ABS TECHNICAL PAPERS 2005

BUCKLING AND ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF ALUMINUM PLATES AND STIFFENED PANELS IN MARINE STRUCTURES
Xiaozhi WANG, Haihong SUN
American Bureau of Shipping, Houston, USA

Akira AKIYAMA
American Bureau of Shipping, Yokohama, Japan

Aiping DU
American Bureau of Shipping, Singapore

Presented at Fifth International Forum on Aluminum Ships, Tokyo, Japan, October 11-13, 2005

ABSTRACT Although aluminum alloys are well suited for some applications in marine structures, their unique material characteristics make the structural response different than steel. When structural elements are subjected to compressive loads, the buckling and collapse capacity is one of the most crucial factors governing the design. Ultimate strength of longitudinally stiffened panels is very important because it governs the structural capacity. Such panels are subjected to longitudinal compression, transverse compression, shear, and local bending. As the mechanical properties of aluminum alloy typically vary more significantly between the parent metal, weld metal and HAZ (Heat Affected Zone), as compared to those of steel, it would be anticipated that the existing formulations for steel structures may not be accurate when applied to aluminum alloy panels. It is the objective of this paper to develop the criteria for buckling and ultimate strength of plate panels and stiffened panels under longitudinal compression, and validate the criteria by non-linear FEM (Finite Element Method). Typical marine grade aluminum alloys will be investigated. Recommendations will be made based on the study and validation.

characteristics make the structural response different than steel. When structural elements are subjected to compressive loads, the buckling and collapse capacity is one of the most crucial factors governing the design. Ultimate strength of longitudinally stiffened panels is very important because it governs the structural capacity. Such panels are subjected to longitudinal and transverse compression arising from hull girder bending, and local bending arising from lateral pressure. As the mechanical properties of aluminum alloy typically vary more significantly between the parent metal, weld metal and HAZ, as compared to those of steel, it would be anticipated that the existing formulations for steel structures may not be accurate when applied to aluminum alloy panels. In this paper, the unique material characteristics of aluminum alloys will be addressed first. Recommended formula for buckling and ultimate strength of aluminum plate and stiffened panel under longitudinal compression will be presented, supported by finite element analysis. Finally, conclusions will be made based on the study.

MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS Compared to steel, the material characteristics of aluminum alloys can be focused on two issues: stressstrain relationship and heat-affected-zone. Stress-Strain Law

KEY WORDS: aluminum material, buckling, HAZ, ship structures, stiffened panel, ultimate strength

INTRODUCTION Aluminum is an attractive material as it is light, strong, clean, normally ductile, easily formed and fabricated, and readily available. It is recyclable and thus environmentally friendly. The accumulated experience over many years shows that aluminum alloys of marine grade offer both safety and reliability for use in marine structures. Although aluminum alloys are well suited for some applications in marine structures, their unique material A generalized law = ( ) was proposed by Ramberg and Osgood (1943) for aluminum alloy:

+ 0.002(

n ) y

where n = knee factor, which can be determined by Mazzolani

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(1995) as n =

ln 2 ln(1 + k )

Heat Affected Zone In welded profiles, the heat input removes some of beneficial effects from heat treatment or strain hardening and leads to a decrease in the elastic limit, which results in the strength redistribution along the cross section profile with the minimum at the welds. The first experimental analyses carried out by Hill, Clark and Brungraber (1962) were on the plate joints with longitudinal welds at the center, using 6000 series alloy. As an upper bound of HAZ extent, as denoted by z, they found a value of 0.74 in. On this basis, the French specifications give z values equal to or smaller than 25 mm (1 in). They also found the reductions of yield strength compared with the parent metal were between 33 and 50 percent. Mazzolani (1971) studied this problem. As expected, the distributions depend greatly on the heat treatment. Whereas the decrease of yield strength at welds is about 10% for the non-heat-treat alloys, the decrease reaches 40-50% for heat-treated alloys. As specified in the ship rules and guides, due consideration should be made for critical or extensive weld zones for yield strength because the localized reduction in strength properties to the parent alloy occurs near welds, as shown in Figure 1. The strength of the butt-welded aluminum alloys is dependent on the use of compatible strength welding wires. The extent of the HAZ is commonly taken from the 1in rule, i.e. the softening effect extends through 1-in in all directions from the weld, ref. Kontoleon et al. (2000) and Rigo et al (2004). Another rule of thumb is to take the extent of HAZ as approximately three times the average thickness of the welded components, based on Paik and Duran (2004). The relationship between HAZ extent and plate thickness for fillet weld and butt weld in BS 8118 (1991) can be expressed as:
z = min{3t A , 20 + t A / 3} , mm for fillet weld, excluding 7xxx series alloys
2 z = min 3t B / t A , 20 + t A / 3 , mm for butt weld, excluding 7xxx series alloys
Base metal

k=

t y t 10 t y

t = ultimate tensile strength y = minimum yield strength (0.2% strain) t = fracture strain
Table 1 lists the typical mechanical properties used in non-heat-treatable sheet and plate aluminum alloy based on ABS (2003). Table 1 Mechanical property of aluminum alloys, ref. ABS (2003)
Minimum Yield Strength (at 0.2% Offset) in N/mm2 RambergOsgood Model

