Finite element analysis of buckling of corroded ship plates

The paper is concerned with the assessment of ship plates in which corrosio n has reduced their overall thickness making them vulnerable to buckling-re lated failures. The uniaxial buckling of simply supported square plates is studied for several corrosion patterns, which are allowed to progressively engulf the entire plate. The finite element method is employed for computin g buckling loads of corroded plates with different boundary conditions. Num erical results are presented in the form of generic plots of buckling load versus volumetric metal loss for several corrosion patterns considered in t he paper. The mechanics of buckling load variations by corrosion is discuss ed in detail. The spatial location of the corrosion patch appears to have a significant effect on the buckling strength. It is noted that the case of uniform corrosion is not the most detrimental case, rather corrosion confin ed in a corner or central area appears to be more critical.