Abstract: This study investigated buckling of thin-wall columns with general unsymmetrical open section under a combination of bending and twisting. It formulated the equation for torsional-flexural buckling analysis of thin-walled column with general unsymmetrical open section using the principle of Ritz energy formulations. The analysis considers thin-walled columns with open cross-sections of arbitrary slope. During the buckling process, the deformation is assumed to involve a combination of twisting and bending around two axes of the cross-section. The total potential energy functional was derived as the sum of the strain energy functional, U and the potential energy due to the external compressive load, V. The governing equations were found to reduce to a system of algebraic eigenvalue – eigenvector problem. The buckling equation was determined for general asymmetric column sections. The buckling modes were evaluated as flexural torsional buckling modes. Generally, the critical buckling loads decreased as the length of the column increased. The findings are in excellent agreement with Jerath (2020)’s solution for thin-walled columns with general nnsymmetrical open section, and with hinged (simply supported) conditions at the ends x = 0, and x = L. The buckling mode was found to be a cubic polynomial.
Keywords: Unsymmetricalcolumns, flexural torsional buckling mode, algebraic eigen vector problem, cubic polynomial.
Title: BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF A THIN-WALLED COLUMN WITH GENERAL UNSYMMETRICAL OPEN SECTION UNDER A COMBINATION OF BENDING AND TWISTING
Author: Nwachukwu Ikenna Marcel, David Ogbonna Onwuka, Ulari Sylvia Onwuka, O. M. Ibearugbulem, F.C. Njoku
International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering Research
ISSN 2348-7607 (Online)
Vol. 13, Issue 1, April 2025 - September 2025
Page No: 70-83
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 20-August-2025
