Empirical formulations for estimation of the ultimate strength of the perforated stiffened panels under the combined lateral pressure and in-plane compression

The holes artificially cut for a certain purpose can greatly reduce the ultimate strength of the perforated stiffened panels. In this paper, the ABAQUS finite element analysis program is used to investigate the effect of the position and size of the circular holes, the slenderness ratio, the aspect ratio, and the loading ratio on the ultimate strength of the perforated stiffened panels. Periodic and symmetric boundary conditions are applied to the (1/2 + 1+1/2) span model to consider the continuity of the stiffened panel in modeling. The results show that the ultimate strength of the perforated stiffened panel is highly dependent on the location and size of the hole. An empirical formula to primarily predict the ultimate strength reduction rate of perforated stiffened panel is proposed, and its accuracy is evaluated. •The influence of hole on ultimate strength of the perforated stiffened panel is investigated.•Periodic boundary condition provides a smaller model uncertainty.•Lateral pressure can delay collapse process.