FORMULATIONS FOR THE POST LATERAL TORSIONAL

BUCKLING PREDICTIONS OF THIN WALLED OPEN SECTIONS

Soumya Prakash(i)
Arul Jayachandran S(ii)

(i) Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras Chennai, 600036, India
(ii) Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras Chennai, 600036, India

ABSTRACT

This work proposes an analytical framework which can be used for post LTB
calculations of any prismatic flexural member of arbitrary thin walled open cross
section. A nonlinear energy formulation containing higher order terms has been
derived. A review of literature show that formulations based on secant matrix
technique in which the governing equations of total potential energy is
formulated using strain-displacement relations for LTB. The total potential
energy (TPE) is formulated in terms of displacement gradients of the lateral
torsional buckling. The TPE is differentiated twice to form the equilibrium and
tangent stiffness relations. The integrals of the governing equations are written
in the Total Lagrangian format. In this work, this secant matrix technique has
been extended to the strain-displacement relations which involve higher order
displacement gradient terms up to sixth order. The strain energy terms
considered are of the order up to seven. Due to the larger number of terms, this
formulation is expected to generate better results, which are being verified.

KEYWORDS: energy methods, lateral torsional buckling, thin walled open

sections, higher order terms.

INTRODUCTION

(a) The phenomenon of LTB

The design of steel beams should be according to attainment of a limit state.

First is the strength limit state in which the plastic bending capacity of the beam
is calculated. In the second limit state the member capacity namely, the lateral
torsional buckling capacity (LTB) of the beam is ascertained. It is a
phenomenon by which upon attaining neutral equilibrium, an unrestrained beam
may buckle at an applied moment less than the full moment capacity of the
section by deforming out of plane and twisting about its longitudinal axis
(Chajes, 1974). There are many cases where LTB is a failure mode that can
often control the design of flexural members in metal building systems. Its
plausible reason being non-availability of lateral restraint due to flooring
systems. Even cold formed steel members also exhibit pure LTB failure modes
when they behave as long beams (Kubo & Fukumoto, 1988). Therefore, this
is a subject of interest that has evolved from early twentieth century and
captures the attention of researchers till date.
The first step is the determination of the elastic critical moment (Mcr). The
analytical expression of Mcr is obtained by solving equilibrium differential
equations. A closed form solution can be given in very few simple cases only.
Its expression becomes rapidly complex when the loading and support
conditions differ from the standard ones and when the beam is laterally
discretely or continuously elastically restrained. For more complex situations,
only approximate solutions are given, which can only be found in specialized
literature. Dedicated freely available software like LTBeam and ELTBTB,
enable the designers to get rid of any analytical formulation and directly obtain
Mcr values (Maquoi et al., 2003). ELTBTB enables the determination of the
elastic critical LTB moment of simply supported web tapered steel beams with
due account of the effect of taper, which may be significant in beams
characterized by a large taper. LTBEAM is especially devoted to beams of
uniform section. But researchers prefer to develop their own formulations which
can be modified as per their requirements.

