First Yield of Edge Beam Stiffened Square Plates

A first yield analysis of uniformly loaded, edge beam supported, square plates is presented. The analysis is based on the Levy solution of the small deflection, equilibrium equations and the Huber-Mises yield criterion. The edge beams are assumed to possess both torsional and flexural stiffness, but the effects of finite shear stiffness and beam eccentricity are both neglected. Three edge beam arrangements are considered: (1)Opposite edges supported by identical edge beams; (2)one edge simply supported and the other edge beam supported; and (3)one edge clamped and the other edge beam supported. Nondimensionalized first yield loads and associated deflections are presented for a wide range of flexural stiffness values and for three distinct torsional stiffness values. These results show that the presence of only a moderate torsional stiffness may raise/lower the first yield load significantly compared to that for a plate incorporating torsionally weak edge beams.