Post-buckling of a hinged-fixed beam under uniformly distributed follower forces

Based on geometrically non-linear theory for extensible elastic beams, governing equations of statically post-buckling of a beam with one end hinged and the other fixed, subjected to a uniformly distributed, tangentially compressing follower forces are established. They consist of a boundary-value problem of ordinary differential equations with a strong non-linearity, in which seven unknown functions are contained and the arc length of the deformed axis is considered as one of the basic unknown functions. By using shooting method and in conjunction with analytical continuation, the non-linear governing equations are solved numerically and the equilibrium paths as well as the post-buckled configurations of the deformed beam are presented. A comparison between the results of conservative system and that of the non-conservative systems are given. The results show that the features of the equilibrium paths of the beams under follower loads are evidently different from that under conservative ones. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.