Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Linear buckling analysis of perforated plates subjected to localised

symmetrical load
Emanuele Maiorana, Carlo Pellegrino ∗ , Claudio Modena
a Department of Structural and Transportation Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: Holes are often unavoidable in webs of steel beams and in plates, due to inspection, maintenance and also
Received 3 January 2008 aesthetic purposes. In these situations, the presence of holes may cause redistribution of plane stresses in
Received in revised form plates with a significant reduction of stability. In this paper, linear buckling analyses of perforated plates
19 April 2008
subjected to localised symmetrical load, with circular and rectangular holes, are developed.
Accepted 21 April 2008
Available online 2 June 2008
The results show some relevant differences between the behaviour of the plate subjected to localised
symmetrical load with respect to that of uniform compressive load, already known in literature, with a
Keywords:
significant increase in the elastic critical load value. The buckling coefficient of square and rectangular
Stability perforated panels under symmetrical uniform compression assumes the same value of corresponding
Steel girder whole panels, and it strongly increases for localised symmetrical load, reducing its increment on the basis
Steel panel of the diameter of the hole. Lastly, some indications are given on the best orientation of rectangular holes
Perforated plate when localised load are applied showing differences with the uniform compression load case. Holes with
Localised load the longest edge parallel to the transverse direction of the panel subjected to uniform compression loads
Linear buckling are preferable for stability purposes. According to present results obtained for localised loads, holes with
the longest edge along the longitudinal direction are preferable.
© 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the elastic critical load of rectangular plates subjected to uniaxial

A wide literature review on elastic buckling of perforated plates
may be found in [17,1–3,16,11]. The behaviour of square shear
webs having circular holes was analysed by [15]; the elastic
stability of bi-axially loaded rectangular plates with a single
circular hole was recently studied in [9]. The case of concentrated
loads in perforated plates was shown in [4] while the axially
compressed perforated plates were studied in [18,7]. Ultimate
capacity of uniaxially compressed perforated plates was analysed
by [12] and the strength of slender webs having eccentric holes
was treated in [13]. Elasto-plastic buckling of rectangular plates in
biaxial compression/tension and uniaxial compression was studied
in [5,8]. Ultimate strength of perforated steel plates under shear
loading was recently studied by [14].
While a number of studies have been developed about linear
buckling behaviour of unperforated steel plates, few works
are available on perforated plates, and the particular case of
linear buckling behaviour of perforated plates under localised
symmetrical load is not deeply investigated.
Present numerical results are firstly validated with those of [7]
(in which the effects of geometric ratio and position of the hole on
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: carlo.pellegrino@unipd.it (C. Pellegrino).
0141-0296/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2008.04.024
compression are analysed) obtaining a good agreement. Once the
method was validated, linear buckling analysis has been developed
for square and rectangular plates with holes of different shapes
(circular and two types of rectangular), sizes and positions. The
influence of the configuration of the load is taken into account.
2. Basic concepts
In this work the problem of linear buckling of rectangular panels
with simply supported edges subjected to uniaxial compression is
studied when the length of the applied load ss varies. The rules
for the plates subjected to the following types of localised load
are shown in the Eurocode 3 part 1–5 [10]: central localised load
with respect to two successive transverse stiffeners, symmetric
localised load applied to the two flanges and load near the end of
the beam are considered only.
The collapse of plates subjected to compressive load is generally
due to the loss of stability for slender panels or to material yielding
for thick panels. In this paper, the influence of dimension and
position of the hole on elastic critical load and on maximum
resistance of the rectangular perforated plate subjected to localised
symmetrical load is studied by means of the Finite Element
Method [6].
It is well known that linear buckling analysis is based on
the determination of the buckling load through the resolution
3152 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158

