International Review of Mechanical Engineering (I.RE.M.E.), Vol. 1, n.

1

Manuscript received and revised December 2006, accepted January 2007 Copyright 2006 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved
Buckling and vibration of stiffened plates


Gabor M. Vrs


Abstract The buckling and dynamic characteristics of stiffened plates subjected to dead loads
are studied using the finite element method. In structural modeling, the plate and the stiffener are
treated as separate elements where the displacement compatibility transformation between these
two types of elements takes into account the constraint torsional warping effect in the stiffener.
The development is based on a general beam theory, which includes the effect of flexural-torsion
coupling, constrained torsion warping, and shear center location. The virtual work principle
includes the second order terms of finite beam rotations. Numerical tests are presented to
demonstrate the importance of torsion warping constraints.

Keywords: Finite element, Stiffener, Free vibration, Buckling load, Constraint torsion



I. Introduction
Many mechanical engineering structures consist of
stiffened thin plate and shell elements to improve the
strength/weight ratio. The buckling and vibration
characteristics of stiffened plates and shells subject to
initial or dead loads are of considerable importance to
mechanical and structural engineers.
In the early analysis of stiffened plates an equivalent
orthotropic plate model was widely implemented to
obtain solutions. This model is unable to predict the
actual behaviour of the system except when the
stiffeners are very light and closely spaced. A more
realistic and accurate model is achieved through the
separate consideration of the plate and the stiffeners
using plate and beam elements. Using the technique
where stiffeners are modelled by beam finite elements,
Jirousek [1] formulated a 4-node isoparametric beam
element including transverse shear and Saint-Venant
torsion effects. A combined stiffened element, where the
stiffener can be placed anywhere within the plate/shell
element, was presented in Refs. [2] and [3]. Recently,
Srivastava et al. studied the vibration and buckling of
simply supported reinforced plates subject to different
loads in Ref. [4]. It is a common feature of finite
element based methods that in order to attain
displacement continuity, a rigid fictitious link is applied
to connect one node in the plate element to the beam
node shearing the same section. This approach neglects
the out-of-plane warping displacements of the beam
section and, in such cases, the usual formulation
overestimates the stiffener torsional rigidity. To improve
the stiffener element Patel et al. in Ref. [5] introduced a
torsion correction factor. This is analogous to the shear
correction factor introduced in the beam theory.
According to Saint-Venants theory of free torsion,
the cross-section does not generally remain plain and the
points can move freely in the direction of the axis of the
rod and the angle of torsion changes linearly with a
constant rate. If this torsional warping is restricted by
external or internal constraints, then the rate of torsion
will also change along the rod. The theory of impeded
torsion was developed by Vlasov [6]. Apart from Ref.
[7], the author could find any work in the literature
involved in the examination of constrained torsion in the
stiffening beam elements of complex plate/shell
structures. However, the effect is obvious, especially in
terms of dynamics and stability phenomena when the
global characteristics of a structure are investigated,
such as frequencies, mode shapes, or critical load
causing a loss of stability. Investigations of stand-alone
beam structures verify that an approximate or more
accurate modelling of the torsional stiffness,
eccentricity, or mass distribution of the stiffening rod
thereof can considerably modify the value. Theoretically
and practically as well, if there is adequate capacity
available beam-type components in complex structures
can also be modelled by flat shell, or even spatial finite
elements. Consequently, the size of the model and the
number of degrees of freedom will change considerably,
increasing the time required for calculations and making
the interpretation and evaluation of results more
difficult. It is a better solution if the properties of
components are improved and the ranges of phenomena
possible to be modelled are increased at the element
level.
As the main objective of the present paper is to study
the effect of constraint torsion, the shear deformation of
the beam is neglected and the formulation of the
stiffener is based on the well-known Bernoulli-Vlasov
theory. For the finite element analysis, cubic Hermitian
polynomials are utilized as the beam shape functions of
lateral and torsional displacements. The stiffener
element has two nodes with seven degrees of freedom
per node. In order to maintain displacement
compatibility between the beam and the stiffened

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
element, a special transformation is used, which includes
the coupling of torsional and bending rotations. In the
numerical analysis, the plate was modelled with four-
noded thick shell elements. This is derived by
combining a quadrilateral Mindlin plate element of
Bathe and Dvorkin [8] (known as MITC4, mixed
interpolation of tensorial components) with a plane-
stress element where the contribution of drilling degrees
of freedom was taken into account as it was proposed by
Allman and Cook [9].
The equation for the periodic vibration of an elastic
system undergoing small deformations and
displacements can be expressed in the form
( )
0 2
G
+
(
=

