Buckling of Simply Supported Folded Plates

The local elastic buckling of the component plate elements of single-cell, simply supported, folded-plate structures subjected to uniform transverse loads is investigated. Experimental studies on aluminum models have demonstrated the occurrence of such local buckling. An analytical method based on Rayleigh's principle is presented for estimating the buckling load under the combined effect of all-in-plane forces acting simultaneously on the plate element. An iterative procedure is used to find the length of the buckled panel that will yield the minimum load that satisfies the condition of neutral stability. A comparison of theoretical and experimental results is shown for five typical models having two different types of cross section, three different plate thicknesses and four span-length-to- depth ratios. Agreement between predicted and observed values of buckling load are, on the whole, satisfactory.