Persp. Online: exatas & eng., Campos dos Goytacazes, 20 (08) 127-138 - 2018 seer.perspectivasonline.com.br 1 Revista Perspectivas Online: Exatas & Engenharias Janeiro de 2018, Vol.8, nº 20, p. 127-138 ISSN: 2236-885X (Online) DOI: 10.25242/885x82020181312 NUMERICAL SIMULATION ANDCONSTRUCTAL DESIGN APPLIED TO THE STUDY OF ELASTIC BUCKLING IN THIN STEEL PLATES WITH OBLONG PERFORATIONS Emilio Gabriel Gonçalves Folzke 1 , Thiago da Silveira 1 , João Paulo Silva Lima 1 , Luiz Alberto Oliveira Rocha 2 , Elizaldo Domingues dos Santos 1 , Mauro de Vasconcellos Real 1 & Liércio André Isoldi 1* ABSTRACT FOLZKE, E.G.G.; SILVEIRA, T.; LIMA, J.P.S.; ROCHA, L.A.O.; SANTOS, E.D.; REAL, M.V.; ISOLDI, L.A. Numerical simulation andconstructal design applied to the study of elastic buckling in thin steel plates with oblong perforations. Perspectivas Online: Exatas & Engenharias, v. 8, n.20, p.127-138,2018. Buckling is an instability phenomenon that can happen when a slender plate is subjected to axial compression loads. In addition, perforated plates are often necessary in the engineering field. Throughout this article, the Constructal Design Method, which is based on the Constructal Theory, has been used to evaluate the influence of the hole on thin steel plates under elastic buckling. For that, the different types of holes analyzed were both transversal and longitudinal oblong. They were all placed in the center of the plate. The geometry of the hole varied according to the degree of freedom H 0 /L 0 , which relates the dimensions of each type of different hole. The size of the perforation are varied by means the hole volume fraction (φ) parameter, that represents the relation between the volume of the hole and the total volume of the plate (without hole). The main goal is to achieve the greatest critical load for the perforated plates. To do so, the ANSYS software, based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), has been used to numerically analyze the elastic buckling in each case. It has been observed the importance of the geometry when seeking superior performances: through a simple fluctuation of the geometry of the hole, once the volume fraction was kept constant, it was possible to achieve a significant increase on the critical loads. Key words: Buckling; Computational Modeling; Critical Load; Constructal Design. 1 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, FURG - Instituto de Oceanografia,Campus Carreiros, Avenida Itália, Km 8, s/n - Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, CEP: 96201-900,Brasil 2 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS - Av. Paulo Gama, 110, Farroupilha, Porto Alegre , RS, 90040- 060, Brasil. (*)e-mail: liercioisoldi@furg.br Data de chegada: 07/05/2017 Aceito para publicação: 29/05/2017