Buckling Optimization of Curved Grid Stiffeners through the Level Set Based Density Method

Stiffened structures have great potential for improvingmechanical performance,and the study of their stability is of great interest.In this paper,the optimization of the critical buckling load factor for curved grid stiffeners is solved by using the level set based density method,where the shape and cross section(including thickness and width)of the stiffeners can be optimized simultaneously.The grid stiffeners are a combination ofmany single stiffenerswhich are projected by the corresponding level set functions.The thickness and width of each stiffener are designed to be independent variables in the projection applied to each level set function.Besides,the path of each single stiffener is described by the zero iso-contour of the level set function.All the single stiffeners are combined together by using the p-norm method to obtain the stiffener grid.The proposed method is validated by several numerical examples to optimize the critical buckling load factor.

Bending tests and finite element analysis of lipped channels with complex edge stiffeners and web stiffeners

In order to study the bearing capacity and stability behavior of cold-formed steel flexural members with complicated sections,a total of 12 specimens divided into 6 groups were tested,including 3 groups of pure bending tests and non-pure bending tests each.There were three types of sections considered in this investigation,including channels with complex edge stiffeners(called B1-section),Σsection with complex edge stiffeners(called B2-section),and channels with complex edge stiffeners and V-type web stiffeners(called B3-section).Local buckling,distortional buckling and interaction buckling between them were observed in tests.The experimental results indicate that the bending strengths of B2-section specimens were the largest of these three types of specimens under the same conditions.It is found that the bending strength of B2-section specimens was increased by 6.47%for pure bending state and 8.12%for non-pure bending state,compared with that of B1-section specimens.Bending strength of B3-section specimens was almost the same with that of B1-section specimens under pure bending,but a little smaller than that of B1-section under non-pure bending state.It is also shown that B2-section specimens have better plastic deformation behavior than the other two sections.In addition,a non-linear finite element model was presented and verified against tests.The finite element analysis results agree well with experimental bending strength and failure modes.

Nonlinear Bend Stiffener Analysis Using A Simple Formulation and Finite Element Method

Flexible marine risers are commonly used in deepwater floating systems. Bend stiffeners are designed to protect flexible risel against excessive bending at the connection with the hull. The structure is usually analyzed as a cantilever beam subjected to an inclined point load. As deflections are large and the bend stiffener material exhibits nonlinear stress-strain characteristics, geometric and material nonlinearities are important considerations. A new approach has been developed to solve this nonlinear problem. Its main advantage is its simplicity; in fact the present method can be easily implemented on a spreadsheet. Finite element analysis using ABAQUS is performed to validate the method. Solid elements are used for the bend stiffener and flexible pipe. To simulate the near inextensibility of flexible risers, a simple and original idea of using truss elements is proposed. Through a set of validation studies the present method is found to be in a good agreement with the finite element analysis. Further, parametric studies are performed by using both methods to identify the key parameters and phenomena that are most critical in design. The most important finding is that the common practice of neglecting the internal steel sleeve in the bend stiffener analysis is non-conservative and therefore needs to be reassessed.

Key Techniques and Applications of Adaptive Growth Method for Stiffener Layout Design of Plates and Shells

The application of the adaptive growth method is limited because several key techniques during the design process need manual intervention of designers. Key techniques of the method including the ground structure construction and seed selection are studied, so as to make it possible to improve the effectiveness and applicability of the adaptive growth method in stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Three schemes of ground structures, which are comprised by different shell elements and beam elements, are proposed. It is found that the main stiffener layouts resulted from different ground structures are almost the same, but the ground structure comprised by 8-nodes shell elements and both 3-nodes and 2-nodes beam elements can result in clearest stiffener layout, and has good adaptability and low computational cost. An automatic seed selection approach is proposed, which is based on such selection rules that the seeds should be positioned on where the structural strain energy is great for the minimum compliance problem, and satisfy the dispersancy requirement. The adaptive growth method with the suggested key techniques is integrated into an ANSYS-based program, which provides a design tool for the stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Typical design examples, including plate and shell structures to achieve minimum compliance and maximum bulking stability are illustrated. In addition, as a practical mechanical structural design example, the stiffener layout of an inlet structure for a large-scale electrostatic precipitator is also demonstrated. The design results show that the adaptive growth method integrated with the suggested key techniques can effectively and flexibly deal with stiffener layout design problem for plates and shells with complex geometrical shape and loading conditions to achieve various design objectives, thus it provides a new solution method for engineering structural topology design optimization.