of the eigenvalue problem. The first eigenvalue λ1 corresponds

to the elastic critical load while the eigenvector defines the
corresponding deformed shape.
Some preliminary analyses regarding the possible influence
of the mesh geometry on the results are performed (both with
rectangular and triangular elements). Plate elements with four
nodes (Quad4) and six degrees of freedom for each node are
used in this study considering elements with dimensions equal to
submultiples of those of the whole plate. The size of the hole and
its location are the two parameters that describe the geometry of
the mesh. The typical size of the element is about b/20, while the
Fig. 1. “Nodal” (A) and “maximum” (B) points.
elements along the perimeter and near the hole have dimensions
of b/50 or πd/40.
The four edges are simply supported while the load was applied compression (ss /b = 1.0) and localised symmetrical load (ss /b =
directly to the nodes as a system of conservative forces which do 0.25) there are not substantial differences in the buckling modes
not change direction during the deformation. and maximum values of the deformations when slenderness ratio
Buckling load of simply supported plates subjected to uniform changes (b/t = 30, b/t = 100). The results are shown in
compression is analytically determined by solving the well known Tables 1 and 2 where the curves with b/t = 30 and b/t = 100
Eq. (1). The meaning of the symbols is shown in Appendix. x axis is cannot be distinguished because they are substantially overlapped.
assumed as the horizontal axis. Hence, for the particular conditions considered in this work, it is
possible to adopt the basic equation (6) derived for plates without
∂2 ω
D∇ 4 ω + N̄x =0 (1) perforations.
∂x2
with the following boundary conditions:
3. Perforated plates with circular holes
∂2 ω
ω=0 = 0 along x = 0; a
∂x2 In this section the calculation of the buckling coefficient k is
∂2 ω shown considering variable size of the circular hole (d/b = 0.1,
ω=0 = 0 along x = 0; b
∂y2 0.3 and 0.5) and its position (x/b = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) for
The solution has the form: square and rectangular plates. The plate is subjected to localised
compressive load (ss /b = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) symmetrical with respect to
∞ X
∞
mπx nπx
ω= the axis of the plate. The case ss /b = 1.0, widely treated in [7],
X
Amn sin sin (2)
m=1 n=1
a b is taken as control reference. In the following, significant points
where m and n are integers that indicate the number of half-waves in the plates (“nodal” and “maximum” points) are considered (see
in x and y directions. Fig. 1).
Substituting the solution into Eq. (1) one obtains:
"
m2
!
n2
#
N̄x m2 π2
3.1. Position of the hole variable along the horizontal axis of the plate
Amn π4 + − = 0. (3)
a2 b2 D a2
The diagrams of Fig. 2 show the variation of k with x/b for
Therefore: localised symmetrical load with two extreme configurations ss /b =
!2 1.0 (Fig. 2a) and ss /b = 0.2 (Fig. 2b). Square plates are considered
π2 D b n2 a
N̄x = m + . (4) (a/b = 1). The same trend with a significant increase of k from
b2 a m b ss /b = 1.0 to ss /b = 0.2 is observed. k coefficient is influenced by
The lower value of N̄x is obtained with n = 1 and instability occurs the size of the hole d/b and x/b for ss /b = 0.2, while k coincides
with the single half-wave in y direction for the value: with the theoretical value of the non-perforated plates (k = 4.0),
regardless of x/b, for ss /b = 1.0.
kπ2 D The diagrams of Fig. 3 show the variation of k with x/b for
N̄xC = (5)
b2 localised symmetrical load with ss /b = 1.0 (Fig. 3a) and ss /b = 0.2
or: (Fig. 3b). Rectangular plates with a/b = 2 are considered. The
behaviour of the plate with a/b = 2 presents similarities but also
N̄xC π2 E 1
σxC = =k (6) significant differences with respect to the plate with a/b = 1. A
12 1 − ν2 (b/t)2


t significant increase of k from ss /b = 1.0 to ss /b = 0.2 is still
where the buckling coefficient k is: observed. Observing the diagram for ss /b = 0.2 the following
circumstance is noted: while for d/b = 0.1 k is almost constant,
b 1 a 2 for d/b = 0.3 and 0.5 k increases with x/b from x/b = 0.2 (hole
 
