On the elasto-plastic large deflection response of stocky annular steel plates

Abstract An incremental full-range analysis for pressure loaded annular plates is presented in outline. Von Karman large deflection plate theory coupled with the Prandtl-Reuss associated flow rule and a layered Von Mises yield criterion form the cornerstones of the analysis. The numerical solution of the governing equations is achieved via a finite-difference implementation of the DR algorithm. The DR analysis is used to carry out a numerical parameter study of the full-range response of uniformly loaded stocky steel annular plates. The study is primarily concerned with the effects of the edge support conditions in controlling the response and dimensionless results for deflections, etc. are presented for a total of nine inner and outer edge condition combinations.