Flexural-torsional postbuckling analysis of beams of arbitrary cross-section (Q846077)

The authors give a postbuckling analysis of axially compressed elements of arbitrary cross-section of beams, taking into account moderate large displacements, moderate large angles of twist, and employing nonlinear relationships between bending moments and curvatures. The elements satisfy the most general boundary conditions including elastic support or restraint. Based on the Galerkin method and approximating the displacement field of the element by polynomial expressions, the authors reduce the governing differential equations to a nonlinear algebraic system. Then the geometric parameters and inertia, torsion and warping constants of arbitrary cross-section can be evaluated by employing the boundary element method.