Experimental and numerical studies on buckling of cracked thin-plates under full and partial compression edge loading

Buckling failure is a common occurrence in thin plates under compression loading, in particular when there are some imperfections such as openings and cracks. This form of failure can often precede strength failure. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies on the critical buckling load of cracked plates subjected to axial compression is carried out. For this purpose, the rectangular plates made by 1200A aluminum alloy with central inclined crack are considered. The effects of crack length and orientation, thickness of plates and plate aspect ratio are investigated experimentally and numerically. Effects of boundary conditions and loadings are also studied by considering different types of supports and loading such as partial edge acting forces and supports. Finally, the results of experiments are compared with the results of numerical methods.

► Buckling load decreases with increasing angle between cracks and loading direction. ► For plates with short cracks the direction of crack does not affect buckling load. ► Perpendicular crack to loading causes more reduction in buckling load. ► Buckling is sensitive to clamped edge’s length more than edge loading’s length.