Stiffness requirements for transverse stiffeners of compression panels

This paper presents a more accurate calculation of the minimum stiffness required for transverse stiffeners of compression panels. As longitudinal stiffeners are essentially compression members, transverse stiffeners are required to control the effective length. Both the longitudinal stiffener and transverse stiffener subdivide the compression panel in a grid pattern so the relatively thin plate can carry the induced compressive load in the most efficient manner. However, the provisions for the required rigidity of transverse stiffeners in the AASHTO specifications are inconsistent. Here, the parameters that govern the behavior of the transverse stiffeners are identified theoretically using the column buckling approximation. In order to calibrate and quantify the analytical equations developed, elastic buckling analyses were performed on more than 350 finite element models. The numerically collected data were reduced using a series of regression analyses for simple equations to determine the required rigidity for the transverse stiffeners. Incremental nonlinear analyses were performed to validate the reliability of the regression equations developed. Several design examples are also given to demonstrate the broad applicability of the proposed equations.