ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the behaviour of thin rectangular plates subjected to inplane compression, shear, bending or bearing. The behaviour under compression is applied to the design of plate elements in compression members and compression flanges in beams. An intermediate longitudinal stiffener must be sufficiently stiff flexurally to prevent the plate from deflecting at the stiffener. Stiffeners should be proportioned to resist local buckling. The post-buckling effect is greater in plates supported along both longitudinal edges than it is in plates which are free along one longitudinal edge. Many structural steel compression members are assemblies of flat plate elements which are rigidly connected together along their common boundaries. The local buckling of an assembly can be analysed approximately by assuming that the plate elements are hinged along their common boundaries, so that each plate acts as if simply supported along its connected boundary or boundaries and free along any unconnected boundary.
