Experimental study and numerical simulation on compressive buckling behavior of thin steel skins in unilateral contact with rigid constraints

Abstract

In this paper, a practical test and finite element analysis has been undertaken to further investigate the effects of contact buckling. A test rig was designed and constructed to record vertical and transverse deflections of compressively loaded steel skin plates. The boundary conditions were modeled as fully fixed. A finite element analysis was also undertaken using the software package Strand7. Results from both analyses have been examined and compared to data established from previous studies on contact buckling. Both the finite element analysis and practical results correlate well with this data. The result of the investigation has confirmed contact buckling theories and has foreshadowed the onset of the newly observed phenomenon of secondary contact buckling.

Keywords

compressive / buckling / thin steel skins / unilateral contact / rigid constraints

References

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the following staff from the University of South Australia; Miss. J. Macdonald for assistance with the use of Strand7 throughout the computer analysis component of the project; Messrs. T. Golding and D. Colman for practical laboratory assistance and Dr. D. A. Cameron as Course Coordinator.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg