On the evaluation of critical lateral buckling loads of prismatic steel beams

In this study, theoretical models and design procedures of the behavior of thin-walled simply supported steel beams with an open cross section under a large torsional effect are presented. I-sections were chosen as the cross section types. Firstly, the widely used differential equations for the lateral buckling for the pure bending moment effect in a beam element were adopted for the various moment distributions along the span of the beam. This solution was obtained for both mono-symmetric and bisymmetric sections. The buckling loads were then obtained by using the energy method. When using the energy method to solve the problem, it is possible to locate the load not only on the shear center but also at several points of the section depth. Buckling loads were obtained for six different load types. Results obtained for different load and cross section types were checked with ABAQUS software and compared with several standard rules.