Beam elements in instability problems (Q1370744)

This paper deals with the formulation of beam elements for the numerical analysis of instability phenomena in frame-type structures. Total versus co-rotational approaches are discussed comparatively, for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems, and the similarities between the two types are outlined. In the context of three-dimensional beam elements, special attention is given to the parameterization of the orthogonal transformation used to define the rotational field of the beam. The technique is based on the so-called rotational vector. This leads to symmetric stiffness matrices and avoids the need for special updating procedures for the rotational variables. A set of test problems, for which the critical behaviour is governed by fold, cusp and butterfly catastrophes, is used to assess the performances of the considered element types.