Experiment and analysis of hat-stringer-stiffened composite curved panels under axial compression

An experimental and numerical study on the buckling and post-buckling behaviors of hat-stringer-stiffened composite curved panel under axial compression load was carried out. Several influence factors, such as skin thickness, panel radius, and distance between two adjacent stringers were studied. Three groups of stiffened curved panel buckling and postbuckling behaviors were obtained. An engineering approach was proposed to predict the initial buckling load of curved panel. Finite element analysis was used to investigate these tests and the FE models were performed by ABAQUS. The experiment results compared with that of numerical are presented. The capability and feasibility of numerical predictions in post-buckling field was assessed by comparing with experimental data. Good agreement between experimental and numerical results was observed.