.57735 02691 89626

1.00000 00000 00000

0.77459 66692 41483


0.00000 00000 00000

0.55555 55555 55556


0.88888 88888 88889

0.86113 63115 94053


0.33998 10435 84856

0.34785 48451 37454


0.65214 51548 62546

0.90617 98459 38604


0.53846 93101 05683
0.00000 00000 00000

0.23692 68850 56189


0.47862 86704 99366
0.56888 88888 88889

0.93246 95142 03152


0.66120 93864 66265
0.23861 91860 83197

0.17132 44923 79170


0.36076 15730 48139
0.46791 39345 72691

Table Ac Sampling p o i n t s and weights of Gaussian Quadrature f o r


to 6

A/11

n=l

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