K K M U 0 , (1)
where K, K
G
and M are the global linear stiffness,
geometric stiffness and mass matrices, respectively, and
U is the set of nodal displacements or mode shapes.
Here
0
represents the initial stress state due to static
loads and stands for frequency.
II. Kinematics of the beam
Let us have a straight beam member with an
asymmetric cross-section as it is shown in Fig. 1. The
local axis x is parallel to the axis of the beam element
and passes through the end nodes N
1
and N
2
. The co-
ordinate axes y and z are parallel to the principal axes,
signed as r and s. The positions of the centroid C and
shear centre S in the plane of the section are given by
the relative co-ordinates y
NC
, z
NC
and y
CS
, z
CS
. The
external line loads are applied along points P located y
SP
and z
SP
from the shear centre.
C
N
X

s
x
z
r
y
CS
S
y
z
NC
z
CS
f
y
f
z
P
y
SP
z
SP
y
NC
z
y
N
1

N
2

Y

Z

L

Fig.1. Beam element local systems and eccentricities

Displacement measures for an initially straight,
prismatic beam element can be described on the
assumption that the cross-section undergoes a rigid
body-like motion. Accordingly, u, v, w are the rigid
body translations in the x, y, and z directions of point S
and , , denote rigid body rotations about the shear
centre axes parallel to x, y and z, respectively. The axial
displacement is the sum of u, effect of rotations and
and the out-of-plane torsion warping displacement. It
should be noted that all local displacement parameters
are defined at the shear centre S as it is shown in Fig. 2.
Based on large rotation theory, the displacement
vector consisting of translational and rotational
deformations is obtained as specified by Kim M.Y. in
Ref.[10]:
( )
S S
1
2
*
| |
= + + = +
|
\
u u R R U U , (2)
where | |
T
0 r s = R ,
T
S CS CS
0 y z = (

R and
0
0
0
(
(
=
(
(



is the small rotation matrix. Rewriting displacements
in a component form results in

| | ( )
x
i y S S
z
CS CS
CS
CS
U
U U
U
u (s z ) (r y )
v (s z ) ,
w (r y )
(
(
= = = +
(
(

+ ( (
( (
= +
( (
( (

U u R R
(3a)
( )
( )
( )
x
i y S
z
CS CS
2 2
CS CS
2 2
CS CS
U
1
U U
2
U
(r y )+ (s z )
1
(r y )+ (s z ) ,
2
(r y ) (s z )
*
* * *
*
(
(
(
= = = (

(
(

(

(
(
= +
(
(
+
(

U R R
(3b)

where U and U
*
are the displacements corresponding to
the first and second order terms of displacement
parameters. Here the out-of-plane torsional warping
displacement is defined by the (x) warping parameter
and the (r,s) warping function normalized with respect
to the shear centre. For thin-walled sections = - , the
sector area co-ordinate.
II.1. Beam stress resultants
According to the assumption of rigid in plane
deformations the stress resultants in a cross section can
be defined as:
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
x r xr s xs
A A A
r x s x x
A A A
CS xs CS xr x s CS r CS
A
2 2
P CS CS x
A
N , V , V ,
M s , M r , B ,
T= r y s z M +V y Vz ,
M r y s z

dA dA dA
dA dA dA
dA
dA
= = =
= = =
( =

(
= + =
(

2
pS r r s s
N i M M B , + +
(4)

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
where N represents the axial force acting at the centroid,
V
r
and V
s
are the shear forces acting at the shear centre,
M
r
and M
s
are the bending moments with respect to r
and s principal axes, T is the total torsional moment with
respect to the shear centre and B is the bimoment (see
Fig. 2). Additionally, M
P
is the stress resultant known as
the Wagner coefficient. The geometric properties of the
cross-section in the specified system are defined in the
following way:

2 2 2
r s
A A A
r s
A
2 2 2 2 2 r s
pS CS CS r CS
r
A
2 2 2 2
s CS
s
A A
I s , I r , I ,
J I I s r ,
r s
I I 1
i y z , s(r s ) 2z ,
A I
1 1
r(r s ) 2y , (r s )
I I
dA dA dA
dA
dA
dA dA

= = =
| |
= +
|

\
+
= + + = +
= + = +

.
(5)

When the shear deformation effects are not
considered, the Euler-Bernoulli and the Vlasov
constraints are adopted as:

( )
w v
w , v ,
x x
x t
x
d d
d d
d
,
d
= = = =

= =
. (6)

V
s
V
r

xs

xr
s
y
CS
x
s
S
r C
z
CS
u
v
w



x
S
r C
N
T
M
r
M
s
Fig.2. Local displacement parameters and stress resultants
II.2. Incremental description
In incremental analysis, it is necessary to divide a
deformation path into a number of small steps or
increments. Along this path configuration C
1
represents
the last calculated equilibrium state and C
2
a
neighbouring or desired state. Using the updated
Lagrangian formulation, the principle of virtual work for
a general continuum is expressed as

( )
( ) ( )
1
1 1
2 2 2
ij ij
V
2 2 2 2
i i i i
V A
S R
q u p u A ,
1
1 1
d V
d V d
=
= +

