A numericaltudyf theffectf component dimensionsn the critical buckling loadf a GFRP compositetrut under uniaxial compression

Abstract

In the practical designf thin-walled composite columns, component dimensionshould be wisely designed to meet the bucklingesistance andconomicequirements. This paper provides a novel and useful investigation basedn a numericaltudyf theffectsf theection dimensions, thicknessatio, andlendernessation the critical buckling loadf a thin-walled compositetrut under uniaxial compression. Thetrut was a channel-section-shapedtrut and was madef glassiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite material bytackingymmetrical quasi-isotropic layups using the autoclave technique. For the purposef thistudy, a numericalinitelement model was developedor the investigation by using ABAQUSoftware. The linear and post-buckling behavior analysis was performed to verify theesultsf the numerical model with thebtained buckling loadrom thexperiment. Then, theffectsf the cross-section dimensions, thicknessatio, andlendernessation the critical buckling loadf the compositetrut, which is determined using anigenvalue buckling analysis, were investigated. The implementationesultsevealed an insightful interaction between cross-section dimensions and thicknessatio and the buckling load. Basedn thisesult, a cost-effective design wasecommended as a usefulesultf thistudy. Moreover, a demarcation point between global and local bucklingf the compositetrut was also determined. Especially, a new design curveor the channel-section GFRPtrut, which is governed by the proposed constitutivequations, was introduced tostimate the critical buckling load basedn the input component dimension.