The buckling performance of composite stiffened panel structures subjected to combined in-plane compression and shear loading

In this paper a study is made of the buckling behaviour of some composite stiffened panel structures subjected to in-plane compression and shear load combinations. The finite strip method, a computer aided engineering analysis procedure, is employed to determine the buckling solutions. Since the prediction of structural performance is quickly and accurately determined through computer simulation, the analysis capabilities of the finite strip method promotes the examination of many design alternatives. The designer is encouraged and indeed readily aided to make the most efficient use of materials and thus the development of highly reliable structural components, which are able to operate at optimised performance levels, can be achieved. A basic strip formulation for composite material construction is presented which is able to predict the complex buckling modes associated with in-plane load combinations. The buckling displacement fields are represented by algebraic polynomials across the strip and trigonometric functions along the strip length. The inclusion of sufficient harmonics in the appropriate displacement representations provides the required flexibility of the strip formulation to accommodate the more elaborate buckling modes associated with the presence of in-plane shear loading. The results presented in the paper are those pertaining to the buckling capabilities of stiffened panels manufactured from high strength carbon-epoxy composite material. The results illustrate, graphically, the effect on buckling performance of changes in stiffener geometry. Interaction curves are presented in the paper which detail the limiting boundaries for critical load combinations of specific structural configurations.

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