(7)

where
2
S
ij
and
2

ij
are the Cartesian components of the
second Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor and the Green-
Lagrange strain tensor measured with respect to C
1
,
respectively,
2
u
i
denotes the total displacement and
2
R
represents the external virtual work done by the body
force
2
q
i
and the surface traction
2
p
i
occurring at C
2
. The
notation adopted here is the same as those used by Bathe
at al. in Ref. [11]. Thus, the left superscript indicates in
which configuration the quantity occurs while all
variables are referred to the known configuration C
1.
To
derive the incremental form of principle (7), stress,
external loads and displacement can be decomposed as

( ) ( )
2 1 2 1 2 1
ij ij ij i i i i i i
2 1 1
i i i i i i
2
i i i i
S S , q q q , p p p ,
u u u u U U ,
u u U U ,
*
*
= + = + = +
= + = + +
= = +
(8)

where
1

ij
is the known Cauchy stress tensor at
configuration C
1
,

U and U
*
are the (3a-b) incremental
displacements measured from configuration C
1
due to
the first and second order effects of the beam rotational
parameters respectively. No left superscript represents
the incremental variables. Substituting incremental
displacements into the definition of Green-Lagrange
strain and neglecting the higher order terms than the
third order, the variation of incremental strain can be
expressed as

( ) ( ) ( )
2
ij i j j i k i k j ij ij ij
1
u u u u e e
2
*
, , , ,
= + + + + , (9)
where
( )
( )
ij i j j i i,j k i k j
*
ij i j j i
1 1
e U U , U U ,
2 2
1
e U U .
2
, , , ,
* *
, ,
= + =
= +
(10)

The subscript comma indicates the partial
differentiation with respect to the spatial coordinates of
configuration C
1.
As the incremental stress can be
related to the incremental strain by the linear
constitutive (Hooke) law, we may introduce the
following assumption:

( ) ( ) ( )
2 1
ij ij ij ij ijmn mn ij
S S C e e = . (11)

Substituting Eqs. (8)-(10) into (7), the incremental
principle now can be written as
( )
( ) ( )
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1 1
1 1
ijmn mn ij ij ij ij
V V
1 1
i i i i
V A
i i i i i i
V A
1 1 1
i i i i ij ij
V A V
C e e e
q U p U A
q U U p U U A
= q U p U A e .
1 * 1
* 1 * 1
* 1 * 1
1 1 1
d V d V
d V d
d V d
d V d d V
+ +

+ +
+




(12)

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
The equilibrium condition of initial stress, body and
surface forces in configuration C
1
can be expressed as

( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
1
1 1
1 1 1
ij ij
V
1 1 1 1
i i i i
V A
1 1
i i ij ij
e R
q u p u A ,
u U , e e .
1
1 1
d V
d V d
=
= +
= =

(13)

If deformation-independent loads are considered only
and by subtracting Eq. (13) from Eq. (12), the final form
of the linearized (quadratized) virtual work principle for
the structure subjected to
1

ij
initial stress is expressed as

1 1
1 1 1
1 1
ijmn mn ij ij ij
V V
1 1 1
ij ij i i i i
V V A
1
C e e
2
e q U p U A R 0,
1 1
* 1 * 1 * 1
d V d V
d V d V d

(
( + =
(

(14a)
or in short
L G1 G2 Ge
R 0 + + + = (

, (14b)

where the first term
L
represents the increment of
conventional elastic strain energy, the sum of the terms

G1
,
G2
and
Ge
represents the change in potential
energy due to initial stresses and the second order
effects of eccentric initial loads, while R is the external
work of load increments on incremental displacement.
For time dependent dynamic problems, the body force
increment in (8) is the inertia force and the appropriate
external work term in (12) and (14b) can be written in
the following form

( )
( )
1 1
i i i i i
V V
R = q U U U U
* 1 1
d V d V +

&&
. (15)
Substituting the displacement expressions (3a) and
(3b), strain displacement relations (10) and internal
constraints (6) into (14a), noting the definition of stress
resultants (4) and integrating over the cross-section, the

L
term in (14b) can be expressed as:

( )
1
L ijmn mn ij
V
L
2
CS CS
0
2 2 2 2
r s
1
C e e
2
1
EA u +y v z w
2
EI w EI v EI GJ x ,
dV
d
=

= +

(
+ + + +

(16)

where E and G are the components of
1
C
ijmn
and denote
the elastic and shear moduli of isotropic material,
respectively. For
G1
and
G2
in Eq. (14b) with non
zero initial stress componenets
1

11
=
x
,
1

12
=
xr
and
1

13
=
xs
and with the (4) definition of internal forces
and neglecting the square of derivative of axial
displacement u in the first term, we obtain:

( )
( )( ) ( )( )
( ) ( ) ( )
L
2 2 2
G P
0
r CS s CS
r s
1
N v w M
2
M z N v v M y N w w
V w 2u v V v 2u w T v w v w . dx

= + +

+ + +
( + + +

(17)
Considering initial distributed line loads f
x
, f
y
and f
z

acting at the arbitrary point P in the cross-section as it is
signed on Fig.1, the corresponding term of (14b) is
expressed as
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
L
1
Ge i i x SP SP
A 0
2 2
y SP SP
2 2
z SP SP
1
p U A = f y w z v
2
f y v z v w
f y v w z w .
*
d
dx
= +

