Stability of localized solutions under rigid loading in a heuristic buckling model

Abstract

The stability of static localized buckling solutions which bifurcate from the critical load for a strut on an elastic foundation is analysed under conditions of rigid loading (i.e. with prescribed end shortening) using a non-periodic modal analysis. The characteristic of such deflection patterns is in marked contrast with stability under the more straightforward case of dead loading (behaviour under prescribed load). The model presented incorporates initial destabilization and subsequent restabilization of the response at the lowest order.