Semi analytical solutions for flexural-torsional buckling of thin-walled cantilever beams with doubly symmetric cross-sections

An unbraced cantilever beam subjected to loads which cause bending about the major axis may buckle in a flexural torsional mode by deflecting laterally and twisting. For the efficient design of these structures, design engineers require a simple accurate equation for the elastic flexural-torsional buckling load. Existing solutions for the flexural-torsional buckling of cantilever beams have mainly been derived by numerical methods which are tedious to implement. In this research, an attempt is made to derive a theoretical equation by the energy method using different buckled shapes. However, the results of a finite element flexural-torsional buckling analysis reveal that the buckled shapes for the lateral deflection and twist rotation are different for cantilever beams. In particular, the buckled shape for the twist rotation also varies with the section size. In light of these findings, the finite element flexural-torsional buckling analysis was then used to derive simple accurate equations for the elastic buckling load and moment for cantilever beams subjected to end point load, uniformly distributed load and end moment. The results are compared with previous research and it was found that the equations derived in this study are accurate and simple to use.