+ +
(
+ +
(

(18a)

Also, considering initial forces F
x
, F
y
and F
z
acting at
point of (y
SP
, z
SP
) in the i-th nodal section, the additive
potential due to these eccentric forces is

( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
Ge x SP SP
2 2
y SP SP
2 2
z SP SP
i
1
F y z
2
F z y
F y z .
= +

+ +
(
+ +
(

(18b)

At this point we may introduce a new displacement
parameter, the overall average of (3a) linear axial
displacement as:

x CS CS
A
1
u U , u = u v y w z
A
dA =

. (19)

Using this transformation, the new form of (16), (17)
L

and
G
are:

L
2 2 2 2 2
L r s
0
1
EAu EI w EI v EI GJ x
2
d
(
= + + + +

, (20)

( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )
( )( )
L
2 2 2
G P
0
r CS
s CS
r s
r s CS CS
1
N v w M
2
M z N v v
M y N w w
V w V v T v w v w
2 V v V w u v y w z x . d

= + +

+
+ +
+ +
( +

(21)

The underlined parts in this equation are the axial
displacement related energy terms. Apart from this, Eq.
(21) is identical to those published by Kim S.B. and

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
Kim M.Y. in Refs. [10] and [12]. The governing
differential equations of motion can be obtained by
variation of the energy functional (14b) with respect to
the four independent displacement parameters u, v, w
and .
II.3. Finite element model
The derivation of element matrices is based on the
assumed displacement field. The U
S
element vector of
14 local displacement parameters in local (S) system is
defined as

| |
T
T
S S S S
1 2
u, v, w, , , , , . ,
(
= =

U (22)

A linear interpolation is adopted for the axial
displacement and a cubic Hermitian function for the
lateral deflections and the twist:

( )
( )
( )
( )
1 2
1 1 1 2 2 3 2 4
1 1 1 2 2 3 2 4
1 1 1 2 2 3 2 4
u u (1 ) u ,
v v F L F v F L F ,
w w F L F w F L F ,
F L F N L N ,
= +
= + + +
= +
= + + +
(23)

where:
2 3 2 3
1 2
2 3 3 2
3 4
F 1 3 2 , F 2 ,
x
F 3 2 , F , .
L
= + = +
= = =


Substituting the shape functions into Eqs. (15), (18a-b),
(20), (21), and integrating along the element length L,
Eq. (14b) is obtained as

( ) { }
ST S S
L G Ge
e
0 + + + =

U k k k U m U f
&&
, (24)

where k
L
, k
G,
k
Ge
, m and f are the element linear
stiffness, geometric stiffness, load stiffness, mass and
nodal load matrices in local (S) system, respectively.
The assemblage of the element matrices for the entire
structure leads to the (1) matrix equation of motion for
the beam structure. For a linear static problem with zero
initial stress state the (k
G
+ k
Ge
) geometric stiffness is
zero in Eq. (24), and the displacement increment
becomes the total displacement. For linear stability
analysis, at a critical load level it is assumed that there
are possible displacement increments without load
increments.
In this study it is assumed that the M
r
and M
s
initial
bending moments in Eq. (4) are linearly varying along
the beam element length, while the other internal force
components are uniform. The exactly integrated 14x14
element linear stiffness and geometric stiffness matrices
based on the (23) assumed displacements and in case of
neglecting the axial displacement effects - the
underlined terms in Eq. (21) - are presented in the
Appendix.
III. Stiffener transformation
The element matrices detailed so far are specified in
the local system of coordinates of the beam. The
transformation of element matrices between the systems
x, r, s and X, Y, Z consists of two steps: transform local
displacement parameters into node N and rotate into the
global system of X, Y, and Z (see Fig. 1).
Coupling of the structural components and
composition of the system matrices of the entire
structure are based on the fact that the transformed
motion parameters (specific degrees of freedoms) of
connecting nodes are identical. This condition ensures
the required displacement continuity along connecting
surfaces, between connecting components. When
coupling two beam elements, continuity of
displacements is required along the cross-sections. The
displacements of nodal point N, with the co-ordinates r
= -y
NC
and s = -z
NC
(see Fig. 1) in the plane of the cross-
section on the basis of linear displacement vector (3a)
and transformation (19) will be as follows:

( )
( )
N
x NC NC
y NC CS
z NC CS
x y z
u u y z ,
u v z z ,
u w y y ,
, , ,
= + +
= + +
= +
= = =
(25)

From the above and Eq. (22), the transformation matrix
between the local (S) and nodal (N) parameters of a
cross-section can be specified as:

N
NC NC
NC CS
NC CS
S N
1 0 0 0 z y
0 1 0 (z z ) 0 0 0
0 0 1 (y y ) 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 1
(

(
+
(
+
(
=
(
(
(

, (26)

where
T
N
x y z x y z
u , u , u , , , , ( =

is the matrix
of nodal local displacements and
N
is the value of
torsional warping function in the node. If a beam
element is connected to another beam, plate, or shell
component along its mantle as well, then the continuity
of displacements must also be ensured along a
connecting line parallel with its axis. During torsion,
while the cross-section turns around point S by an angle
, the originally straight line in the direction of axis x
and crossing points N assumes a spiral shape. The
rotation arising there is proportional with the distance
between points S and N. Using the notations of Fig. 3,
the vector of spiral rotation can be described as

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1

= ( )
SN NC CS NC CS
NC CS
0
y y
z z
d
dx
(

( = + = +
(
+

R R R .

