Abstract
The effects of localized imperfections on the collapse strength of plates are studied by means of finite element analysis performed by different authors. First a benchmark study is performed to assess the accuracy of the results obtained using different codes on the same case study. Afterwards, a parametric study on the effect of the localized imperfections on the collapse strength is performed. Finally, the effect of combining local and global imperfections was studied. It is found that the addition of a localized imperfection changes the collapse strength of the plate, which depends on the amplitude and size of the localized imperfection change.