Large Displacement Beam Model for Creep Buckling Analysis of Framed Structures

In this work, a one-dimensional beam model for buckling analysis of framed structures under large displacement creep regimes is presented. The equilibrium equations of a prismatic and straight spatial beam element are formulated in the framework of corotational description, using the virtual work principle. Although the translations and rotations of the element are allowed to be large, the strains are assumed to be small. The material of a framed structure is assumed to be homogenous and isotropic. The bilinear elastic–plastic model with isotropic hardening and the power creep law are adopted for describing the inelastic behavior of the material. The numerical algorithm is implemented in a computer program called BMCA and its reliability is validated through test examples.