Supplementing rotations in Eq. (25) by this:

x
y NC CS
z NC CS
,
(y y ) ,
(z z ) ,
=
= + +
= + +


from which the modified nodal matrix of the inverse
relation and of the transformation between the
displacement parameters, that is, the matrix connecting
the stiffening component can be described as:

NC NC 17
24
34
S N
34
24
N
17 NC CS NC CS
24 NC CS 34 NC CS
1 0 0 0 z y M
0 1 0 M 0 0 0
0 0 1 M 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 M
0 0 0 0 0 1 M
0 0 0 0 0 0 1
M = y z z y
M (z z ) , M (y y ) .
,
,
(
(
(
(
=
(

(


= + = +

(27)

A difference between transformations (26) and (27) can
only be depicted in column 7. These members link the
axial tensile and bending motions with the warping
parameter. The usual transformation describing a
fictitious rigid coupling does not include any effects
arising from the torsion of the cross-section and
torsional warping. As regards transformations, a definite
difference should be made between beam-to-beam
couplings in beam structures when (26) can be applied,
and stiffening element coupling, for which only (27) is
suitable. In this form, transformation (27) can be used
for any other beam finite elements with seven degrees of
freedom per node, regardless of the number of element
nodes, or the beam theory applied.

R
SN
C
r
s
x
S
N

Fig.3. Joint line rotation

The calculation of k
Ge
load stiffness matrix of the
stiffener element requires some remarks. The stiffener
load is not known directly as the proportion of the total
external (initial) load on the stiffening element depends
on relative stiffness conditions. Nevertheless, initial
internal forces are known, whose eccentric attack-point
P is always along the contact line of the stiffener and the
plate/shell cover. Hereinafter the contact point should be
the node N and using the notation in Fig 1, N = P,
therefore the eccentricities in Eqs. (18a-b) are

( )
( )
SP SN NC CS
SP SN NC CS
y y y y ,
z z z z ,
= = +
= = +
(28)

and the eccentric f
x
, f
y
, and f
z
line loads can be calculated
directly from the equilibrium conditions of the stiffener
initial state.
There is a simpler way to calculate the stiffener load
stiffness, if the cubic elements are used to calculate the
initial stress state of the system. It follows from the
shape functions (23) that the normal and shear forces are
uniform in a straight beam element but different from
element to element. Equivalent external forces acting at
the two end nodes of an element can replace this simple
internal force distribution:

x1 y1 r z1 s
x2 y2 r z2 s
F N , F V , F V ,
F N , F V , F V .
= = =
= + = + = +
(29)

With these beam element end loads and (28)
eccentricities in Eq. (18b), the additive stiffness due to
off axis stiffener loads acting along the joint line is
expressed as

( )
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2 2
Ge 1 2 r SN s SN
2 2 2 2
1 2 s SN 1 2 r SN
1 1 2 2 SN 1 1 2 2 SN
1 1 2 2 r SN s SN
1
V y V z
2
V z V y
Ny Nz
V z V y ,

= +

+ +

( +

(30)

from which the k
Ge
coefficients can be derived in a
simple way.
IV. Numerical examples
In order to demonstrate the accuracy and the practical
usefulness of the proposed beam element and stiffener
transformation three examples are discussed in this
section.
IV.1. Lateral-torsion buckling of a beam
The first example considers a single beam with
uniform line load as it is shown in Fig 4.

f
L

Fig.4. Example 1.

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
The eccentric load is applied along points N at the upper
flange (see Fig. 5a). The length of the beam is L = 6000
(mm) and the support conditions at the two hinged end
nodes are as follows: x = 0, u
x
= u
y
= u
z
= 0,
x
= 0, and
x = L, u
y
= u
z
= 0,
x
= 0, and the material properties
are: E = 2,0 10
5
MPa, = 0,3, = 8,0 10
-9
Nsec
2
/mm
4
.
For comparison, the critical (buckling) value of the
maximum bending moment that is related to the load can
be written in a compact form as follows:

2
2
cr 1 s
2
2
s cr r
2 SP 3 cr
EI
M C E I G J 1 ,
L GJL
EI f L
= C z C , M .
L GJ 2 8

| |

|
= + +
|
\
| |
+ =
|
\
(31)