k= m + . (7)
a mb at the edge) to x/b = 1.0 (hole at the centre). Beyond x/b = 0.6,
For uniformly loaded plate, with a/b = 2, m = 2 and k = 4.0. Other k remains almost constant when position and diameter of the hole
details could be found in [19]. vary.
From Eqs. (6) and (7) it follows that the critical bifurcation load The diagrams of Fig. 4 show the variation of k with x/b for
of the plate without holes depends on the aspect ratio a/b and the localised symmetrical load with ss /b = 1.0 (Fig. 4a) and ss /b = 0.2
plate slenderness b/t but the buckling coefficient is independent (Fig. 4b). Rectangular plates with a/b = 3 are considered. k varies
on the plate thickness. from x/b = 0.3 (hole at the edge) to x/b = 1.5 (hole at the
Comparing square and rectangular (a/b = 2) plates with centre). As in the previous cases, there was a similar trend with
different holes (d/b = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) subjected to uniform a significant increase of k from ss /b = 1.0 to ss /b = 0.2. Also
 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158 3153

Table 1
Critical deformed configuration vs. slenderness ratio for square plates (1z = out-of-plane displacement measured in mm)
Mesh and load scheme ss /b = 0.25 (b/t = 30 and 100) ss /b = 1.00 (b/t = 30 and 100)

Fig. 2. k vs. x/b diagrams for square plates (a/b = 1).

in this case, for ss /b = 0.2 and d/b = 0.1, k is almost constant;
while for d/b = 0.3 and 0.5 k increases until x/b = 0.6 and then
remains constant. The holes with d/b = 0.1 are less interesting
because their dimension is practically negligible with respect to
the extension of the plate hence the buckling coefficient coincides
with that of non-perforated plates. The case of plate with a/b = 4
is quite similar (see Fig. 5).
3.2. Centre of the hole in the nodal point of the critical deformed
configuration
In Fig. 6 k vs. d/b diagrams with the centre of the hole in the
nodal point of the critical deformed configuration are shown. A
significant increase of k for ss /b = 0.2, compared to ss /b = 1.0, is
observed without any relevant variation of the buckling coefficient
k with d/b.
3154 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158

Table 2
Critical deformed configuration vs. slenderness ratio for rectangular plates (1z = out-of-plane displacement measured in mm)
Mesh and load scheme ss /b = 0.25 (b/t = 30 and 100) ss /b = 1.00 (b/t = 30 and 100)

Fig. 3. k vs. x/b diagrams for rectangular plates (a/b = 2).

3.3. Centre of the hole in the maximum point of the critical deformed
configuration
In Fig. 7 k vs. d/b diagrams with the centre of the hole in the
maximum point of the critical deformed configuration are shown.
A significant increase of k for ss /b = 0.2, compared to ss /b = 1.0,
is still observed. For ss /b = 1.0, values of the buckling coefficient
are constant when d/b varies. For localised load with ss /b = 0.2,
k decreases when d/b increases in the plates with hole in the
first sub-panel (the first four configurations in Fig. 7). In both
configurations where the hole is located in the central sub-panels
(last two configurations in Fig. 7), k remains constant when d/b
varies.
The different results, for ss /b = 0.2 compared to ss /b =
1.0, can be explained with the following considerations. Buckling
resistance is mostly provided by the edges of the sub-panels where
the hole is located since the critic deformation is made up by half-
waves with length corresponding to panels with a/b = 1. On the
contrary, buckling stability is mostly due to non-perforated sub-
panels near the perforated one since the hole is placed in the sub-
panel which is not directly loaded.
 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158 3155

Fig. 4. k vs. x/b diagrams for rectangular plates (a/b = 3).

Fig. 5. k vs. x/b diagrams for rectangular plates (a/b = 4).

Fig. 6. k vs. d/b diagrams for rectangular plates with hole in nodal points of the critical deformed configuration.

3.4. Position of the hole variable along the vertical axis of the plate Plates with hole in the maximum point show similar k vs. y/b
diagrams (see Fig. 9).

Fig. 8 shows k vs. y/b diagrams with hole in the nodal point
of the plate with a/b = 4 considered as example. The distance y
refers to the edge of the hole. Holes with d/b = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 are
still studied. The diagrams in Fig. 8 show a similar behaviour for
ss /b = 1.0 and ss /b = 0.2 with an increase of k.
4. Perforated plates with rectangular holes
In this section the influence of plate geometry (a/b), dimension
(d/b) and position (x/b) of two types of rectangular holes
on the buckling coefficient k is discussed considering various
3156 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158

Fig. 7. k vs. d/b diagrams for square and rectangular plates with hole in maximum points of the critical deformed configuration.

