The non-linear response of transversely-loaded folded plate structures

The folded-plate or “prismatic shell” structure has often provided in the past an economical solution to the problem of roofing large clear areas in a wide variety of building types including hangars for aircraft, auditoriums, gymnasiums, factories, supermarkets and similar major structures. Previous attempts to solve the stress analysis problem for this type of structure employed certain approximations or “linearizations”, which have proven to be satisfactory for the purpose of predicting stresses but not entirely satisfactory for the purpose of predicting deflections. Test results from ten aluminum model specimens, which indicate that deflections occurring in folded plate structures in response to the application of transverse loads are non-linear, are summarized herein. In addition, a new analytical approach based on the principle of minimum potential energy and utilizing the Rayleigh-Ritz method is proposed herein which specifically treats the described non-linear deflection response problem.