Interaction curves for stiffened panel with circular opening under axial and lateral loads

Stiffened panels in ships and offshore oil platforms are provided with circular openings for repair, access and maintenance. This paper presents the numerical study carried out on the ultimate strength of stiffened panel with central circular opening subjected to axial load, lateral load and a combination of axial and lateral loads. Ultimate strength of the panel was evaluated considering both geometric and material non-linearities using FEA software ANSYS. Plates of varied widths and open section unequal angle stiffeners covering plate and column slenderness ratios in the practical range of 1.0-4.5 and 0.32-1.00, respectively, keeping the opening ratio equal to 1.0 are the parameters considered in this study. On the basis of the study, interaction curves were developed for normalised axial load and normalised lateral load. The developed interaction curves for stiffened panels with angle stiffeners and circular opening were found to be non-linear for lower plate slenderness ratio up to 2.0 and for the range of column slenderness ratio covered in the present study. Interaction equations were also proposed based on non-linear regression analysis for determining the ultimate strength of stiffened panel under axial, lateral and also under combined axial and lateral loads.