Axisymmetric Plastic Plates with Ring Supports at Optimum Locations

Abstract

This study examines plastically designed axisymmetric Tresca plates of uniform thickness supported on multiple internal concentric rings. The plate is assumed to be under uniformly distributed load. The optimization problem of maximizing the load-carrying capacity of the plate by suitable positioning of a given number of supports is considered. The improvement of the carrying capacity that could be achieved by such an optimization is significant, as shown by the results obtained herein. These optimal solutions should be useful to designers for measuring the efficiency of their designs and also provide clues as to which segments of the internally supported plate are liable to collapse.