08-10-2014, 04:14 PM
Yielding of the shear panels can be used to dissipate energy through hysterisis provided strength deterioration due to inelastic buckling is controlled. In the present study, cyclic inelastic buckling of aluminium panels in shear was examined experimentally. Soft alloys of aluminium are less susceptible to web buckling problems because of their low yield strength which enables the usage of thicker webs. Widely available alloy 6063 of aluminium for structural applications was used for fabrication of the I-shaped specimens with transverse stiffeners from plates using TIG welding process. Since this alloy was available in a harder temper T6, it was annealed in order to reduce it to softer temper O and also to relieve residual stresses developed due to welding. Nineteen specimens of aluminium panels were fabricated with different geometric parameters, like web thickness, spacing of stiffeners and number of panels which affect the onset of inelastic buckling. All the specimens were tested under pseudo-static reversed cyclic loading with increasing displacement levels using 50