Buckling formulation for shear deformable thin-walled members—II. Finite element formulation

The variational principle developed in a companion paper is adopted to formulate a new finite element for the buckling analysis of members of doubly symmetric cross-sections. A series of examples demonstrate the convergence characteristics of the element and its applicability to a wide variety of problems. The examples include column flexural buckling, lateral–torsional buckling of beams subjected to moment gradients, buckling of members under combinations of axial force and bending moment, and eccentrically supported structural members. In all cases, the validity of the solutions is assessed through comparisons to well-established closed-form and/or other established numerical solutions.