Elasto-plastic Buckling of Prestressed Arches

Intentional buckling as a fabrication technique for arch frameworks results in prestrains at every section of the arch, which in turn affect its strength and stability. A nonlinear corotational straight beam element with elastic, linear strain hardening material has been developed to study the elasto-plastic buckling of prestressed arches. The study indicates that for prestressed arches there is an interdependence between the slenderness and steepness ratios of the arch with the ratio of prestresses to the yield strength of the material, all of which control the magnitude and shape of buckling mode. While steeper arches are generally more stable in their elastic range, the effect of steepness ratio is reduced as the prestress exceeds 55% of the yield strength. Effects of loading and support conditions have also been considered. Although fixed supports result in more stable arches, their effectiveness depends on the steepness ratio and the level of prestresses. Finally, the effect of strain hardening on the plastic buckling of the arch is more pronounced for lower values of the plastic tangent modulus.