Effective section calculation of aluminium plate assemblies under uniform compression considering interactive local buckling

Zhang Qilin, Tang Hailin, Wu Yage
College of civil Engineering, Tongji University, China

In this paper, elastic interactive local buckling formulas of box and channel sections are established according to the classic plate stability theory. The restraint effects of adjacent plate elements on the bearing capacity of cross-sections are studied and the corresponding formulas of the restraint coefficient are derived. The effective thickness method is then modified to calculate the ultimate strength of box and channel sections, which is adopted by current codes of various countries. Non-linear finite element analysis is carried out and its results are compared to that of the modified method presented in this paper. It is found that the plate assembly restraints have an obvious influence on the bearing capacity of box and channel sections. The modified method of this paper can lead to safe results in most cases.

Key words: Interactive buckling, effective width, effective thickness, plate assembly effect