Some remarks on secondary bifurcation in elastic systems with double \(Z_2\)-symmetries (Q1369379)

The author studies secondary bifurcations in elastic systems with double \(Z_2\)-symmetry by discussing properties of the corresponding potential function. Conditions under which secondary bifurcations occur are formulated in terms of derivatives of the potential energy function. Simple expressions are obtained for the determination of the stability of the bifurcated states. As an illustrative example, the buckling of a column on a softening nonlinear elastic foundation is considered.