Example Description
This example uses a flat plate to test out-of-plane buckling of shell elements. The plate is 24 inches long, 24 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Unit shear and bending stresses, T and σ, respectively, are applied to the plate edges in two separate load cases. The buckling loads, cr Tcr and σcr, calculated by SAP2000 this model are compared with independent results.
The modeling for this example is set up such that the automatic area meshing feature of SAP2000 this model can be used. This makes it easy to test the model with different mesh sizes. In this example both a 16x16 and a 64x64 mesh are used, in separate models.
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Four frame objects are defined around the perimeter of the plate spanning from one corner of the plate to the next. The property modifiers for those frame objects are all set to zero so that they contribute no stiffness, mass or weight to the structure. The frame objects are specified to be automatically subdivided at intermediate joints. All of the plate edge loading is applied to these “dummy” frame objects as distributed loads. Applying the load using those beams allows the edge load to be properly distributed when the automatic area meshing is used.
Tested Features
- Buckling analysis of shells
- Automatic area meshing (NxN) with added restraints
- Joint springs
- Frame property modifiers
- Frame distributed load
- Frame automatic subdivide at intermediate joints