Fig. 8. k vs. y/b diagrams with hole in the nodal point of the critical deformed configuration. Plates with a/b = 4.

Fig. 9. k vs. y/b diagrams with hole in the maximum point of the critical deformed configuration. Plates with a/b = 4.

configuration of localised load (ss /b). Rectangular holes with
rounded corners with dimensions d × 1.5d and two different
orientations are considered: RS holes with the longest edge along
the transverse (vertical) direction of the panel and RL holes with
the longest edge along the longitudinal (horizontal) direction.
In Fig. 10 k vs. d/b diagrams are shown considering RS hole
centre in nodal points of the critical deformed configuration. The
configurations of the load with ss /b = 1.0 and ss /b = 0.2 are
still considered. The diagrams in Fig. 11a and b (ss /b = 1.0 and
ss /b = 0.2 respectively) are similar with increment of k from the
first to the second loading configuration.
In Fig. 11 k vs. d/b diagrams are shown considering RL hole
centre in nodal points of the critical deformed configuration. The
configurations of the load with ss /b = 1.0 and ss /b = 0.2 are still
 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158 3157

Fig. 10. k vs. d/b diagrams for RS holes with centre in nodal points of the critical deformed configuration.

Fig. 11. k vs. d/b diagrams for RL holes with centre in nodal points of the critical deformed configuration.

considered. The diagrams in Fig. 11a and b are still similar with
increment of k from the first to the second loading configuration.
For ss /b = 1.0k remains always constant with d/b. For ss /b = 0.2 k
remains always constant with d/b, except for plates a/b = 2 for
which an increment is observed for d/b = 0.5.
In Fig. 12 k vs. d/b diagrams (with ss /b = 1.0 and ss /b = 0.2)
are shown considering RL hole centre in maximum points of the
critical deformed configuration. The diagrams are similar to those
obtained in the corresponding case of circular hole. There is still
an increase of reduction of k for plates with RL holes in the panels
which are directly loaded.
5. Conclusions
A number of studies have been developed about linear buckling
behaviour of ordinary plates, few works are available on perforated
plates, while linear buckling behaviour of perforated plates under
localised symmetrical load is not deeply studied.
In this paper linear buckling analysis has been developed
for square and rectangular plates with holes of different shapes
(circular and two types of rectangular), sizes and positions. The
influence of the configuration of the load is taken into account
varying its length. A number of numerical analyses have been
developed and produced the following results.
• Although the critical bifurcation load of the plate without holes
depends on the aspect ratio a/b and the plate slenderness
b/t, the buckling mode is found to be independent on the
plate thickness for the particular conditions described in this
paper, therefore the basic relations, valid for plates without
perforations, can be also adopted for perforated plates.
• For square panels (a/b = 1) and symmetrical uniform
compression (ss /b = 1.0) k remains constant with circular hole
dimension (d/b) (k ∼ = 4 both for whole and perforated plates);
k strongly increases for localised symmetrical load with ss /b =
0.2 reducing its increment on the basis of the diameter of the
hole.
• In rectangular panels (a/b = 2, 3, and 4), a similar increment
of k when ss /b = 0.2 with respect to uniform compression
(ss /b = 1.0) is observed. This increment does not depend on
the ratio d/b for holes far from the loaded edge.
• k does not vary with d/b when the centre of the hole is in a nodal
point of the critical deformed configuration. An increase of k of
approximately four times occurs for ss /b = 0.2 with respect to
uniform compression (ss /b = 1.0).
• When the centre of the hole is in a maximum point of the critical
deformed configuration, a reduced increment of k occurs if the
hole is close to the edge loaded.
• As already shown in [7], RS holes are preferable for stability
purposes for loads when ss /b = 1.0 (especially for plates with
3158 E. Maiorana et al. / Engineering Structures 30 (2008) 3151–3158

Fig. 12. k vs. d/b diagrams for RL holes with centre in maximum points of the critical deformed configuration.

a/b = 2 and holes with d/b = 0.5 in the nodal point). According References
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