Dynamic instability of stiffened plates subjected to non-uniform harmonic in-plane edge loading

The dynamic instability characteristics of stiffened plates subjected to in-plane partial and concentrated edge loadings are studied using finite element analysis. In the structural modelling, the plate and the stiffeners are treated as separate elements where the compatibility between these two types of elements is maintained. The method of Hillʹs infinite determinants is applied to determine the dynamic instability regions. Numerical results are presented to study the effects of various parameters, such as static load factor, aspect ratio, boundary conditions, stiffening scheme and load parameters on the principal instability regions of stiffened plates using Bolotinʹs method. The results show that location, size and number of stiffeners have a significant effect on the location of the boundaries of the principal instability region.