A Comparative Study on Numerical Buckling Analysis for a Cantilever Steel Pipe Column under Combined Loads

Buckling of a cantilever steel pipe column under combined loads was studied through linear and nonlinear numerical analysis method. Firstly, linear buckling analysis of the cantilever column with linear-elastic material was used to select appropriate element type and element size for this problem. Then linear buckling and nonlinear buckling analyses for an imperfect cantilever column under different horizontal loads or displacements in the context of elasticity were performed to verify the ability of the linear buckling analysis to include large geometric changes. Thirdly, nonlinear analyses were carried out to examine the effect of plastification of material on the buckling limit loads for the imperfect cantilever column. Through these comparative studies, some aspects concerned with the numerical buckling analysis of structures such as columns were clarified.