Buckling and post-buckling strength of shear panels degraded by near border cracks

There have been many reports on fatigue cracks induced on slender webs breathing under repeated loading. Cracks may also initiate due to welding, corrosion, or mishandling. Edge cracks are generally formed adjacent to the flange, stiffeners or any kind of boundary members. It is also generally accepted that cracks degrade the load bearing capacity of thin panels. The aim of this paper is to investigate the buckling and the post-buckling behaviour of shear panels that have edge cracks. Cracks are presumed to be either parallel or normal to the boundaries. The influence of various geometrical and mechanical characteristics of cracks and panels, (such as the length and the position of cracks, boundary conditions, the aspect ratio and slenderness of panels, and Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus of materials) is determined by means of linear and nonlinear finite element analysis. It is shown that a substantial degradation can be anticipated if a crack forms in the area at which tension field occurs. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.