Plastic Buckling of Plates with Edge Frictional Shear Effects

Abstract

It is a well‐known paradox in the theory of plastic plate buckling that the discredited deformation theory of plasticity predicts the buckling stress well, whereas the generally accepted incremental theory predicts a buckling stress which is too high. The paradox is traced to the fact that prior analytical approaches neglect the effect of friction acting on the loaded edges during tests. The method of analysis makes use of finite element techniques based on incremental theory. Numerical computations were carried out on a digital computer. The shear stresses introduced by the edge frictional have the effect of substantially lowering the buckling stress. The numerical results compare well with the experimental data obtained by Pride and Heimerl (1948). It is indicated that the inclusion of frictional effects is crucial to obtain realistic results for plate buckling in the plastic range.