Relative performances of skewed hyperbolic paraboloidal stiffened shells - A geometrically non-linear approach

Laminated composites are lucrative construction materials for civil engineers. The material is lightweight, resistant to atmospheric decay and possesses high strength/stiffness to weight ratio. The doubly curved hyperbolic-paraboloidal shells are stiff and architecturally pleasing. Naturally, these shells made of laminated composites are popular choices among the practicing civil engineers to cover long column free spans. The skewed forms can satisfy the architectural requirements of industrial applications. But these are susceptible to instability which can be addressed by stiffeners. The research on hyperbolic paraboloids is ample in numbers but the same for panels with cut-outs are scanty. The literature shows that there are no research reports available on skewed stiffened hyperbolic-paraboloidal curved panels with cut-outs, especially using the geometrically non-linear approach. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this paper to study the bending and free vibration of simple supported skewed panels for different skew angles, laminations, cut-outs and stiffener orientations which can provide meaningful design guidelines to practicing civil engineers.