The influence of post-local buckling mechanics on the stress variations, axial stiffness and ultimate failure strength of uniformly compressed thin-walled i-section struts

Abstract

It is well known that thin-walled compression members are subject to the effects of local buckling and that due to these local effects the compressive carrying capability of short strut members can be significantly reduced. Finite element simulation is employed in this paper to examine the post-buckled response of thin-walled sections giving due consideration to the influence of geometric imperfections and to elasto-plastic material behaviour. The findings from this work highlight the complete loading history of the compression struts from the onset of elastic local buckling through the nonlinear elastic and elasto-plastic post-buckling phases of behaviour to final collapse and unloading. A detailed account of the growth and redistribution of stresses as well as the influence of yielding and yield propagation throughout loading is given in the paper. The results from the finite element simulations are shown to compare well with independent simulations using the finite strip method of analysis.