PLATE BUCKLING stand alone program or add-on for FEMAP or ANSYS.

One of the optimization parameters for your structure is the buckling of plates and stiffeners. The FEMDS software helps to find the unity check (or reserve factor) of your plate structure, which is the start for optimization to save weight.

The FEMDS software works under FEMAP as a plug-in and under ANSYS as an add-on. In ANSYS the FEMDS ACT makes the connection with the FEMDS software very easy.  The check according to the most important international standards is performed by a few mouse clicks. The software is easy to learn.  No course required!

The videos below show you how easy it is to make the results visible in the FEA packages Ansys or Femap. The strength check can be calculated for plates, stiffeners and girders.

The video below shows how easy it is to calculate results and import them into ANSYS. 

But why is the check by the Von Mises yield criterion not enough? The answer is; for optimization of your structure this criterion is in most cases too optimistic! Only in the tension-tension quadrant the von Mises criterion gives accurate values, see also the explanation about the failure envelope of plates.

The video below explains that plates loaded in compression needs more than the Von Mises yield criterion check. In the simple model in ANSYS, results calculated by the FEMDS software are already imported.

In general, FE model results from linear elastic analyses don't give you much more than only a Von Mises check. If the user wants to check more than this, often a non-linear model is required which consumes a lot of time, especially when a large number of loadcases is involved. The FEMDS software works with the results of the linear model, which in many times, doesn't require the additional time to perform your non-linear analyses.

Plate structures consist of plates, stiffeners and girders. These structures can be analyzed, by the most applicable codes in the industry, in accordance with DNV or ABS standards.

Maybe somewhat superfluous now but the video below gives some more explanation about the failure envelope using FEMAP (if you are used to FEMAP rather than ANSYS). It also shows that calculation of stiffeners by linear elastic mechanics is in many times too optimistic.

The FEMDS software is an easy to use tool to quickly check whether your structure is conform to the required standard. For structural engineers this tool can't be omitted in the toolbox!