Numerical Study on the Serviceability Performance of Unstiffened and Stiffened Steel Plates

In this paper, the effects of transverse stiffeners for improving the buckling and post-buckling behaviors of thin steel plates under compressive loading have been investigated through consideration of two parameters, i.e. stiffeners number and height. Moreover, the deformations associated with the buckling stability of unstiffened and stiffened plates have been evaluated through detailed comparison. Numerous numerical models have been developed using ABAQUS and the buckling behavior has been studied through performing nonlinear static analyses. Plate’s largest deformation has been considered for comparison purposes which may not be necessarily located in the center of the plate surface. The use of stiffeners by and large increases the load-bearing capacity of the plates; however, it is shown that lack of proper detailing of stiffened plates may unfavorably result in the reduction of the load-bearing capacity and, in general, adversely affect the stability performance of such commonly-used slender members.