Elastic buckling of longitudinally stiffened patch loaded plate girders using factorial design

Abstract This paper is aimed at investigating the elastic buckling of longitudinally stiffened plate girder subjected to patch loading. At first, buckling coefficients are computed by means of linear buckling analysis using the finite element method. Thereafter, a first order factorial design is performed to weigh the geometrical parameters on the buckling coefficient. Finally, a second order model is obtained to predict the buckling coefficient for longitudinally stiffened plate girders. A significant improvement, within the range of geometric parameters investigated herein, is achieved when compared to similar formulae found in the literature.