Study on the Effects of Prestress and Initial Imperfection to the Ultimate Load Capacity

Buckling analysis of structures can be divided into eigenvalue buckling analysis and nonlinear buckling analysis. In this paper, the basic theory of eigenvalue buckling analysis and nonlinear buckling analysis has been described, then using ABAQUS to do eigenvalue buckling analysis and nonlinear buckling analysis on structural elements of an actual project which have prestress, and comparing their ultimate bearing capacity under these two analysis. Meanwhile, during the nonlinear buckling analysis, this paper shows the change of the ultimate load capacity of the structural elements under different prestress and different initial imperfection. Finally, conclusions are summarized.