Buckling analysis of stiffened stepped plates with B spline finite strip method

The elastic buckling analysis of unstiffened and stiffened plates with a step changing in thickness at arbitrary locations is presented. This analysis is based on the B3-spline finite strip method and in the context of the classical plate theory. Description is given by introducing the concept of multiple knots which makes the method versatile in dealing with any longitudinal change in thickness of the strip element. The problem can be overcome by inserting the multiple knots at the location of the changes. A number of examples are presented to show the accuracy and efficiency of the method.

Keywords:

Stepped plate StiffenED plate , B3Spline , multiple knot