Investigation on thermomechanical behavior of a HSLA-stiffened rectangular plate under low-velocity impact

Based on the von Karman equation and classical thin plate theory, thermo mechanical behavior of a rectangular high-strength low alloy (HSLA)-stiffened plate under low-velocity impact is investigated. First, the relation of the contact radius and the instantaneous relative displacement is obtained using the modified nonlinear Hertzian contact law. Second, based on the assumption that the stiffener cross section does not deform in its plane, the nonlinear governing equations in the form of displacements are obtained using the Hamilton's variational principle. Finally, the unknown variable functions are discretized in space and time domains by utilizing the finite difference method and Newmark method, and the whole problem is solved by the iterative method. Numerical results denote that the geometrical parameters, temperature, boundary conditions, the initial velocity of impactor and the form of the stiffeners have great influences on deformation and stresses of the HSLA-stiffened rectangular plate.