Collapse behavior of thin rectangular plates subjected to partial biaxial compression

The post-buckling behavior and the ultimate strength of simply-supported, thin, rectangular, steel plates subjected to partial biaxial compressive loads have been established in this study. The computer-aided analytical technique used accounts for large deflections, elastic-perfectly plastic material behavior, residual stresses and initial out-of-plane deflections. The method of analysis is based on the principle of minimum potential energy and the Rayleigh-Ritz solution procedure. However, the solution procedure has been applied in an incremental step-by-step manner. The influences of initial imperfections such as out-of-plane deflections and residual stresses, and the plate width-to-thickness ratio on the behavior and the ultimate strength of such plates have been discussed in detail. The results of the parametric study are presented in graphical form and summarized by simple design curves.