This relationship is identical to that used in Ref. [13],
where the coefficients C
i
depend on the load and support
conditions of the beam. In this specific problem: C
1
=1,132, C
2
= 0,459, C
3
= 0,525. Calculations were
performed according to the three different cross-section
models:
A: The cross-section is a mono-symmetric I profile and
the beam elements are connected with the rigid lever
arm transformation in the form of (26). The section
dimensions and properties are summarised in Fig. 5a. In
this case the external load stiffness is calculated from
Eq. (18a).

r
S
z, s
C
N, P
y
334
8
8
150
8
200

56,9
101,6
A


A = 5472 mm
2

Ir = 1,059 10
8
mm
4

Is = 7,598 10
6
mm
4

J = 1,176 10
5
mm
4

I = 1,850 10
11
mm
6
r = -128,3 mm
zNC = -158,5 mm
zCS = +56,9 mm
z
SP
= +101,6


Fig. 5a. Example 1, section model A, section properties

B: The cross-section consists of a T shaped and a flat
rectangular profile connected by stiffening component
transformation (27) along the N nodal joint line, as it is
shown in Fig 5b. Now, the load stiffness of the lower T
section is calculated from the partial stiffener loads as it
was described in connection with Eq. (30).
C: As the previous one, but the upper flange of the
section was divided into four-noded plane shell
elements. The number of elements is two crosswise and
N
x
along the beam axis. The remaining T section (see
Fig 5b) and the shell components were connected along
the joint line by transformation (27). In the numerical
analysis, the flat plate parts are modelled with four-
noded thick shell elements. The flat shell element was
derived by combining a quadrilateral Mindlin plate
element of Bathe and Dvorkin [8] - known as MITC4 -
with a plane-stress membrane element where the
contribution of drilling degrees of freedom was taken
into account as it was proposed by Cook [9].

r
2
S
2
z, s
1
, s
2
C
2
N, P, C
1,
S
1

y, r
1
118
224
B

A1 = 1600 mm
2

Ir1 = 8,533 10
3
mm
4

Is1 = 5,333 10
6
mm
4

J1 = 3,327 10
4
mm
4


A2 =3872 mm
2

Ir2 = 4,906 10
7
mm
4

Is2 = 2,264 10
6
mm
4

J2 = 8,259 10
4
mm
4

r2 = +276,5 mm
zNC2 = -224,0 mm
zCS2 = -118,0 mm

Fig. 5b. Example 1, section model B, section properties

Table I. shows the results of buckling load
determined by various divisions Nx. The results of
section models A and B are only slightly different.
Besides the usual thin walled approximations of cross-
sectional characteristics, this can be caused by the fact
that, taken strictly, the contact line is on the surface of
the upper beam and not in point N. This 4 mm
difference may bring about such an error. There is a
larger difference in the results of the mixed section
model C, which may also be caused by the different
modelling (beam, plate) of the lower and upper flange
plates. In this latter case, the bad aspect ratio of the plate
elements further deteriorates the accuracy in case of
smaller division numbers N
x
.

TABLE I.
EXAMPLE 1. COMPARISON OF BUCKLING LINE LOAD
fcr (N/mm)
Section Nx = 4 Nx = 8 Nx = 16 Eq. (31)
A +21,83
-25,30
+21,33
-24,07
+21,21
-23,79
+21,2
-23,8
B +22,41
-24,47
+21,43
-23,84
+21,20
-23,69

C +30,24
-27,33
+23,70
-24,79
+22,05
-24,00

IV.2. Free vibration of a beam
The beam of previous example as it is shown in Fig.
4. was analysed to study the variation of natural
frequencies with applied steady state line load. Here the
beam was divided into N
x
= 16 finite elements along x-
axis.
TABLE II.
EXAMPLE 2. NATURAL FREQUENCIES IN Hz
f = 0 (N/mm)
Section 1 2 3 4
A 7,688 12,80 29,11 30,06
B 7,689 12,77 29,14 30,00
C 7,719 12,73 29,13 29,98

The Table II. shows the first four frequencies with
zero loads. The first three modes are coupled lateral (y
direction) bending-torsion modes with one or two half-

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
wave length and the fourth mode is the vertical (z
direction) pure bending mode. It can be observed that
the results of different section models are practically the
same.

0
10
20
-25 -15 -5 5 15 25
f(N/mm)
(Hz)
1 2

Fig. 6. Example 2, variation of first two modes with line load

The variation of frequencies with applied steady
state line load in the firs two coupled bending torsion
modes for section model B are shown in Fig. 6.
IV.3. Stiffened plate
In the following, application possibilities of the beam
element and stiffener coupling are presented through the
examination of the stiffened plate structure shown in
Figures 7 and 8. The plate is loaded by a vertical (z
direction) uniform p pressure. A possible way of
buckling is that the relatively high stiffener ribs turn out
about its line of attachment to the plate.

6000
1800
x
y
600

Fig 7. Example 3, stiffened panel, dimensions in mm.

