ABSTRACT
The U-type stiffener has two web plates welded to plate which will be result in a bigger constraint to resist buckling occurrence in its attached plate, which is widely used in hatch cover structures of ship cargo hold and deck panels of long bridge, due to its easier fabrication, maintenance and painting. However, there is still a gap between the existing evaluation criteria and actual buckling strength for U-type stiffened plate. In this paper, linear finite element method is used to study the elastic buckling strength of stiffened plate with and without U-type stiffener under axial compression. Based on numerical results, a simple equation for U-type stiffened plate buckling evaluation is proposed. Then, ultimate strength results of U-type stiffened plates prove that the proposed equation is reliable and reasonable. The conclusions in this paper can be applied to guide structural design and ship rule amendment.
