A GRILLAGE ANALYSIS OF THE NON-LINEAR AND ULTIMATE LOAD BEHAVIOUR OF C OF CELLULAR STRUCTURES UNDER BENDING LOADS.

The elastic behaviour of a multi-cellular structure can be analysed by considering the structure as an assemblage of discrete grillage member. The paper describes the extension of the grillage approach to the analysis of multi-cellular structures in the non-linear range and at collapse. The structures are considered to be subjected to lateral loads only and it is assumed that failure occurs under the action of high bending moments. An incremental loading procedure is adopted and results presented to indicate the rate of convergence of the solution. The influence of different assumptions regarding the effective width of the compression flange is also studied. A comparison of the predicted failure loads with those obtained from an approximate yield line analysis shows satisfactory agreement. (TRRL)