The issue of the tripping of a single stiffener element
was studied by Yuren Hu et al. [14]. They specified a
solution for the Vlasov differential equation formulated
for the function of rod torsion by approximation using a
trigonometric function series. According to their
calculations, the critical load in the positive z direction
is f = 35,65 N/mm or p = fb = 59,42 kPa, with b = 600
mm. They did not published any results for critical load
in the opposite, negative direction.

More accurate results can be expected by applying
the stiffened plate model. The t = 6 mm thick plate was
divided into 12x12 plate elements and the stiffeners into
3x12 beam elements. Support conditions along the
perimeter of the plate are as follows: along sides x = 0,
and 6000: u
x
= u
y
= u
z
= 0,
x
=
z
= 0, and along sides
y = 0 and 1800: u
x
= u
y
= 0,
z
= 0. Besides, the
seventh degree of freedom at the ends of stiffening
beams free. The material properties are: E = 2,0 10
5

MPa, = 0,3, = 8,0 10
-9
Nsec
2
/mm
4
.

r
T
z, s
C
N
y
hw
t
tf
hf
tw


t = 6 mm
hw = 350 mm
tw = 6 mm
hf = 100 mm
tf = 8 mm
A = 2900 mm
2

Ir = 4,00 10
7
mm
4

Is = 6,73 10
5
mm
4

J = 4,23 10
4
mm
4

r = 298 mm
zNC = -224,4 mm
zCT = -129,6 mm
Fig 8.Example 3, stiffener section

pcr = 63,46 kPa
79 81 83 85 87 89 91

pcr = -51,42 kPa
79 81 83 85 87 89 91
Fig 9. Example 3. x torsional buckling mode of central stiffener
(normal mode shape)

By solving the eigen value problem, the results
shown in Figure 9 were yielded for critical load p from
the lowest positive and negative eigen values. The figure
shows the tripping (torsion) of the middle stiffening
beam as well. If the load is negative, p points
downwards, the stiffening beam is stressed by tension
and bending, and the buckled shape will be a half wave.
For loads pointing upwards, the beam internal forces are
compression and bending and the value of the critical
load as well as the torsion of the beam in the form of
two half waves show good agreement with the beam
model results of Yuren Hu [14].
In the following, we are going to study connections
between surface pressure as a dead load and vibrating
mode shapes and frequencies. The seventh degree of
freedom at the ends of stiffening beams is free.

TABLE III.
EXAMPLE 3. NATURAL FREQUENCIES IN Hz, p = 0.
1 2 3 4
15,01 16,69 22,28 24,54

Table III. shows the value of the first four
frequencies with zero surface pressure. The sequence of
the mode shapes of the middle stiffening rod are: a half
wave torsional oscillation (t1), a vertical bending (bz1),
two half-wave torsion (t2), and bending (bz2) ones.

G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
Figure 10 shows the change of frequencies and mode
shapes of the middle stiffening rod. If the load is
increased in the negative direction, the lowest frequency
will be decreased, but the sequence according to the
type of mode shapes will not change. For loads in the
opposite direction, changes will be more considerable.
The sequence of mode shapes will be t2, bz2, t1, and bz1
after several changes, near the critical load; however,
this change is not continuous. Some of the frequencies
are reduced and the rest are increased by changing the
load; furthermore, the nature and shape of modes change
in the order of frequencies. Before reaching the critical
load in the positive direction, there are several points of
intersection on the right side of Figure 10, there can be
many different mode shapes at nearly identical
frequency values, which refers to the instability of the
state preceding the loss of stability. The effect of dead
loads can considerably modify the results of dynamic
calculations.

0
10
20
30
-60 -10 40
p (kPa)
Hz
t1
bz1
t2
bz2


Fig 10. Example 3. Frequency-dead load relation of stiffened plate.
V. Conclusion
In this study a new finite element coupling method
was presented for the analysis of stiffened plates. It has
been demonstrated that the study of the restrained
torsion generated in the stiffeners involves two
important points. One of them is the proper modelling of
the constrained torsion and eccentric properties of the
beam element, and the other is the problem of coupling
the stiffening and stiffened components. Usual
transformations describing a fictitious rigid coupling do
not include any effects arising from the torsion of the
cross-section and torsional warping.
Numerical results have been compared with
analytical results. The proposed model appears to be
efficient for the linear static, dynamic and buckling
analysis of stiffened panels.