Alloy and Temper

Base Metal
0b
165.7 213.8 234.4 268.7 145.1 193.2 215.8 264.8 227.5 248.1 282.4

Weld Metal
0w
145 165 165 165 124 131 145 145 179 179 179

Knee Factor
n 17 24 20 15 24 26 15 22 15 24 18

5083 - H111 5083 - H116 5083 - H323 5083 - H343 5086 - H111 5086 - H32, H34, H116 5383 - H116, H321 5383 - H34 5456 - H116, H321 5456 - H323 5456 - H343

Figure 1 represents typical stress-strain curves reproduced from the Ramberg-Osgood material model for 5083-H116 in the base and welded material conditions, based on the parameters in Table 1.
350 300 250

Stress,

200 150 100 50 0 0.0%

Weld metal

0.2

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

Strain,

Fig.1

Stress-strain curves of base metal and weld metal of 5083-H116

where tA is the lesser of 0.5(tB + tC) and 1.5tB, tB and tC are the thickness of the thinnest and thickest elements connected by welding, respectively. The modified factors, and in BS 8118, are ignored in the analysis by Kristensen and Moan (1999). Figure 2 shows the relationship between the extent of HAZ and plate thickness according to BS 8118, ref. Kristensen and Moan (1999).

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3.5 Ratio = Extent of HAZ/Plate Thickness 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 6082-T6 0.5 0.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 Plate Thickness, mm 5083-O 5083-F

The extent of HAZ for a TIG weld is greater because the heat input is greater than for a MIG weld, which is: 0 < t 6 mm z = 30 mm The above figures apply to in-line butt welds or to fillet welds at T junctions in 6xxx, 7xxx or work-hardened series 5xxx series alloys. In BS8118 (1991) and EuroCode 9 (1999), the influence of temperature is taken into account. The extent of HAZ is increased when temperature rises above 600C. In this paper, the HAZ size is defined according to BS8118 (1991). BUCKLING AND ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF ALUMINUM PLATE PANELS Buckling Strength of Plate Panels in Axial Compression

Fig. 2

Extent of HAZ according to BS 8118, ref. Kristensen and Moan (1999)

If all of the elements connected by welding have the same thickness, the above formula can be rewritten as:
if 3t z= 20 + t / 3 if t 7.5mm , mm t > 7.5mm

The critical buckling strength may be obtained from the following equation:

c = E

It can be seen that the 1-inch rule and three times the average thickness rule for the HAZ extent are the two special cases from the formula. Figure 3 shows a referenced Sealium@ (5383 alloy) sample for the hardness measurement of the butt-welded metal, ref. Paik and Duran (2004). The extent of HAZ in BS 8118 (1999) is fairly close to the hardness measurement.

yb = yb 1 4 E where

when E 0.5yb

when E > 0.5yb

E =
=

elastic buckling stress

t 0.91m1 E 2 N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi) s reduction factor considering HAZ softening effect due to welding buckling coefficient, ref. Table 3 in Part 3, Chapter 2, Section 3 of ABS (2003) 6.9 104 N/mm2 (7000 kgf/mm2, 10 106 psi) thickness of plating, in mm (in.) shorter side of plate panel, in mm (in.) longer side of plate panel, in mm (in.) minimum yield strength of base material, in N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi)
2

m1 = E t s l = = = = =

yb

Ultimate Strength of Plate Panels in Axial Compression The ultimate strength may be calculated from the following modified Faulkners formula: 1 for 1 u 1 =2 yb 2 for > 1 where

Fig. 3

Hardness measurement for a 6 mm Sealium butt-welded sample, ref. Paik and Duran (2004)

In EuroCode 9 (1999), the extent of HAZ are specified for a MIG weld laid on unheated material and with interpass cooling to 600C or less when multi-pass welds are laid, 0 < t 6 mm 6 < t 12 mm 12 < t 25 mm t > 25mm z = 20 mm z = 30 mm z = 35 mm z = 40 mm

1 s yb t E

s yb t E

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In the above two equations, the reduction factor may be defined as

