NONLINEAR-ANALYSIS OF THIN-WALLED STRUCTURES USING PLATE ELEMENTS

This paper presents a simple and efficient rectangular thin plate elem ent for elastic geometric non-linear analysis of thin-walled structure s. Based on the updated Lagrangian formulation and small strain hypoth esis, this element can accurately predict the non-linear pre- and post -buckling load-deflection paths of a plate structure. Using symbolic m anipulation, the linear and geometric stiffness matrices for the recta ngular thin plate element are derived explicitly, thereby eliminating the need for numerical integration. The element contains 30 degrees of freedom (d.o.f.): 14 d.o.f. for the in-plane (membrane) action and 16 d.o.f. for the out-of-plane (bending) action. Several examples involv ing the large deflection behaviour of thin-walled structures are prese nted to demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency and versatility of the me thod.