Elastic-plastic buckling analysis of rectangular plates subjected

to biaxial loads
J. Betten, C. H. Shin
Abstract In order to calculate the buckling load of a
rectangular plate, the analytical approach is used in this
study. The plate is assumed to be simply supported on
four edges and loaded by uniform stresses along the edges.
If the plate is slender, the buckling is elastic. However, if
the plate is sturdy, it buckles in the plastic range. Then, the
instantaneous moduli in the constitutive equations depend
on the external loading.
In this study, the elastic and plastic buckling equations
are derived for rectangular plates under biaxial loading,
and the corresponding interaction curves are presented.
The inuences of aspect ratios, load ratios and hardening
factors on the buckling stresses are investigated for rect-
angular plates. From the plastic buckling analysis, the
optimal combination of loads is given for the buckling
strength.
Elasto-plastische Beulberechnung von
Rechteckplatten unter zwei axialen Belastungen
Zusammenfassung Um die Beullast einer Rechteckplatte
zu berechnen, wird in dieser Arbeit eine analytische Me-
thode angewandt. Die allseits gelenkig gelagerte Platte wird
mit Langsspannungen belastet. Wenn die Platte dunn ist,
ndet die Beulung im elastischen Bereich statt. Fur dicke
Platten jedoch ndet die Beulung im plastischen Bereich
statt. Dann hangen die Werkstofftensoren in den Stoff-
gleichungen von aueren Belastungen ab.
In dieser Arbeit werden die elastischen und plastischen
Stabilitatsgleichungen fur die Rechteckplatten unter zwei
axialen Belastungen hergeleitet und die Beziehungen zwi-
schen den beiden Belastungen diskutiert. Die Einusse von
Seitenverhaltnis, Spannungsverhaltnis und Werkstoffver-
festigung auf die kritische Beullast werden untersucht. Es
wird auch gezeigt, dass die plastische Beulberechnung die
optimale Kombination von aueren Belastungen fur die
Beulfestigkeit ergibt.
List of symbols
C
+
nondimensional plastic buckling
coefcient
D
xx
Y D
xy
Y G
xy
Y D
yy
instantaneous modulus
dw small increment of plate displacement
E Young's modulus
E
s
secant modulus
E
t
tangent modulus
K
+
nondimensional elastic buckling
coefcient
mY n number of half-waves in x and y
direction
t plate thickness
Y uniaxial yield stress
a material hardening factor
b aspect ratio
m Poisson's ratio
n load ratio
g
+
nondimensional plasticity reduction
factor
1
Introduction
In many cases biaxial loading conditions must be taken
into account for the buckling strength assessment of a
rectangular plate. In this study, using the analytical ap-
proach, general buckling equations are derived for simply
supported rectangular plates under biaxial loading.
If the plate is slender, the buckling occurs in the elastic
range and its buckling stress is less than the yield stress.
For a sturdy plate, however, the yielding of plate material
occurs before the plate buckles and the buckling load is
smaller than the value given by an elastic buckling analysis
[1]. Therefore, the plastic buckling load is an important
factor which can not be overlooked in design [2]. If the
plate buckles in the plastic range, the instantaneous stress-
strain relationship depends on the external loading [3].
For elastic-plastic constitutive relations the deformation
theory is employed and the material is assumed to be in-
compressible for simplication of buckling equations. The
instantaneous moduli in the constitutive equations are
obtained by modifying the Prandtl-Reuss stress-strain re-
lation for a work-hardening material [4]. Then, analytical
expressions for elastic and plastic buckling of biaxially
loaded plates are obtained, and the corresponding inter-
active buckling curves are presented.
The plastic buckling load can be calculated using a
plasticity reduction factor, i.e., it can be obtained by
Forschung im Ingenieurwesen 65 (2000) 273278 Springer-Verlag 2000
273
Received: 25. June 1999
J. Betten (&)
Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Mathematische Modelle
in der Werkstoffkunde RWTH Aachen
Templergraben 55, D-52056 Aachen, Deutschland
C. H. Shin
Research and Development Center
Korean Register of Shipping 23-7 Jang-dong,
Yusung-ku, Taejon, Korea
correcting the elastic buckling load. To this end, the for-
mula for the plasticity reduction factor is developed.
In this study, the inuences of aspect ratios, load ratios
and material hardening factors on the buckling stresses are
investigated for rectangular plates. From the plastic
buckling analysis, the optimal load ratio, which results in
the highest buckling load, can be found for a given plate.
2
Elastic buckling of a plate
A simply supported rectangular plate is loaded by uniform
in-plane compressive stresses r
x
and r
y
, as shown in Fig. 1.
From an equilibrium analysis of a plate, the following
buckling equation can be obtained
t
2
12
D
xx
dwY
xxxx
2(D
xy
2G
xy
) dwY
xxyy
D
yy
dwY
yyyy