Appendix
Appendix 1. Linear stiffness matrix k
L
:

a 0 0 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 0
b 0 0 0 c 0 0 b 0 0 0 c 0
d 0 e 0 0 0 0 d 0 e 0 0
f 0 0 g 0 0 0 f 0 0 g
2h 0 0 0 0 e 0 h 0 0
2i 0 0 c 0 0 0 i 0
j 0 0 0 g 0 0 k
a 0 0 0 0 0 0
b 0 0 0 c 0
d 0 e 0 0
f 0 0 g
2h 0 0
2i 0
j
(
(
(
(
(
(

(
(

(
(

(
(
(

s s r
3 2 3
s r r
2

3 2

12EI 6EI 12EI EA
a , b , c , d ,
L L L L
2EI 2EI 6EI
h , i , e ,
L L L
12EI 6EI 6GJ GJ
f , g ,
5L 10 L L
4EI 2EI 2GJL GJL
j , k .
15 30 L L
= = = =
= = =
= + = +
= + = +


Appendix 2. Geometric stiffness matrix: k
G
:

R R R R
S S S S
P S R P R S P S R P
S S S
R R R
P R S P S R P
R R
S S
P S R P
S
R
P
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
a 0 e 0 b f 0 a 0 e 0 b g
a e b 0 f 0 0 a e b 0 g
e f f f 0 e e e g g g
4c 0 h 0 0 b f c 0 i
4c h 0 b 0 f 0 c i
h 0 f f f i i i
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
a 0 e 0 b g
a e b 0 g
e g g g
4c 0 j
4c j
j
(
(
(
(

(

(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

2
pS r r s s 1 2
r CS 1 2
s CS 1 2
P N i A M M B P (1 ) P
R M N z R (1 ) R
S M N y S (1 ) S
/ = + + + = +
= + = +
= = +

0 0 0
2
P
1 1 2 1 2
P P P
1 2 1 2
P P
P 6N N N L
a , b , c , f ,
5L 10 30 10
P 3(P P ) (3P P )L
g , e , h ,
10 5L 30
(P P )L (P 3P )L
i , j .
60 30
= = = =
+ +
= = =
+ +
= =

e
R
, f
R
, ...j
R
and e
S
, f
S
, ...j
S
are obtained by replacing
P R and P S .



G. M. Vrs


Copyright 2007 Praise Worthy Prize - All rights reserved International Review of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, n.1
Appendix 3. Mass matrix:
1 12
T
12 2
AL ,
(
=
(

m m
m
m m

1
2
2 CS s CS
s
2 2 CS CS
r r
2 2
pS pS
CS CS 4 4
2 CS
r
2 CS
s
2
pS
4
2a 0 0 0 0 0 0
b
0 0 b z 0 f mi f z
ki
b f
0 b y 0 f y
ki mi
b i f i
0 f y f z
ki mi
h
0 0 h y
4ei
h
0 h z
4ei
h i
0
4ei

=
(
(
+
(
+
(

(
+
(
(

(
+ +
(
(
+
(
(
(
+
(
(
+ (

m

2
2 2 CS CS
s s
2 2 CS CS
r r
2 2
pS pS
CS CS 4 4
2 CS
r
2 CT
s
2
pS
4
2a 0 0 0 0 0 0
b f
0 0 b z 0 f z
ki mi
b f
0 b y 0 f y
ki mi
bi f i
0 f y f z
ki mi
h
0 0 h y
4ei
h
0 h z
4ei
hi
0
4ei

=
(
(

(
+
(
(
+ +
(
(

(
+
(
(
+
(
(
(
+
(
(
+ (

m

12
2 2 CS CS
s s
2 2 CS CS
r r
2 2
pS pS
CT CT CS CS 4 4
2
2 CS r CS
r
2 2 CS CS
s s
2
p
CS CS 4
a 0 0 0 0 0 0
c g
0 0 c z 0 g z
k i m i
c g
0 0 c y 0 g y
k i j i
c i g i
0 c z c y g y g z
k i m i
g
0 0 g y j e i 0 j y
m i
g j
0 0 g z 0 j z
m i e i
g i
0 g z g y
m i

m
2
pS
CS CS 4
j i
j y j z
e i

(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

(
(

2 2
2
1 13 9 1
a , b , c , e ,
6 35 70 30
11L 13L L L
f , g , h , j ,
210 420 105 140
6 1
k , m .
10L 5L
= = = =
= = = =
= =

2 2 4 s r
r s
2 2 2 2 2
pS r s CS CS
I I I
i , i , i
A A A
i i i y z .
,

= = =
= + + +


References
[1] J. Jirousek, A family of variable section curved beam and thick
shell or membrane stiffening isoparametric elements.
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the analysis of arbitrary plates, Thin-Walled Structures Vol. 40,
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of Mechanics, A/Solids Vol. 23, pp. 159-179, 2004.
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[10] M.Y. Kim, S.P. Chang, H.G. Park,. Spatial postbuckling analysis
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[12] S.B. Kim, M.Y. Kim, Improved formulation for spatial stability
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Authors information
The authors place and date of birth:
Szombathely, Hungary, May. 08. 1947.
Basic qualification: M.Sc. in Mechanical
Engineering from Technical University of
Miskolc, Hungary.
His present position: Associate Professor,
Department of Applied Mechanics, Budapest
University of Technology and Economics.
Highest scientific degrees: PhD, Dr.habil.
in Engineering Sciences.
Dr. Vrs personal home page: http://www.mm.bme.hu/~voros
E-mail address: voros@mm.bme.hu