In the effective width concept, it is assumed that the ultimate compression strength of a section or a stub-column can be predicted by the algebraic sum of the compressive strengths of individual plate elements. For this purpose, a set of strength formulas for both the simply supported plates and outstanding plates are proposed as functions of the magnitudes of both the initial out-of-flatness and residual stresses based on numerical results of extensive elasto-plastic large displacement analyses. The proposed formulas are then used to predict the ultimate compressive strength of the members of box, polygonal and H-shaped sections. Comparisons of the predicted ultimate strengths using the effective width method and analytical results as well as test results have shown that the present method is very simple and accurate in predicting the ultimate strength of the thin-walled plate assemblies.
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