This paper presents the results of an investigation into the post-buckling behavior and ultimate strength
of imperfect corroded steel plates used in ship and other marine-related structures. A series of elasticplastic
large deflection finite element analyses is performed on both-sides randomly corroded steel
plates. The effects of general corrosion are introduced into the finite element models using a random
thickness surface model considering Gaussian distribution with different standard deviation. The effects
on plate compressive strength as a result of parametric variation of the corroded surface geometry are
evaluated. A proposal on the effective thickness is concluded in order to estimate the ultimate strength
and explore the post-buckling behavior of randomly corroded steel plates under uniaxial compression.
Key words: Buckling, Random Corrosion, Ultimate Strength, Stiffened Plate, FE Modeling.