(b) Trends in the study of LTB

A comprehensive literature review conducted by Trahair, 1996 has traced the

trends in the study of unrestrained beams. Experimental and analytical hand
calculated solutions were common till the sixties. With the advent of computers,
many researchers started working on formulations for stability problems.
In the continuum mechanics approach, applying the conservation theorem, the
total potential energy (TPE) is expressed as Lagrangian density. Total
Lagrangian description can be used even for large displacements. Basics of
stress energy tensor mechanics principles can be studied from Goldstein et al.,
2001. In order to analyze geometrically nonlinear members, the TPE
expression is successively differentiated with respect to global degrees of
freedom to obtain equilibrium equations, incremental equilibrium equations
(Sundaramoorthy Rajasekaran & Murray, 1973) or even four times (Liang,
Ruess, & Abdalla, 2015). The pioneers were Barsoum & Gallagher, 1970 who
developed stiffness equations for torsional and flexural torsional instability of
members having constant cross section. S. Rajasekaran & Murray, 1974, have
used the element derived by Barsoum & Gallagher, 1970, and used the alpha
constant technique (Nayak & Zienkiewicz, 1972) to obtain the solution.
The effect of bimoment was taken into consideration and new stability matrices
were derived. These formulations could handle asymmetric sections (Yoo,
1980; Nemir, 1985). LTB energy equations have been derived using second
order rotation components, resulting in non-linear strain deformation
relationships (Pi, Trahair, & Rajasekaran, 1992).
For post buckling analysis, large deformation theory is considered. Several
papers focusing on large torsion behavior have been published in literature
(Yoon & Lee, 2014). Interpolation functions that are field consistent have been
found out that make it possible to use TL for large deformations (Nanakorn &
Vu, 2006). Large torsion without any assumption on torsion angle amplitude
has been used to derive the equilibrium equations (Mohri, Eddinari, Damil, &
Potier Ferry, 2008). The same has been used for post lateral torsional buckling
studies (Mohri, Azrar, & Potier-Ferry, 2002).
MOTIVATION
In the design of steel structures, we find that beams make up about 40% of the
total structural members. When these beams get support to the compression
flanges, they do not undergo LTB and then they will attain the full strength of the
beam. Determination of the lateral torsional buckling capacity of the beam is an
important aspect of the beam design. There are expressions given in codes of
practice for the determination of the LTB capacity. However, these expressions
are for a specific set of pre-qualified parameters. However, the industry grows
in a direction in which the structural shapes and members are being
innovated. The present codal expressions cannot be used to determine the
lateral buckling capacity of beams which are not listed in the prequalified
parameters. Hence researchers often resort to modelling and analyzing the
structural members numerically. In the numerical software like ABAQUS we
find that such members are discretized using plate/shell elements to find the
LTB capacity. There are two disadvantages to this approach. Firstly, the
computational effort is very high. Secondly, such an advanced analysis brings
in many different modes other than the desired lateral torsional buckling mode
also. Hence it becomes very difficult for the designers to pick out the correct
eigen value and the corresponding eigenvector which represents the LTB. To
aid the designers to come out with correct prediction of the LTB capacity,
researchers have developed a single beam element that will capture the lateral
torsional buckling. The earliest examples of these are the formulations by
Barsoum and Gallagher, 1970 and S. Rajasekaran & Murray, 1974. These
formulations are primarily intended for small deformation. Today when ultimate
limit states of steel beam members need to be ascertained, the evaluation of
the post buckling behavior of beams is very necessary. Hence, this study takes
large deformation into account. Nowadays energy is the language for analyzing
the stability of structural systems. We find that most of the formulations of strain
energy have used only. Using this it will not be possible to trace the post
buckling parts of beams undergoing large lateral torsional
deformations. Hence, in the present study attempts have been made to arrive
at lateral torsional buckling of higher order energy so that the lateral torsional
and post buckling performance of these beams can be accurately captured.
Hence in this study formulations are derived to analyze any generic thin-walled
open cross section which undergoes large deformations and rotations during
lateral torsional buckling.
ANALYTICAL MODEL

The basic assumptions of the theory of torsional flexural behaviour of thin-

walled prismatic members as given by Vlasov, 1963, which are used for the
present derivation are:
a) The material of the structure is perfectly elastic.
b) Large deflection theory is adopted.
c) The member retains its cross-sectional shape while undergoing all
deformations during loading but may warp perpendicular to the plane of the
cross section.
d) The shear deformations of the middle surface of the member can be
neglected.
𝜀𝑧̅ 𝑥̅ = 𝜀𝑧̅ 𝑠 = 0 1
e) Kirchhoff’s hypothesis is assumed to hold good, i.e., normal stresses
transverse to the plate are negligible and plane transverse sections before
bending remain plane after bending,
𝜒𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ =  𝜒𝑠𝑠 = 0; 𝜀𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ =  𝜀𝑠𝑠 = 0 2

f) Taking three terms in the trigonometric series of sine and cosine of the angle
of twist are considered,
𝜙2 𝜙4 𝜙3 𝜙5 3
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙 = 1 − + ; 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 = 𝜙 − +
2 24 6 120

