Buckling Analysis of a Thin-Walled Structure Using Finite Element Method and Design of Experiments

Abstract

In structural engineering, thin-walled structures play an important role in the design of the lightweight structural model. It carries different loading conditions when it exists in any model, and it is designed with thin plates or thin shells. Penetrating thin-walled structures with different kinds of holes can decrease their weight and facilitate repair and maintenance operations, such as those carried out for the wing of an airplane. In such applications, cutouts are often employed as part of the design of composite plates. Therefore, this paper attempted to design and analyse the thin-walled composite structure with a C-cross-section shape. To model and analyse the structures, a finite element method was utilized using the ABAQUS commercial tool, and the results of critical buckling load for different laminate types were obtained. Composite materials and structures have different parameters that can vary the results of analysis; therefore, to optimize the current mode a design of experiments method is used via MINITAB 20 and Design-Expert 13 tools. The selected parameters for this work were the opening ratio, spacing ratio, and shape of the hole for the output response as a critical buckling load was carried out. Based on the current results of simulation and optimization, it was found that the parameters of composite materials and structures will impact the output response, and the current study investigated the optimum parameters for the best possible outcome of the structural analysis.

Numerical Buckling Analysis of Thin-Walled Channel-Section Composite Profiles Weakened by Cut-Outs

“…6b) did not show any significant influence on the value of critical load. Similar conclusions got in paper [33]. Figure 6a shows that when opening ratio increase then buckling load also increase.…”

“…They focused also on the parameter which has the most influence on the buckling behaviour of the aluminium thin-walled elements. The similar analysis was made in paper [33] where authors studied the same parameters but in profiles made from GFRP composite. Therefore, this has ignite author motivation to analysis presented study, hence contributes towards the knowledge on thinwalled composite structures with cut-out.…”

Numerical Investigations of Perforated CFRP Z-Cross-Section Profiles, under Axial Compression

“…The authors also took the space between holes and the size of holes as the parameters for their study. Similar analyses, but on GFRP composite profiles, were performed in work [ 36 ].…”

“…Moreover, in previous articles [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], the authors researched composite plate elements weakened by cut-out and composite profiles with different kinds of cross-section [ 41 , 42 , 43 ], but without cut-outs. Therefore, this has ignited author motivation, together with the papers by [ 35 , 36 ], for the analysis presented in this study, and hence contributes towards the knowledge on thin-walled composite structures with cut-outs.…”

Bimetallic Thin-Walled Box Beam Thermal Buckling Response

“…However, these structures show susceptibility to local buckling and buckling failure [ 1 , 2 ]. Buckling analysis and the post-buckling response of such weight-optimized structures have been the topic of many research papers, such as [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], especially in the field of composite materials [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”