Updated Lagrangian Formulation for Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Thin-walled Frames With Semi-rigid Connections

This paper presents a one-dimensional (1D) finite element formulation for the nonlinear stability analysis of framed structures with semi-rigid (SR) connections. By applying the updated Lagrangian incremental formulation and the nonlinear displacement field of thin-walled cross sections, the equilibrium equations of a straight beam element are first developed. Force recovering is performed according to the external stiffness approach. Material nonlinearity is introduced for an elastic-perfectly plastic material through the plastic hinge formation at finite element ends. To account for the SR connection behavior, a special transformation procedure is developed. The effectiveness of the numerical algorithm discussed is validated through the test problems.