An improved energy criterion for dynamic buckling of imperfection sensitive nonconservative systems (Q5948605)

Stability loss via divergence for imperfection sensitive, multi-degree-of-freedom, autonomous structural systems under compressive load is investigated qualitatively and numerically with special attention paid to the global instability of equilibrium state on locally stable primary path, which at a certain level of the load becomes globally unstable. By formulation an approximate energy balance equation, the authors obtain approximate dynamic buckling loads that are well-suited for structural design purposes. The efficiency and reliability of the proposed method is demonstrated on several examples.