Buckling analysis of functionally graded material(FGM) sandwich truncated conical shells reinforced by FGM stiffeners filled inside by elastic foundations

An analytical solution for buckling of an eccentrically stiffened sandwich truncated conical shell is investigated. The shell consists of two functionally graded material （FGM） coating layers and a core layer which are metal or ceramic subjected to an axial compressive load and an external uniform pressure. Shells are reinforced by stringers and rings, in which the material properties of shells and stiffeners are graded in the thickness direction following a general sigmoid law distribution. Two models of coated shell-stiffener arrangements are investigated. The change of the spacing between stringers in the meridional direction is taken into account. A couple set of three-variable- coefficient partial differential equations in terms of displacement components are solved by the Galerkin method. A closed-form expression for determining the buckling load is obtained. The numerical examples are presented and compared with previous works.

THE LAYOUT OPTIMIZATION OF STIFFENERS FOR PLATE-SHELL STRUCTURES

The plate-shell structures with stiffeners are widely used in a broad range of engineering structures. This study presents the layout optimization of stiffeners. The minimum weight of stiffeners is taken as the objective function with the global stiffness constraint. In the layout optimization, the stiffeners should be placed at the locations with high strain energy/or stress. Conversely, elements of stiffeners with a small strain energy/or stress are considered to be used inefficiently and can be removed. Thus, to identify the element efficiency so that most inefficiently used elements of stiffeners can be removed, the element sensitivity of the strain energy of stiffeners is introduced, and a search criterion for locations of stiffeners is presented. The layout optimization approach is given for determining which elements of the stiffeners need to be kept or removed. In each iterative design, a high efficiency reanalysis approach is used to reduce the computational effort. The present approach is implemented for the layout optimization of stiffeners for a bunker loaded by the hydrostatic pressure. The numerical results show that the present approach is effective for dealing with layout optimization of stiffeners for plate-shell structures.

Effect of stiffeners on crashworthiness of square aluminium columns considering damage evolution

Combining the optimization and FEM technology,crashworthiness of aluminum extrusions was studied for an automobile safety plan.The effects of longitudinal stiffeners on the crushing of stiffened square columns were studied considering the damage evolution.The numerical analysis was carried out by ABAQUS software.Subsequently,the collapse behavior of aluminum extrusion damage was validated by comparing against solution published in literature.Finally,in order to find more efficient and lighter crush absorber and achieving minimum peak crushing force,response surface methodology(RSM) has been applied for optimizing the aluminum extrusion tube.

A NEW DISPLACEMENT-TYPE STABILITY EQUATION AND GENERAL STABILITY ANALYSIS OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE CIRCULAR CONICAL SHELLS WITH TRIANGULAR GRID STIFFENERS

In this paper, based on the theory of Donnell-type shallow shell, a new displacement-type stability equations is first developed for laminated composite circular conical shells with triangular grid stiffeners by using the variational calculus and generalized smeared-stiffener theory. The most general bending stretching couplings, the effect of eccentricity of stiffeners are considered. Then, for general stability of composite triangular grid stiffened conical shells without twist coupling terms, the approximate formulas are obtained for critical external pressure by using Galerkin's procedure. Numerical examples for a certain C/E composite conical shells with inside triangular grid stiffeners are calculated and the results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, the influence of some parameters on critical external pressure is studied. The stability equations developed and the formulas for critical external pressure obtained in this paper should be very useful in the astronautical engineering design.

Penetration of the Stiffener Web to Deck Plate Weld in Orthotropic Plated Bridge Decks

This paper reports the results of experimental research the longitudinal stiffeners in an orthotropic plated bridge deck on concerning the connection between the deck plate and the web of a microscopic scale. An important number of test specimens of a weld are studied with the help of a video microscope, to detect the efficiency of the root of the weld. The second part of the paper is concerned with parametric analysis of the lack of weld penetration by using accurate finite element modelling. The results demonstrate that the weld quality often required can not always be assured, which surely has important consequence on the stresses in the weld and the fatigue resistance.

Rapid Modeling and Finite Element Analysis of Missile Stiffener

Stiffener is the important missile structure to ensure the structural strength of the missile. In order to improve the design efficiency and the quality of the missile stiffener, the methods of missile stiffener rapid modeling and analysis are proposed. First, the problems of traditional manual modeling of the stiffener are analyzed. According to the problems and actual requirement of modeling, volume decomposition method is used to divide the stiffener into the upper section, the lower section and the web in order for feature analysis and parameter extraction. Then based on the parameters the basic unit decomposed above is created for Boolean operation to establish the stiffener. Finally, a rapid stiffener modeling and analysis program were developed based on UG Open API, the modeling and analysis result validates the feasibility of the method.