y
𝑥̅ , 𝑢𝑥̅
𝑦ത, 𝑣𝑦ത
rn
α
VB
r UB
ρ B
S α y-ey

ey
x
C ex x-ex

Fig. 1: Transverse displacement of a thin-walled beam

Total potential energy is
𝜋 =𝑈−𝑊 4
Strain energy is
 𝐸𝑡 2
1 2 5
𝑈= [(𝜀𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ + 𝜀𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ ) − 2(1 − 𝜈) (𝜀 𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ 𝜀𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ − 𝜀 )]
2(1 − 𝜈 2 ) 4 𝑧̅ 𝑥̅
𝐸𝑡 3
+  [(𝜒 + 𝜒𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ )2
24(1 − 𝜈 2 ) 𝑧̅ 𝑧̅
− 2(1 − 𝜈)(𝜒𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ 𝜒𝑥̅ 𝑥̅ − 𝜏 2 )]

Since shear deformation of the middle plane is neglected,

ε𝑧̅ 𝑥̅ = ε𝑧̅ s = 0 6
As Kirchoff’s hypothesis is assumed to hold good, i.e., normal stresses
transverse to the plate are negligible and also plane transverse sections before
bending remain plane after bending,
χ𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ =  χss = 0 7
ε𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ =  εss = 0 8
Hence the strain energy term reduces to,
𝐸𝑡 2 𝐸𝑡 3 9
 𝑈 =    𝜀𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ + 𝜏2
2 12(1 + 𝜈)
The transverse displacements, u and v are (figure 1)
𝑢 = 𝑢𝑠 − (𝑦 − 𝑒𝑦 )𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 − (𝑥 − 𝑒𝑥 )(1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙) 10

𝑣 = 𝑣𝑠 + (𝑥 − 𝑒𝑥 )𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 − (𝑦 − 𝑒𝑦 )(1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙) 11

Here, 𝑒𝑥 , 𝑒𝑦 = coordinates of reference point S,

𝑢𝑠 , 𝑣𝑠 = displacements of S in x and y directions respectively,
𝜙 = angle of twist.
and axial displacement neglecting shear deformation is
𝑤 =  𝑤𝑐 − (𝑣𝑠′ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙 − 𝑢𝑠′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙)𝑦 − (𝑢𝑠′ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜙 + 𝑣𝑠′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙)𝑥 + 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝜙 ′ 12
where 𝑤𝑐 = axial displacement of the point,
𝜔𝑆𝐷 = sectorial coordinate.
The normal strain is
𝜕𝑤 1 𝜕𝑢 2 𝜕𝑣 2 13
𝜀𝑧̅ 𝑧̅ = + {( ) + ( ) }
𝜕𝑧 2 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧

