Local Buckling Analysis of T-Section Webs with Closed-Form Solutions

This paper reports on approaches to estimate the critical buckling loads of thin-walled T-sections with closed-form solutions. We first develop a model using energy conservation approach under the assumption that there is no correlation between the restraint coefficient and buckling half-wavelength. Secondly, we propose a numerical approach to estimate the critical buckling conditions under the more realistic torsional stiffener constraint condition. A dimensionless parameter correlated with constraint conditions is introduced through finite element (FE) analysis and data fitting technique in the numerical approach. The critical buckling coefficient and loads can be expressed as explicit functions of the dimensionless parameter. The proposed numerical approach demonstrates higher accuracy than the approach under noncorrelation assumption. Due to the explicit expression of critical buckling loads, the numerical approach presented here can be easily used in the design, analysis, and precision manufacture of T-section webs.