Mechanical and thermal postbuckling of FGM thick circular cylindrical shells reinforced by FGM stiffener system using higher-order shear deformation theory

The postbuckling of the eccentrically stiffened circular cylindrical shells made of functionally graded materials （FGMs）, subjected to the axial compressive load and external uniform pressure and filled inside by the elastic foundations in the thermal environments, is investigated with an analytical method. The shells are reinforced by FGM stringers and rings. The thermal elements of the shells and stiffeners in the fundamental equations are considered. The equilibrium and nonlinear stability equations in terms of the displacement components for the stiffened shells are derived with the third-order shear deformation theory and Leckhniskii smeared stiffener technique. The closed-form expressions for determining the buckling load and postbuckling load-deflection curves are obtained with the Galerkin method. The effects of the stiffeners, the foundations, the material and dimensional parameters, and the pre-existent axial compressive and thermal load are considered.

Nonlinear stability of functionally graded material(FGM)sandwich cylindrical shells reinforced by FGM stiffeners in thermal environment

In this paper, Donnell＇s shell theory and smeared stiffeners technique are improved to analyze the postbuckling and buckling behaviors of circular cylindrical shells of stiffened thin functionally graded material （FGM） sandwich under an axial loading on elastic foundations, and the shells are considered in a thermal environment. The shells are stiffened by FGM rings and stringers. A general sigmoid law and a general power law are proposed. Thermal elements of the shells and reinforcement stiffeners are considered. Explicit expressions to find critical loads and postbuckling load-deflection curves are obtained by applying the Galerkin method and choosing the three-term approximate solution of deflection. Numerical results show various effects of temperature, elastic foundation, stiffeners, material and geometrical properties, and the ratio between face sheet thickness and total thickness on the nonlinear behavior of shells.

Influence of local stiffeners and cutout shapes on the vibration and stability characteristics of quasi-isotropic laminates under hygro-thermo-mechanical loadings

The perforated stiffened panel is generally found as a sub-component of sophisticated structures.The fundamental purpose of this panel is to withstand against buckling under complicated loading and environmental conditions.Hence,an accurate knowledge of critical buckling behaviour of stiffened panels is very much essential for a reliable and lightweight structural design.In this paper,the focus is on quasi-laminated panels with different cutout shapes of various sizes and their responses to hygrothermal environments under nonlinearly varying edge loads and is compared with the locally stiffened panels.Towards this,the modelling of the panel and stiffener is done by adopting nine-noded heterosis plate elements and three noded beam elements respectively.The stiffener formulation is suitably modified in order to take the torsional effect also into consideration along with the effect of shear deformation.Initially,the plate and the stiffener elements are treated separately,and then the displacement compatibility is maintained between them by using the transformation matrix.For a given loading and geometric discontinuity,the stress distribution within the perforated panel is highly non-uniform in nature and hence a dynamic approach has been used to calculate buckling loads by adopting two sets of boundary conditions,one set for pre-buckling stress analysis and the second set for buckling analysis.Four different quasi-isotropic stacking sequences are deliberated in this work by varying different ply-orientation in each scheme.The study also addresses the effect of various parameters such as nonlinear loads,hygro-thermal loads,cutout size and shapes,position of cutout,stiffener parameters,stacking sequences,thickness of plate and boundary conditions.

Free Vibration of Stiffened Plate with Cracked Stiffeners

In this paper,a new cracked stiffener model for the stiffener with a partthrough and open crack is proposed,considering the compatibility condition of displacements between the plate and the stiffener.Based on the first-order shear deformation theory,the free vibration of stiffened isotropic plates with cracked stiffeners are investigated for the first time.The description of the crack parameters is based on the continuous equivalent bending stiffness and equivalent depth of the cracked beam,and it takes into consideration of shear deformation,bending-extensional coupling vibration,and eccentricity between the stiffeners and the plate.The stiffened plates with single or multiple cracked stiffeners are formulated and discussed.The Ritz method with the modified characteristic functions is applied to demonstrate the effects of crack parameters(crack depth and location)coupling with the position and number of the cracked stiffeners on the vibration frequencies and modes of the stiffened plate.The validity and accuracy of the present solutions are verified through convergence studies and compared with the finite element results.

An Optimization Approach for Stiffener Layout of Composite Stiffened Panels Based on Moving Morphable Components(MMCs)

An explicit topology optimization method for the stiffener layout of composite stiffened panels is proposed based on moving morphable components(MMCs).The skin and stiffeners are considered as panels with different bending stiffnesses,with the use of equivalent stiffness method.Then the location and geometric properties of composite stiffeners are determined by several MMCs to perform topology optimization,which can greatly simplify the finite element model.With the objective of maximizing structural stiffness,several typical cases with various loading and boundary conditions are selected as numerical examples to demonstrate the proposed method.The numerical examples illustrate that the proposed method can provide clear stiffener layout and explicit geometry information,which is not limited within the framework of parameter and size optimization.The mechanical properties of composite stiffened panels can be fully enhanced.