Comparison Parametric analyses are performed for different slenderness ratio and different strength ratio for weld and base material, which are given below: l s t = = = = = 600 ~ 2000 mm 200 ~ 500 mm 4 ~ 20 mm 1~4 yw / yb = 0.4 ~1.0

=1 = 1.142
1.42

for 1 0.1 0.5

0 .5

(1 ) for < 1 0.1 0.5

where

= yw =

yw/yb
minimum yield strength of material weld metal, in N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi)

The above formula is valid for 1. This condition is satisfied in the design of aluminum crew and supply boats, in which the typical range of is between 1.5 and 3.0. Finite Element Analysis Figure 4 shows aluminum plating between stiffeners subject to axial compression. In a typically continuous aluminum stiffened plate structure, the stiffeners should be designed in such a way that the stiffener does not fail prior to plate buckling. Often, the plate is assumed to be simply supported at all four edges, which are kept straight in plane during the deformation. This assumption is widely accepted in the buckling and ultimate strength assessment of ship structures, ref. Sun and Wang (2005).
Longitudinal

In the finite element analysis, the initial imperfection is assumed to be of the following form, ref. Sun and Wang (2005):

W p0 t

= [ 01 sin(

x
l

) + 03 sin(

x
l

)] sin(

y
s

where
=
l s 2W p 0 3t
0.7 0.6 0.5

01 =

, 03 =

W p0 3t

, W p 0 = 0.09 s

Axial stress/yield stress

0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00
= 0.4
= 0.8

Simply supported

= 0.5
= 0.9

= 0.6
= 1.0

= 0.7

Transverse

Fig. 4

A typical aluminum plating

Due to the double symmetry, one quarter of the plate is modeled in the following analysis. The FE model is shown in Figure 5 and HAZ is represented by fine mesh with reduced yielding stress.

Axial strain/initial yield strain

Fig. 6

Load end shortening curves of a plate panel with varying strength ratio for weld and base material

Figure 6 illustrates the load-end shortening curves of a plate panel (l = 900 mm, s = 300 mm, t = 6.68 mm, E = 69000 N/mm2, yb = 213.8 N/mm2), in which the HAZ softening effect to the ultimate strength of a plate panel is demonstrated.

Fig. 5

Finite element model

Figure 7 shows the comparison results of prediction by the modified Faulkners formula with the FE analysis, in which a total of 132 FEA results with different values of aspect ratio and slenderness ratio are used.

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C1 = Ae =

1000 (1000, 144) cross-sectional area, in cm2 (in2), of stiffener, including effective plate flange, se l = span of stiffener, in m (ft) se = effective width of plating = C s 1 for 1 1 C =2 for > 1 2

Web and Flange Buckling Local buckling is considered satisfactory provided the following proportions are not exceeded. - Flat bars, Outstanding Face Bars and Flanges dw/tw 0.5(E/yb)1/2 Fig. 7 Comparison of the modified Faulkners formula with the FE analysis - Built-up Sections, Angle Bars and Tee Bars dw/tw 1.5(E/yb)1/2 - Bulb Plates dw/tw 0.85(E/yb)1/2 When a < 0.80yb, the values of dw/tw may be increased by the factor (0.80yb /a), where a is the working stress and is to be taken not less than 0.55yb. dw and tw are the thickness and height of the stiffener web, as shown in Figure 8.
z bf b2 tf y0 dw tw
Centroid of Stiffener

It can be seen that the modified Faulkners formula predicts reasonably conservative ultimate strength of plate panels. BUCKLING AND ULTIMATE STRENGTH OF ALUMINUM STIFFENED PANELS Critical Buckling Stress The critical buckling stress of longitudinals in compression may be obtained from the following equation

b1

c = E

y = y 1 4 E where

when E 0.5y

z0

when E > 0.5y

y = minimum yield strength of stiffener under consideration, in N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi). If there is a large difference between the minimum yield strength of a stiffener and the plating, the minimum yield strength from the weighting of areas is to be used E = elastic buckling stress, in N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi) Column Elastic Buckling Stress The elastic buckling stress E of a stiffener with the associated effective plating, with respect to axial compression may be obtained from the following equation: EI e N/mm2 (kgf/mm2, psi) E = 2 C1 Ae l where Ie = moment of inertia, cm4 (in4), of stiffener, including effective plate flange, se

se

Fig. 8

Sectional dimensions of a stiffened panel

Comparison To verify the column buckling strength of stiffened panels, the series of nonlinear analyses is performed using ANSYS (2004) program. The engineering model to be used in the finite element analysis is shown in Figure 9, ref. Sun and Wang (2005). The FE model and boundary condition is shown in Figure 10. The situation considered is that all stiffeners are welded to the plate and the stiffener-plate conjunction region is HAZ. The initial deflection mode is taken as the first buckling mode, which deteriorates the ultimate strength most significantly. Based on recommendation in Sun and Wang (2005), the initial deflection amplitude is taken

