Plates and Foldes Structures

Abstract

Fig.2.1 presents panels and folded structures, subjected to compression forces in one direction only. In such structures the compressive stresses are not uniformly distributed, but are lower at the free edges or in the center region of the panels than at the corners. For the calculation of stress and deformation in panels under compression, engineers all over the world-use the concept of effective width, that means the width of a partial panel, which transmits the sane force as the whole panel, but has constant stress; in fact the same as at the stiffened panel edges. Fig.2.2 shows the effective width for an example problem. For thin-walled highly loaded panels it can drop to 5% or less of the actual width.