Layout design of thin-walled structures with lattices and stiffeners using multi-material topology optimization

In this paper,the thin-walled structures with lattices and stiffeners manufactured by additive manufacturing are investigated.A design method based on the multi-material topology optimization is proposed for the simultaneous layout optimization of the lattices and stiffeners in thin-walled structures.First,the representative lattice units of the selected lattices are equivalent to the virtual homogeneous materials whose effective elastic matrixes are achieved by the energy-based homogenization method.Meanwhile,the stiffeners are modelled using the solid material.Subsequently,the multi-material topology optimization formulation is established for both the virtual homogeneous materials and solid material to minimize the structural compliance under mass constraint.Thus,the optimal layout of both the lattices and stiffeners could be simultaneously attained by the optimization procedure.Two applications,the aircraft panel structure and the equipment mounting plate,are dealt with to demonstrate the detailed design procedure and reveal the effect of the proposed method.According to numerical comparisons and experimental results,the thin-walled structures with lattices and stiffeners have significant advantages over the traditional stiffened thin-walled structures and lattice sandwich structures in terms of static,dynamic and anti-instability performance.

Concurrent topology optimization design of stiffener layout and cross-section for thin-walled structures

Stiffened plates or shells are widely used in engineering structures as primary or secondary load-bearing components.How to design the layout and sizes of the stiffeners is of great significance for structural lightweight.In this work,a new topology optimization method for simultaneously optimizing the layout and cross-section topology of the stiffeners is developed to solve this issue.The stilfeners and base plates are modeled by the beam and shell elements,respectively,significantly reducing the computational cost.The Giavotto beam theory,instead of the widely employed Euler or Timoshenko beam theory,is applied to model the stiffeners for considering the warping deformation in evaluating the section stiffness of the beam.A multi-scale topology optimization model is established by simultaneously optimizing the layout of the beam and the topology of the cross-section.The design space is significantly expanded by optimizing these two types of design variables.Several numerical examples are applied to illustrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method.The results show that the proposed two-scale optimization approach can generate better designs than the single-scale method.

Stiffeners layout design of thin-walled structures with constraints on multi-fastener joint loads

The purpose of this paper is to present an extended topology optimization method for the stiffeners layout design of aircraft assembled structures. Multi-fastener joint loads and manufacturing constraints are considered simultaneously. On one hand, the joint loads are calculated and constrained within a limited value to avoid the failure of fasteners. On the other hand, the manufacturing constraints of the material distribution in the machining directions of stiffeners are implemented by an improved piecewise interpolation based on a beveled cut-surface. It is proven that the objective function is strictly continuous and differentiable with respect to the piecewise interpolation. The effects of the extended method with two different constraints are highlighted by typical numerical examples. Compared with the standard topology optimization, the final designs have clearly shown the layout of stiffeners and the joint loads have been perfectly constrained to a satisfying level.

Geometry and size optimization of stiffener layout for three-dimensional box structures with maximization of natural frequencies

Based on the growth mechanism of natural biological branching systems and inspiration from the morphology of plant root tips,a bionic design method called Improved Adaptive Growth Method(IAGM)has been proposed in the authors’previous research and successfully applied to the reinforcement optimization of three-dimensional box structures with respect to natural frequencies.However,as a kind of ground structure methods,the final layout patterns of stiffeners obtained by using the IAGM are highly subjected to their ground structures,which restricts the optimization effect and freedom to further improve the dynamic performance of structures.To solve this problem,a novel post-processing geometry and size optimization approach is proposed in this article.This method takes the former layout optimization result as start,and iteratively finds the optimal layout angles,locations,and lengths of stiffeners with a few design variables by optimizing the positions of some specific node lines called active node lines.At the same time,thick-nesses of stiffeners are also optimized to further improve natural frequencies of three-dimensional box structures.Using this method,stiffeners can be successfully separated from their ground structures and further effectively improve natural frequencies of three-dimensional box structures with less material consumption.Typical numerical examples are illustrated to validate the effectiveness and advantages of the suggested method.

Effect of Orthogonal Stiffeners on the Stability of Axially Compressed Steel Jacking Pipe

Load conditions for steel pipe-jacking are complex during the construction stage. The stability of steel jacking pipe has been an increasingly important problem as jacking forces, pipe diameters and jacking distances increase. However, there are no standards for pipe reinforcement, for prevention of buckling, or for remedying pipe that buckles when being jacked axially. Past experience suggests that stiffeners can effectively reinforce the structure. This study analyzes the effect of different stiffeners on the stability of steel jacking pipe under axial compression using finite element analysis. The results suggest that the stability of steel jacking pipe can be significantly improved by using orthogonal stiffeners, in terms of engineering costs and construction space inside the pipe. Based on current engineering practice, the application of orthogonal stiffeners is discussed. This study provides a useful reference for the design and construction of steel jacking pipe. © 2017, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.