𝜀 =  𝑤𝑐′ − 𝑦𝑣𝑠′′ cos 𝜙 + 𝑦𝑢𝑠′′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 − 𝑥𝑢𝑠′′ cos 𝜙 − 𝑥𝑣𝑠′′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 + 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝜙 ′′ 14
2 2 2
𝑢𝑠′ 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜌2 𝜙 ′
+ + + + 𝑒𝑦 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ cos 𝜙 − 𝑒𝑥 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ cos 𝜙
2 2 2
+ 𝑒𝑥 𝑢𝑠′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙𝜙 ′ + 𝑒𝑦 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙
 2 2
𝑢𝑠′ 𝑣𝑠′ 15
𝜀 =  𝑤𝑐′ − 𝑦𝑣𝑠′′ − 𝑥𝑢𝑠′′ + 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝜙 ′′ + 𝑦𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 − 𝑥𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 + +
2 2
2 ′2 ′′ 2 ′′ 2
𝜌 𝜙 𝑦𝑣𝑠 𝜙 𝑥𝑢𝑠 𝜙
+ + 𝑒𝑦 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ − 𝑒𝑥 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ + +
2 2 2
′′ 3 ′′ 3
𝑦𝑢 𝑠 𝜙 𝑥𝑣𝑠 𝜙
+ 𝑒𝑥 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙𝜙 ′ + 𝑒𝑦 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙𝜙 ′ − +
6 6
𝑒𝑦 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 2 𝜙 ′ 𝑒𝑥 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 2 𝜙 ′ 𝑦𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 4 𝑥𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 4
− + − −
2 2 24 24
𝑒𝑥 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 3 𝜙 ′ 𝑒𝑦 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 3 𝜙 ′ 𝑦𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 5 𝑥𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 5
− − + −
6 6 120 120
′ 4 ′ ′ 4 ′
𝑒𝑦 𝑢𝑠 𝜙 𝜙 𝑒𝑥 𝑣𝑠 𝜙 𝜙
+ −
24 24
𝜀 = 𝒂𝟎 𝒂 + 𝒃𝟎 𝒃 + 𝒄𝟎 𝒄 + 𝒅𝟎 𝒅 + 𝒆𝟎 𝒆 + 𝒇𝟎 𝒇
Where
𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙
𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙
𝑤𝑐 ′
′2 𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 2 𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 3
𝑢 𝑠
𝑣𝑠′′ ′2 𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 2 𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 3
𝒂= , 𝒃 = 𝑣 , 𝒄 = , 𝒅 = ,
𝑢𝑠′′ 𝑠
2
𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙𝜙 ′ 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 2 𝜙 ′
{𝜙 ′′ } 𝜙′ { 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙𝜙 ′ } ′ 2 ′
𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ { 𝑣𝑠 𝜙 𝜙 }
{ 𝑣𝑠′ 𝜙 ′ }
𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 4 𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 5
𝑢𝑠′′ 𝜙 4 𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜙 5
𝒆= , 𝒇 =
𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 3 𝜙 ′ 𝑢𝑠′ 𝜙 4 𝜙 ′
′ 3 ′ ′ 4 ′
{ 𝑣𝑠 𝜙 𝜙 } { 𝑣𝑠 𝜙 𝜙 }
1 1 𝜌2
𝒂𝟎 = {1 −𝑦 −𝑥 𝜔𝑆𝐷 }, 𝒃𝟎 = {𝑦 𝑒𝑦 −𝑒𝑥 },
−𝑥
2 2 2
𝑦 𝑥 𝑦 𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝑒𝑥
𝒄𝟎 = { 𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 } , 𝒅𝟎 = {− − },
2 2 6 6 2 2
𝑦 𝑥 𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝑦 𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝑒𝑥
𝒆𝟎 = {− − − − } , 𝒇𝟎 = { − − }
24 24 6 6 120 120 24 24
and twist is
𝜙2 𝜙4 16
𝜏 = 𝜙 ′ (1 − + )
2 24
Hence, the strain energy for an element is
2
𝐸 2
𝐺𝐽 ′
𝜙2 𝜙′ 𝜙4𝜙′ 17
𝑈𝑒 = ∫ 𝜀 𝑑𝑉 + ∫ (𝜙 − + ) 𝑑𝑧
2 2 2 24
Which may also be expressed as
 𝑈𝑒 = 𝑈2 + 𝑈3 + 𝑈4 + 𝑈5 + 𝑈6 + 𝑈7 18
Here, 𝑈2 = quadratic terms related to elastic flexural stiffness [𝑘 𝑒 ],
𝑈3 = cubic terms related to Mallet and Marcal’s first order displacement
matrix,
𝑈4 = quartic terms related to Mallet and Marcal’s second order
displacement matrix,
𝑈5 = quantic terms,
𝑈6 = sextic terms,
𝑈7 = septic terms,
𝐴 −𝐴𝑦 −𝐴𝑥 𝑆𝜔 19
𝑙 𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 −𝑆𝜔𝑥 𝑙
𝐸
𝑈2 = ∫ 𝒂𝑇 𝒂 𝑑𝑧 + 𝐺𝐽 ∫ (𝜙 ′ )2 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐼𝑦 −𝑆𝜔𝑦 0
[𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑚 𝐼𝜔 ]
𝐴 𝐴 𝜋 20
𝐴𝑦 −𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 −𝐴𝑒𝑥
2 2 2
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑦 𝜋𝑥
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 −𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 −
2
−
2
−
2
−𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑦
𝑈3 = ∫ 𝒂 𝒃 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑥 𝜋𝑦
−𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 − − − −𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑥
2 2 2
𝑆𝜔 𝑆𝜔 𝜋𝜔
[ 𝑆𝜔𝑥 −𝑆𝜔𝑦
2 2 2
𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑦 −𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑥 ]

𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 21
𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦
2 2
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦
𝐸 𝑙 − − −𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
𝑈4 = ∫ 𝒂𝑇 2 2 𝒄 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦
− − −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
2 2
𝑆𝜔𝑥 𝑆𝜔𝑦
[ 2 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑥 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑦 ]
2
 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑦 𝜋𝑥
𝐼𝑥 −𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 −𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥
2 2 2
𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑥 𝜋𝑦
𝐼𝑦 − − − −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
2 2 2
𝐴 𝐴 𝜋 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥
𝐸 𝑙 −
+ ∫ 𝒃𝑇 4 4 4 2 2 𝒃 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐴 𝜋 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥
−
4 4 2 2
𝜋𝑜 𝜋𝑒𝑦 𝜋𝑒𝑥
−
4 2 2
𝐴𝑒𝑦2 −𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦
[𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑚 𝐴𝑒𝑥2 ]
𝑙
2
−𝐺𝐽 ∫ 𝜙 ′ 𝜙 2 𝑑𝑧
0

𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 22
−
6 6 2 2
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 − −
𝑈5 = ∫ 𝒂 6 6 2 2 𝒅 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
− −
6 6 2 2
𝑆𝜔𝑥 𝑆𝜔𝑦 𝑆𝜔 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑥
[− 6 6
−
2 2 ]
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦
2 2
𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦
− − −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 −𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
2 2
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦
4 4 2 2
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦
+ ∫ 𝒃 𝒄 𝑑𝑧
2 0 4 4 2 2
𝜋𝑥 𝜋𝑦 𝜋𝑒𝑥 𝜋𝑒𝑦
4 4 2 2
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑦 2
2 2
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
[− 2 − −𝐴𝑒𝑥 2 −𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 ]
2
 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 23
− − − −
24 24 6 6
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 24 24 6 6
𝑈6 = ∫ 𝒂 𝒆 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
24 24 6 6
𝑆𝜔𝑥 𝑆𝜔𝑦 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑥 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑦
−
[ 24 − − −
24 6 6 ]

𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥

− −
6 6 2 2
𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
− −
6 6 2 2
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥
− −
12 12 4 4
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥
+ ∫ 𝒃 − − 𝒅 𝑑𝑧
2 0 12 12 4 4
𝜋𝑥 𝜋𝑦 𝜋𝑒𝑦 𝜋𝑒𝑥
− −
12 12 4 4
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑦 2 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦
− −
6 6 2 2
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 2
[ 6 − −
6 2 2 ]

𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦

4 4 2 2
𝑙 ′2 4
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝜙 𝜙
+ ∫ 𝒄 𝒄 𝑑𝑧 + 𝐺𝐽 ∫ 𝑑𝑧
2 0 4 2 2 0 3
𝐴𝑒𝑥 2 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦
[ 𝐴𝑒𝑦 2 ]
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 24
− −
120 120 24 24
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 − 120 120
−
24 24 𝒇 𝑑𝑧
𝑈7 = ∫ 𝒂
2 0 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
− −
120 120 24 24
𝑆𝜔𝑥 𝑆𝜔𝑦 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑦 𝑆𝜔 𝑒𝑥
[ 120 − −
120 24 24 ]
 𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦
− − − −
24 24 6 6
𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦
24 24 6 6
𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦
− − − −
48 48 12 12
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑦
+ ∫ 𝒃 − − − − 𝒆 𝑑𝑧
2 0 48 48 12 12
𝜋𝑥 𝜋𝑦 𝜋𝑒𝑥 𝜋𝑒𝑦
− − − −
48 48 12 12
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑦 2
− − − −
24 24 6 6
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 2 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦
[ 24 24 6 6 ]

