Buckling behavior of blade-, angle-, T-, and hat-stiffened FRP panels subjected to in-plane shear

This article presents parametric studies on simply supported laminated composite stiffened panels subjected to in-plane shear loading. A number of models were analyzed using ANSYS and a database is prepared for blade-, angle-, T-, and hat-stiffened laminated composite panels. Studies are carried out by changing the type of stiffeners, the panel orthotropy ratio, smeared extensional stiffness ratio of stiffener to that of the plate, and extensional stiffness to shear stiffness ratio of the plate. The difference in buckling behavior of different types of stiffened panels is presented. Based on key parameters influencing the buckling behavior, guidelines for better stiffener proportioning are developed, which will be helpful to the designers.