Out-of-Plane Stability Analysis of the Circular Box Arch with Sinusoidal Corrugated Webs

Abstract

This paper presents an arch structure called the circular box arch with sinusoidal corrugated webs (CBASCW). This study investigates the out-of-plane elastic buckling behavior and elastoplastic stability capacity of the arch through a combined approach of theoretical derivation and finite element simulation. The section stiffness of the arch, including flexural stiffness, shear stiffness, and torsional stiffness, is achieved through theoretical derivation. Additionally, the elastic buckling load in both pure compression and pure bending states is derived. A simplified model is also introduced, which can conveniently simulate the internal force and deformation of the arch. The elastoplastic instability mechanism and failure mode are studied under various loading conditions, including uniform radial load, end bending moment, vertical load uniformly distributed in full-span, and vertical load uniformly distributed in half-span. Furthermore, the stability curves of the arch under conditions of pure compression and pure bending are graphed by incorporating stability coefficient and regularized slenderness ratio. According to the simulation results obtained from the simplified model and the analysis of stability curves, a design formula for stability capacity is proposed.