r
x
dwY
xx
r
y
dwY
yy
= 0 Y (1)
where dw is a small increment of the plate displacement
due to buckling, t is the plate thickness and
D
xx
Y D
xy
Y G
xy
Y D
yy
are the instantaneous moduli for the case
of plane stress
dr
x
= D
xx
de
x
D
xy
de
y
(2a)
dr
y
= D
xy
de
x
D
yy
de
y
(2b)
ds
xy
= G
xy
dc
xy
X (2c)
It is well known that a solution of the form
dw = dAsin
mpx
a
sin
npy
b
mY n = 1Y 2Y 3Y XXX (3)
satises both the differential Eq. (1) and the simple- sup-
port boundary conditions. The parameters m and n indi-
cate the number of half-waves in x and y direction in the
buckled shape, respectively. By substituting Eq. (3) into
Eq. (1), the following eigenvalue equation is obtained
m
b
_ _
2
r
x
n
2
r
y
= f
m
b
_ _
4
D
xx
2
mn
b
_ _
2
_
(D
xy
2G
xy
) n
4
D
yy
_
Y (4)
where
b =
a
b
Y f =
p
2
t
2
12b
2
X (5a, b)
If the plate is slender, the buckling is elastic and disap-
pears when the load diminishes, since the buckling stress
is below the yield stress. For a slender plate [5] dened by
b
t

Y
E
_
b 2X4 Y (6)
the plate will mostly buckle in the elastic range with the
following moduli
D
xx
= D
yy
=
E
1 m
2
Y (7a)
D
xy
=
mE
1 m
2
Y (7b)
G
xy
=
E
2(1 m)
Y (7c)
where E is Young's modulus, m is Poisson's ratio and Y is
the uniaxial yield stress. Using the above moduli (7a, b, c),
the eigenvalue Eq. (4) can be written as
m
b
_ _
2
r
x
n
2
r
y
=
Ef
1 m
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
X (8)
Neglecting elastic compressibility, i.e., m = 1a2, the elastic
buckling equation is expressed as follows
m
b
_ _
2
r
x
n
2
r
y
=
4
3
Ef
m
b
_ _
2
n
2
_ _
2
X (9)
In the above equation, it is seen that the buckling stresses
r
x
and r
y
are interdependent and can be presented in
terms of interaction curves
S
x
K
x

S
y
K
y
= 1 Y (10)
where
S
x
=
3
4
r
x
Ef
Y S
y
=
3
4
r
y
Ef
(11a, b)
K
x
=
b
2
m
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
(11c)
K
y
=
1
n
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
X (11d)
In applying the interaction formula (10), the number of
half-waves m and n must be chosen to give the lowest
buckling stress.
In Fig. 2, the interaction curves for elastic buckling of
rectangular plates under biaxial loading are presented.
This gure shows the stabilizing effect of tensile stress for
three different plate geometries.
Using the load ratio n dened as
n =
r
y
r
x
Y (12)
Fig. 1. Rectangular plate subjected to biaxial loading
Forsch Ingenieurwes 65 (2000)
274
the buckling Eq. (9) can be expressed in the same form as
for uniaxial loading
r
x
=
4
3
K
+
Ef Y (13)
where K
+
is a nondimensional elastic buckling coefcient
K
+
=
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
1
X (14)
Figure 3 shows the elastic buckling coefcient K
+
with
aspect ratio b. In this gure, negative values of n represent
tensile loading in y direction. It is seen that the buckling
stress decreases with increasing load ratio n.
In Fig. 4, the elastic buckling coefcient K
+
is presented
with load ratio n for three different plate geometries. The
buckling stress decreases with load ratio, regardless of
plate geometries.
3
Plastic buckling of a plate
If the plate is sturdy, its material yielding occurs before it
buckles. Then, the buckling load is smaller than the value
given by an elastic stability analysis. For a sturdy plate [5]
dened by
b
t

