Ultimate strength characteristic and assessment of cracked stiffened panel under uniaxial compression

Abstract In this paper the ultimate strength characteristics of stiffened panels with cracks under longitudinal compressive loading are investigated. The influences of various geometrical characteristics of cracks, especially the location of cracks, are studied by a numerical method. It is found out that the influence of crack location on the residual ultimate strength is very much depended on where the crack locates. Based on the numerical results, an empirical formula as a function of crack length, orientation angle and location, is proposed to predict the ultimate strength of cracked stiffened panels under longitudinal compressive loading.