Cross Ribbed Rectangular Plates

Abstract

In engineering practice, plates are often reinforced by ribs or stringers that introduce structural anisotropy. Consequently, classical plate theory for isotropic plates must be modified to account for this anisotropy. The response of such plate structures is described analytically by the theory of orthotropic plates, provided that the plate-rib/stringer structure is accurately modeled as an equivalent orthotropic plate. In this paper, a simplified procedure for determining plate rigidities is suggested. The suggested solution has been shown to be a reasonable approximation for cross ribbed plates. The solution is much simpler than others, with comparable results. In addition, the simplicity of the method allows optimization studies of ribbed plates to be undertaken relatively easily.