Y
E
_
` 1X0 Y (15)
the plate will mostly buckle in the plastic range. Then, the
instantaneous moduli in Eqs. (2a, b, c) depend on the
external loading. In this study, the deformation theory is
employed for elastic-plastic constitutive relations. Thus,
the instantaneous moduli can be written as follows
D
xx
=
4(E
s
H
s
) 3E
s
(r
2
x
ar
2
e
)
D
0
(16a)
D
xy
=
2(E
s
2m
s
H
s
) 3E
s
(r
x
r
y
ar
2
e
)
D
0
(16b)
D
yy
=
4(E
s
H
s
) 3E
s
(r
2
y
ar
2
e
)
D
0
(16c)
G
xy
= G
s
Y (16d)
where
D
0
= 2(1 m
s
) 3
H
s
G
s
_ _
(1 2m
s
) 1
3r
x
r
y
r
2
e
_ _
(17a)
G
s
=
E
s
2(1 m
s
)
(17b)
Fig. 2. Elastic interactive buckling curves for biaxially loaded
plates
Fig. 3. Elastic buckling coefcient K
+
with aspect ratio b
Fig. 4. Elastic buckling coefcient K
+
with load ratio n
J. Betten and C. H. Shin: Elastic-plastic buckling analysis of rectangular plates subjected to biaxial loads
275
m
s
=
1
2

1
2
m
_ _
E
s
E
(17c)
1
H
s
=
1
E
t

1
E
s
X (17d)
In the above equations E
s
is the secant modulus, E
t
is the
tangent modulus and r
e
is the equivalent stress
r
2
e
= r
2
x
r
x
r
y
r
2
y
X (18)
Neglecting elastic compressibility, m = m
s
= 1a2, the plastic
buckling equation is obtained from Eq. (4) as follows
m
b
_ _
2
r
x
n
2
r
y
=E
s
f
4
3
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
_
1
E
t
E
s
_ _
1
1nn
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
2
_
X
(19)
When E
s
= E
t
= E, this buckling equation coincides with
the elastic buckling Eq. (9).
In order to describe the material behavior, the following
stress-strain law [4] is applied
r
e
Y
=
Ee
e
Y
_ _
a
r
e
_ Y Y (20)
where a is a material constant. Then, the tangent and
secant moduli can be calculated as follows
E
t
= aE
r
e
Y
_ _a1
a
Y E
s
= E
r
e
Y
_ _a1
a
X (21a, b)
From Eqs. (19) and (21a, b), it can be seen that there is a
nonlinear interaction between r
x
and r
y
. However, this
interaction can be well described in terms of the non-
dimensional stresses
R
x
C
x

R
y
C
y
= 1 Y (22)
where
R
x
=
Y
Ef
r
x
Y
_ _1
a
Y R
y
=
Y
Ef
r
y
Y
_ _1
a
Y (23a, b)
C
x
= (1 n n
2
)
a1
2a

b
2
m
2
4
3
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
(1 a)
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
2
1 n n
2
_

_
_

_
(23c)
C
y
= (1
1
n

1
n
2
)
a1
2a

1
n
2
4
3
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
(1 a)
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
2
1 n n
2
_

_
_

_
X
(23d)
As in the elastic interaction formula, the number of half-
waves m and n must be chosen to give the lowest buckling
stress.
Figure 5 shows the plastic interactive buckling curves
for a = 0X1 and n = 0X5. For R
y
0, the plastic buckling
stresses for three different plate geometries have the same
value.
As before, the buckling equation in the same form as for
uniaxial loading can be obtained from Eqs. (19) and
(21a, b)
r
x
= C
+
Y
Ef
Y
_ _
a
Y (24)
where C
+
is a nondimensional plastic buckling coefcient
C
+
= (1 n n
2
)
a1
2

