Elastic buckling of isotropic triangular flat plates by finite elements

Although most of the plates in steel structures are rectangular, some triangular ones do occur. The number of available solutions for triangular plate buckling coefficients is small, and restricted to special triangle geometries and loading ratios. In this paper the range of available solutions is extended by the use of a plate bending finite element devised by Irons. A range of plate parameters is considered and results are tabulated and plotted. The program is available for the use of designers who wish to consider other values of parameters. The use of the procedures described in the Merrison report can extend these results to deal with the influence of initial imperfections and weld effects.