Ultimate Strength and Ductility Characteristics of Intermittently Welded Stiffened Plates Under In-Plane Axial Compression

Abstract

The ultimate strength and ductility characteristics of the intermittently welded stiffened plates under the action of in-plane axial compression are investigated in this paper. A series of detailed numerical analyses of longitudinally stiffened steel plates subjected to in-plane compressive load is performed using the ADINA commercial finite element code. Complete equilibrium paths are traced up to collapse for a nonlinear elastic-plastic response of stiffened plates. Analyzed stiffened plates are imperfect and their aspect ratio, plate slenderness, and column slenderness are changed in a systematic manner. Different types of stiffener are chosen for stiffened plate models. Three different stiffener-to-plate welding procedures are considered: continuous, chain intermittent, and staggered intermittent fillet welding.