4
3
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2

1a
1nn
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_

_
_

_
a
X (25)
In Fig. 6, for various load ratios n, the plastic buckling
coefcients C
+
are presented with aspect ratio b. The
buckling stress decreases with increasing transverse
load.
Figure 7 shows the variation of plastic buckling coef-
cient C
+
with load ratio n for three different plate geom-
etries. The curves have their own maxima in contrast to
the elastic curves in Fig. 4. Thus, the optimal combination
of loads can be found for a given plate geometry. In this
gure, the highest buckling loads, which give optimal load
combinations, occur with compressive stresses in trans-
verse direction (0X25 ` n ` 0X5). It is also seen that the
value of load ratio for the highest buckling stress increases
with decreasing aspect ratio.
In Fig. 8, the plastic buckling coefcients C
+
with load
ratio n for various hardening factors a are presented and
the inuence of hardening factors is investigated for a
square plate. In this gure, the maxima of the buckling
Fig. 5. Plastic interactive buckling curves for biaxially loaded
plates
Forsch Ingenieurwes 65 (2000)
276
curves are clearly shown as in Fig. 7. The load ratios for
the highest buckling stresses are in the range of
0X5 ` n ` 0X5. It is also seen that the value of optimal
load ratio decreases with increasing hardening factor.
Thus, in this case, it can be predicted that for high hard-
ening materials, the optimal load combinations are given
by negative values of n, i.e., tensile loading in transverse
direction.
For the calculation of the plastic buckling load, it is
useful to use a plasticity reduction factor, which is dened
as the ratio of the plastic and elastic buckling loads. This
plasticity reduction factor g can be calculated from
Eqs. (13) and (24) as
g = g
+
Ef
Y
_ _
a1
Y (26)
where
g
+
=
3
4
(1 n n
2
)
a1
2a
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_

_
_

_
1
min

4
3
m
2
b
2
n
2
_ _
2

1a
1nn
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_ _
2
m
2
b
2
n
2
n
_

_
_

_
a
min
X (27)
In the above equation the subscript min represents the
smallest value for all integers of m and n. Figure 9 shows
the nondimensional plasticity reduction factor g
+
with
aspect ratio b for a = 0X1. The factor g
+
increases with
increasing load ratio n.
4
Conclusions
In this study, elastic and plastic buckling equations for
simply supported rectangular plates subjected to com-
bined loads have been derived according to the deforma-
tion theory. The plate material was assumed to be
incompressible for simplication.
For slender plates, the buckling is elastic and the
buckling stress is lower than the yield stress. The
interactive buckling curves were seen to be independent
of the external loading. For sturdy plates, however, the
buckling occurs in the plastic range and the moduli in the
constitutive equations depend on external loads.
In this study, it was shown that the plastic interactive
buckling curves were dependent on the load ratio. Using
Fig. 6. Plastic buckling coefcient C
+
with aspect ratio b
Fig. 7. Plastic buckling coefcient C
+
with load ratio n for various
aspect ratios b
Fig. 8. Plastic buckling coefcient C
+
with load ratio n for various
hardening factors a
J. Betten and C. H. Shin: Elastic-plastic buckling analysis of rectangular plates subjected to biaxial loads
277
these curves, the buckling design formula for a biaxially
loaded plate is expected to be accurately derived in the
plastic range. It was also seen that for sturdy plates under
biaxial loading, the optimal load combination could be
found from the plastic buckling analysis.
Especially, the general expression for the plasticity re-
duction factor has been presented in this study. Then,
using this factor, the plastic buckling load can be calcu-
lated with ease.
References
1. Brush DO, Almroth BO (1975) Buckling of bars, plates and
shells. McGraw-Hill, New York
2. Betten J, Shin CH (1997) Plastic buckling analysis of a circular
cylinder considering plastic compressibility. Forsch.
Ing.-Wesen 63, 177181
3. Durban D (1988) Plastic buckling of rectangular plates under
biaxial loading. In: Elishakoff et al. (ed.) Buckling of struc-
tures, 183194, Elsevier Sci. Pub, Amsterdam
4. Chakrabarty J (1987) Theorie of plasticity. McGraw-Hill, New
York
5. Hughes OF (1983) Ship structural design: A rationally-based,
computer-aided optimization approach. John Wiley & Sons,
New York
Fig. 9. Nondimensional plasticity reduction factor g
+
with aspect
ratio b for a = 0X1
Forsch Ingenieurwes 65 (2000)
278