Large deflection analysis of eccentrically stiffened sector plates.

Abstract A new theory for the non-axisymmetric elastic large deflection analysis of sector plates stiffened by a single eccentric rectangular cross-section radial stiffener is presented. In the theoretical model the reaction of the stiffener on the plate is modelled partly by means of body forces in the plate equilibrium equations and by local modification to the loading adjacent to the stiffener. The reaction of the plate on the stiffener is modelled as a distributed force system applied along the length of the stiffener. The force interaction is complemented with a set of plate-stiffener displacement compatibility equations. The governing stiffened plate equations are then transformed into initial value format and discretised with respect to four uniform, interlacing finite-difference meshes. The discrete system of equations is solved using the DR (Dynamic Relaxation) algorithm. The validity and accuracy of the new plate theory is established by comparing large deflection analysis results for a uniformly loaded clamped stiffened sector plate with corresponding results obtained with the ANSYS finite element software. The career analysis is then used to conduct three large deflection parameter studies of simply supported and clamped sector plates stiffened by a single eccentric radial stiffener. Numerical results are presented to show the effect on deflections, stress resultants and stress couples of stiffener depth, plate thickness ratio and sector angle.