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into account, as given by: W0 L = 0.15%l

D E B C I J G H P M N O L F A

Figure 12 shows the comparison results of prediction by the proposed formula with the FE analysis, in which a total of 56 FEA results are used.
1.0 Bias Mean = 0.8923 COV = 4.64% 0.8

Proposed Formula: cr/yb

0.6

0.4

AC,BD,DE: u = 0, x = z = 0 LN,MO,OP: u = S1, x = z = 0 FH, IJ: w = 0, z = 0 GI: w = 0, v= S2, y = 0 CN: v = 0, x = 0, z = 0 AL: v = S3, x = 0, z = 0 S1, S2 and S3 are the parameters to keep the boundaries straight or inplane.

0.2

Fig. 9

Engineering model

0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

FEA: u/yb

Fig. 12

Comparison of proposed formula with the FE analysis

It can be seen that the predictions of the proposed formula are on the conservative side for the stiffened panels selected from typical aluminum crew and supply boats.

CONCLUSIONS Fig. 10 FE model of a stiffened panel Figure 11 illustrates some representative results based on the nonlinear FE analysis.
1.2

1.0

Axial stress/yield stress

0.8

0.6

= 0.4 = 0.5 = 0.6 = 0.7 = 0.8 = 0.9 = 1.0

1.50 1.75 2.00

This paper proposed buckling and ultimate strength formulas for plate panels and stiffened panels in aluminum ship structures. Based on the previous experiences from steel structures, a modified Faulkners formula was put forward for ultimate strength of plate under longitudinal compression and a reduction factor is introduced to take into account the HAZ softening effect. The column buckling formula used for steel ship structures was also extended for stiffened aluminum panel under axial compression. It was demonstrated that the proposed formulas are of reasonable accuracy compared with the nonlinear FE analysis. Incorporating these formulas into the existing ship rules, the buckling and ultimate strength of aluminum plate and stiffened panels can be assessed in a more rational way. Please note that the conclusion of this paper is the opinion of authors.

0.4

0.2

l = 1219mm, s = 304.8mm t = 7.9375mm dw = 101.6 mm, bf = 50.8mm tw = tf = 6.35mm syb = 213.8 MPa

0.0 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25

Axial strain/initial yield strain

Fig. 11 Load-end shortening curves of a stiffened panel with varying strength ratio for weld and base material

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Mr. Jim Speed of American Bureau of Shipping for proof reading this manuscript. Kristensen, O. H. H. and Moan, T. (1999), Ultimate Strength of Aluminum Plates under Biaxial Loading, PRADS1999. Paik, J. K. and Duran, A. (2004), Ultimate Strength of Aluminum Plates and Stiffened Panels for Marine Structures, Marine Technology, vol. 41, no. 3, 108121. Mazzolani, F. M. (1971), Inelastic Behavior of Welded Aluminum Prifiles, Costruzioni Metalliche, 1971, No.5. Mazzoloni, F. M. (1995), Aluminum Alloy Structures, E&FN Spon. Ramberg, W. and Osgood, W. R. (1943), Description of stress-strain curves by three parameters, NACA Techn. No. 902. Rigo, P., et. al. (2004), Ultimate Strength of Aluminium Stiffened Panels: Sensitivity Analysis, 9th Symposium on Practical Design of Ships and Other Floating Structures (PRADS), Luebeck-Travemuende, Germany. Sun, H. and Wang, X. (2005), Buckling and Ultimate Strength Assessment of FPSO Structures, Trans. SNAME, Houston, USA.

REFERENCES ABS (2003), Rules for Building and Classing HighSpeed Naval Craft. ABS (2004), Guide for Buckling and Ultimate Strength Assessment for Offshore Structures. ANSYS (2004), Release 8.1 Documentation, ANSYS, INC. BS 8118 (1991), Structural Use of Aluminum, Part 1: Code of Practice for Design. EuroCode 9 (1999), Design of Aluminum StructuresPart 1-1: General Rules, DD ENV, 1999-1-1:2000. Hill, H. N., Clark, J. W., and Brungraber, R. J. (1962), Design of Welded Aluminum Structures, Trans. ASCE, 127, 1962. Kontoleon, M. J., et. al. (2000), Butt-welded Aluminum joints: A Numerical Study of The HAZ effect on the Ultimate Tension Strength, in Baniotopoulos, C. C., and Wald, F., Editors, The Paramount Role of Joints in the Reliability Response of Structures, 337-346.

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