Instability analysis of space trusses using exact tangent-stiffness matrices (Q1069742)

A simple (exact) expression for the tangent-stiffness matrix of a space truss undergoing arbitrarily large deformation, as well as member buckling, is given. An arc-length method is used to solve the tangent- stiffness equations in the post-buckling range of the structural deformation. Several examples to illustrate the viability of the present approaches in analyzing large space structures, simply, efficiently, and accurately, are given.