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Simuleon FEA Blog

Buckling, Post-Buckling &
Imperfections modelled with
Abaqus FEA
Posted by Nikolaos Mavrodontis on Sep 12, 2017 9:51:48 AM

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In this blog, we will describe the possibilities for Buckling and the
methodology to take into account imperfections.

Buckling refers to the sudden collapse of a structural member ,

subjected to high axial compressive loading. This collapse takes
the form of a sudden lateral deflection of the structural member.
Therefore the structure’s load bearing ability is compromised
under buckling. Based on the structure’s characteristics, either a
consequent full collapse can occur or the structure’s load
bearing capacity is restored in the post-buckled region. When
the structure exhibits this sudden lateral deflection under axial
compression, it is said that the buckling load has been reached.
The importance of considering buckling during structural design
is outlined by the fact that the buckling load is lower than the
maximum load the structure can withstand under axial
compression.

Typically slender structures such as columns, trusses, shells

and plates are buckling-prone structures. The buckling instability
is the result of purely geometrical effects and it does not relate
to other forms of non-linearity (e.g. material non-linearity).

When an axisymmetric structure (e.g. a cylinder) is subjected to

axial compression, under increasing load there comes a critical
load value (Pcritical) after which the structure’s response can
only take the form of two states in equilibrium. Either a purely
compressed state –therefore not exhibiting any lateral
deflection- or a laterally deformed state. This point is called a
bifurcation point. This form of discontinuity prevents in many
occasions achieving of convergence for solvers in finite element
analyses.

A structure's behavior under loading is usually studied with the

use of load-displacement plots. This applies also to studying the
structural behavior in the post-buckling region (past the
bifurcation point). Two relevant plots (one for in plane and one
for out of plane displacement) for a shell structure (e.g. a
chimney with a circular cross section, a monopile structure etc.)
are given below.

Load vs in plane displacement q

Shell structures (structures the thickness of which is relatively
small compared to its other dimensions), exhibit a post buckling
behavior where negative stiffness occurs accompanied by a
sudden load-bearing reduction. See picture below.

Load vs out of plane displacement δ

For a shell structure under axial compression when the critical
load is reached , the structure instantly loses its load bearing
capacity and exhibits a significant lateral displacement δ (snap).
This lateral motion can be quite localized. On each of the
secondary paths, the structure exhibits sudden high lateral
displacements, jeopardizing its stability as well as its load
bearing ability.

At this point the structure releases membrane strain energy

(accumulated by the axial load) in the form of kinetic energy. In
the post buckling region after a certain value of lateral
displacement has been reached, the structure regains its load-
bearing capacity and can be loaded further over its critical load
value. See picture below.
From the example above, it can be concluded that a structure’s
behavior in the post-buckling region is of crucial importance for
designers and engineers. Different types of buckling-prone
structures, exhibit different behaviors in the post-buckling
regions.

Abaqus offers various types of analyses, focusing on capturing

the post buckling behavior, such as the Riks analysis. This type
of analysis usually succeeds a linear buckle load analysis and is
based on introducing an imperfection to the structure. An
example is given:

Linear Buckle Analysis

Geometry
The geometry consists of a thin walled (shell) cylinder under a
compressive unit load in order to find the buckling load
corresponding to the 1st mode

Imperfections request
Prior to submitting the buckling analysis job (Subspace solver
was used-smaller run times when only a few modes are
requested), the node coordinates for the different mode shapes
must be written as output. This procedure is shown below. This
output will be consequently introduced as imperfections for the
Riks analysis so as to achieve a smoother transition to the post
buckling region and surpass the bifurcation problem.

Results linear buckle analysis

The predicted linear buckle load for the 1st mode is given below:
Riks Analysis
For the Riks analysis, minor modifications must be performed to
the model. The NLGEOM flag must be turned on to account for
non-linearities. Additionally the unit compressive load must be
replaced by the buckling load value predicted by the linear
buckle analysis.

Last but not least the imperfections must be introduced for the
Riks analysis. This is done again by editing the model΄s
keywords.

Each scale factor corresponds to a scaled shape of each mode

(nodal displacements are scaled down). For choosing an
appropriate scale factor, a good rule of thumb, is to choose an
order of magnitude lower than the shell thickness for the 1st
mode (most important of modes) and decrease the subsequent
scale factor by half of the first scale factor.

Results Riks analysis

Below the stress contours are shown. It can be seen that the
structure is at the post buckled region.
By plotting the Load proportionality factor (LPF) we can trace the
prebuckling and post buckling regions based on the load applied
be the Riks algorithm.

Conclusions and remarks

As demonstrated, the Riks algorithm is a powerful tool for
assessing a structure’s behavior in the post-buckling region. By
introducing imperfections (either by mesh perturbation or by
scaled mode shapes-as performed here-) we achieve a
smoother transition to the post-buckling region. The example
shown above can be applied when investigating the behavior of
imperfection-sensitive structures.
Are you not experienced enough yet, to perform these analyses
yourselve?

Talk to one of our FEA specialists

today!

Topics: Abaqus, Buckling, Imperfections, post-buckling

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