25
𝐼𝑥 𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥
− −
12 12 4 4
𝐼𝑥𝑦 𝐼𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥
𝐸 𝑙 𝑇 − 12 12
−
4 4
+ ∫ 𝒄 𝒅 𝑑𝑧
2 0 𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑥 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑥 2
− −
6 6 2 2
𝐴𝑦𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝐴𝑒𝑦 2 𝐴𝑒𝑥 𝑒𝑦
[− 6 6
−
2 2 ]

Cross sectional properties are calculated as

26
𝐴 = ∫ 𝑑𝐴 , 𝐼𝑥 = ∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴 , 𝑆𝜔𝑥 = ∫ 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝑦 𝑑𝐴 , 𝐴𝑦 = ∫ 𝑦 𝑑𝐴,

𝐼𝑦 = ∫ 𝑥 2 𝑑𝐴 , 𝑆𝜔𝑦 = ∫ 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝑥 𝑑𝐴 , 𝐴𝑥 = ∫ 𝑥 𝑑𝐴,

2
𝐼𝑥𝑦 = ∫ 𝑥𝑦 𝑑𝐴 , 𝐼𝜔 = ∫ 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝑑𝐴 , 𝑆𝜔 = ∫ 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝑑𝐴 , 𝜋 = ∫ 𝜌2 𝑑𝐴 ,

𝜋𝜔 = ∫ 𝜌2 𝜔𝑆𝐷 𝑑𝐴 , 𝜋𝑥 = ∫ 𝜌2 𝑦 𝑑𝐴, 𝜋𝑜 = ∫ 𝜌4 𝑑𝐴,

1
𝜋𝑦 ∫ 𝜌2 𝑥 𝑑𝐴, 𝐽= ∫ 𝑡 3 𝑑𝑠
3
If the centroidal principal axes, shear centre and sectorial centroid are chosen
respectively as reference axes and centre of rotational origin of sectorial areas,
then
𝑒𝑥 = 𝑒𝑦 = 𝑥 = 𝑦 = 𝑆𝜔 = 𝐼𝑥𝑦 = 𝑆𝜔𝑥 = 𝑆𝜔𝑦 = 𝜋𝑥 = 𝜋𝑦 = 𝜋𝜔 = 0 27
Another way of expressing Ue is
𝑙
1 1 1 1 1 28
𝑈𝑒 = ∫ 〈𝑞〉 [ [𝑘̂] + [𝑛 ̂]1 + [𝑛
̂]
2 + [𝑛
̂]
3 + [𝑛
̂]
0 2 6 12 40 180 4
1
+ [𝑛
̂]] {𝑞} 𝑑𝑧
1008 5
Where,
〈𝑞〉 = 〈𝑤𝑐′ 𝑢𝑠′ 𝑢𝑠′′ 𝑣𝑠′ 𝑣𝑠′′ 𝜑 𝜑 ′ 𝜑 ′′ 〉 29
𝜕 2 𝑈2 1 𝜕 2 𝑈3 1 𝜕 2 𝑈4 30
𝑘̂𝑖𝑗 = ̂
; 𝑛1 = ̂
; 𝑛2 =
𝜕𝑞𝑖 𝜕𝑞𝑗 2 𝑖𝑗 𝜕𝑞𝑖 𝜕𝑞𝑗 3 𝑖𝑗 𝜕𝑞𝑖 𝜕𝑞𝑗
𝐸𝐴 −𝐸𝐴𝑥 −𝐸𝐴𝑦 𝐸𝑆𝜔 31

𝐸𝐼𝑦 𝐸𝐼𝑥𝑦 −𝐸𝑆𝜔𝑦

𝑘̂ =
𝐸𝐼𝑥 −𝐸𝑆𝜔𝑥

𝐺𝐽
[ 𝐸𝐼𝜔 ]

SUMMARY

Existing expressions presented in the literature for strain energy generated

using flexural torsional buckling have been modified by consideration of higher
order terms. Published literature treats trigonometric quantities as very small.
However, during deep post buckling this may not be true. Hence large rotations
have been included by assuming three number of terms to approximate the
trigonometric series. Also, the strain displacement relation contains a greater
number of higher order terms for TL predictions to be non-erroneous. The
formulation is valid for prismatic beams and does not consider local and
distortional buckling into account. Validation of the present formulation is being
investigated.

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