Analysis of Elastic-Plastic Plates and Shells Under Cyclic Loading

Abstract

The behavior of elastic-plastic plate and shell structures under repeated loading is considered. The typical problem is formulated in incremental or “rate” form, and a variational method is applied to furnish an approximate solution in a stepwise fashion. In the analysis, Ziegler’s model of kinematic hardening is adopted together with a generalization of Masing’s rule for multi-axial stress states in order to describe material response under cyclic loading. Examples of application of the analysis include cylindrical shells and circular plates subjected to cyclically varying loads. The accuracy of the approximate solution in each case is assessed through a comparison of numerical results with published experimental data for monotonic loading conditions.