Some recent advances in the concepts of plate-effectiveness evaluation

The effectiveness of plate elements in a continuous plate structure can be reduced by lateral deflections that primarily occur due to lateral pressure loading or buckling. It is recognized that deflected plates can be modeled as equivalent flat (undeflected) plates but with reduced effectiveness. A number of the concepts to evaluate the effectiveness of deflected plates have been developed in the literature. The present paper surveys recent advances in the concepts of plate-effectiveness evaluation in terms of effective breadth, effective width, and effective shear modulus. Some closed-form expressions of the plate effectiveness are reviewed. The present paper is dedicated to Prof. J. Rhodes who made a great achievement and contribution to the related areas noted above, among others. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.