NONLINEAR GENERALIZED BEAM THEORY FOR COLD-FORMED STEEL MEMBERS

A geometrically nonlinear Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) is formulated and its application leads to a system of equilibrium equations which are valid in the large deformation range but still retain and take advantage of the unique GBT mode decomposition feature. The proposed GBT formulation, for the elastic post-buckling analysis of isotropic thin-walled members, is able to handle various types of loading and arbitrary initial geometrical imperfections and, in particular, it can be used to perform "exact" or "approximate" (i.e., including only a few deformation modes) analyses. Concerning the solution of the system of GBT nonlinear equilibrium equations, the finite element method (FEM) constitutes the most efficient and versatile numerical technique and, thus, a beam FE is specifically developed for this purpose. The FEM implementation of the GBT post-buckling formulation is reported in some detail and then employed to obtain numerical results, which validate and illustrate the application and capabilities of the theory.