Elastic deformation of ribbed plates under static, transverse and inplane loading

In this paper the analysis of ribbed plate systems subjected to transverse and inplane loading is presented. The adopted model takes into account the resulting inplane forces and deformations of the plate as well as the axial forces and deformations of the beam, due to combined response of the system. The analysis consists in isolating the beams from the plate by sections parallel to the lower outer surface of the plate. The forces at the interface, which produce lateral deflection and inplane deformation to the plate and lateral deflection and axial deformation to the beam, are established using continuity conditions at the interface. The solution of the arising plate and beam problems which are nonlinearly coupled, is achieved using the analog equation method. The adopted model permits the evaluation of the shear forces at the interface, the knowledge of which is very important in designing prefabricated ribbed plates. The influence of the inplane loading as well as the inplane geometrical boundary conditions on the deflections of the plate–beams system, and the shear forces at the interfaces between the plate and the beams is investigated by numerical examples of great practical interest.