Cyclic Bending of Plates under Transverse Loading

The cyclic bending behavior of simply supported steel square plates under transverse loads is studied. Three cyclic conditions, the fixed deflection amplitude, and the fixed load amplitude are considered. A method of elastic and perfectly plastic large deflection small strain analysis is explained and the hysteretic characteristics of plates are obtained for three width-thickness ratios (b/t=40, 60 and 80) under two loading conditions, uniformly distributed load and center patch load. The influence of membrane action and the spread of the plastic zone on the shape of the hysteretic loops, the variation of the force and bending moment intensities, and the deterioration of plates are also theoretically clarified.