J. Construct.

Steel Research 31 (1994) 243-265

© 1994 Elsevier Science Limited
Printed in Malta. All rights reserved
0143-974X/94/$7.00
ELSEVIER

Lateral Torsional and Distortional Buckling of

Channel- and Hat-Sections

Richard Schardt
Technical University of Darmstadt, Alexanderstrasse 7, D-64283 Darmstadt, Germany

(Received 22 March 1994)

ABSTRACT

For thin-walled sections, lateral and lateral-torsional buckling are often affected by
distortion of the section and this can severely reduce the critical stress. A calculation
method for the critical stress which takes account of distortional effects, based on
Generalised Beam Theory (GBT), is presented in this paper. The limiting slender-
ness at which distortional effects begin to take effect is evaluated for channel-
and hat-sections on the basis of parametric studies. Approximate formulae for the
limitin 9 slenderness are then given.

1 INTRODUCTION

Channel- and hat-sections are often used in light gauge steel construction.
Because they offer a large range of dimensions for web, flange and lip, they
can easily be adapted to different applications and they offer favourable
joint conditions.
Thin-walled prismatic structures, such as cold-rolled profiles, often fail
by instability before the stresses have reached the yield point. The related
deformation depends on the stress-distribution in the cross-section and on
the slenderness of the structure. In general, the deformation is a combi-
nation of local buckling, distortion and rigid-body-displacement of the
cross-section. For monosymmetric sections, a sudden change from sym-
metric to antisymmetric deformation is possible at a particular length.
Furthermore, two or more different individual deformation modes may
interact in such a way that the overall buckling load is lower than the
lowest individual buckling load. The main aim of this paper is to provide

243
244 R. Schardt

approximate formulae for designers which indicate the limiting slenderness

at which distortional buckling becomes important. This requires consider-
ation of a large number of variations of shape for which the critical stress
has to be calculated both taking into account and disregarding the dis-
tortional effect.
Numerical solution methods, such as the finite element method or the
finite strip method, can treat single cases but cannot give information
about the general mechanical behaviour of the structures. They are not,
therefore, suitable methods for parametric studies.
In contrast, the Generalised Beam Theory (GBT) 1-4 is a hierarchical
method. The solution arises in the form of a series of modes beginning
with the simple beam behaviour and evolving consistently up to the modes
which describe the more complicated folded plate or shell behaviour. This
allows individual selection to be made of the mode or modes appropriate
to the situation being considered. For the case under consideration in this
paper, the numerical effort can be limited to the solution of a quadratic
or cubic equation.

2 SECTION VALUES

2.1 First-order values

GBT describes the mechanical behaviour of prismatic structures by means

of ordinary differential equations using as variables deformation resultants
kV(x) similar to the individual modes of buckling and vibration. These
resultants are obtained by solving a special eigenvalue problem. 1 The main
property of the resultants is orthogonality between the modes for the work
of the warping stresses and the work of the distortional (transverse
bending) stresses.
In the first-order theory the ordinary differential equations

E k C . k V " ' __ G kD . k V " + kB o k V = kq (1)

for each mode k are not coupled and can be solved independently.
The coefficients are generalisations of the well-known section proper-
ties of the ordinary bending and torsion theory such as the warping
constant

kC = kU2(S)dA +-~ kf2(s)" ds (2)

 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 245

the torsional constant

D--5 k/2(S)" t3 ds (3)

and the 'elastic foundation', which represents the transverse bending stiff-
ness

kB = ~ km2(s)ds (4)

In the above equations, the following notation is used for each mode k:
kV(x) = deformation resultant
u(s) = warping function
f.(s) = out of plane displacement function
f = df/ds
re(s) = transverse bending m o m e n t
kq = distributed load resultant for mode k
K = plate modulus
The necessary number of functions kV(x) depends on the buckling behav-
iour of the section. For column and beam behaviour, the four rigid body
modes ( k = 1, 2, 3, 4) are sufficient. Distortional buckling of C- and hat-
sections requires two additional modes: the symmetric distortion 5V and
the antisymmetric distortion 6V. Local buckling demands another kind of
freedom, namely the lateral displacement of nodes which are intermediate
between the fold lines of the section, but this is not the subject of this
paper.

2.2 Explicit formulae for the section values of channel- and hat-sections

In addition to the possibility of determining the section values for arbit-

rary cross-sections by solving the special eigenvalue problem, 1 for the
particular sections considered here they can also be obtained using explicit
formulae. These formulae only contain the membrane component of the
warping function and are therefore only valid for thin-walled sections
(b/t > 10). The torsional constant only takes into account the average rota-
tion of each element.
The notation for the dimensions is shown in Fig. 1. In order to provide a
consistent treatment, the formulae include the section values for the four
rigid body modes. These, of course, can also be obtained by conventional
methods.
246 R. Schardt

M
I
I
[] MII [] l
zM

I I
y_- is
b b
iz

~a=!-
[]
o.J
m [] 1
Fig. I. Notation for the dimensions of C- and hat-sections.

For practical use it is recommended that all dimensions (width and

thickness) are introduced in the same length-unit and then the final results
are factorized with the corresponding power of the length- and force-units.
The critical stresses are then obtained in the same dimensions.
In all of the equations which follow, the superscript is for the channel-
section, and the subscript is for the hat-section. The following parameters
are also introduced:

= a/h, fl = b/h
2.2.1 Dimensionless abbreviations

KI = 1 +2(0~+fl)
K2 =/?(2~ +/~)/K,
K3 -- (1 + 6fl+ 60t -T-12~ 2 + 80t3)/12

K,,=-~+K2+2o~(fl-K2)2+2fl(~-K2)
1
K 5 = fl(6= + 3fl-- 8= 3) 12K 3

K6 =fl--K5
K7 = K6 _+2~(fl + Ks)
_fl 2 t~
K a = -K~2 + ( K s +2 K 6 - 2- K s K 6 ) 6+ ( K 6 2 + K7+K6K7)-~

A SN = fl[3~ + 2fl + fl(2ct + fl)]

A6N = ct(3fl + 1) [K 5(1 T-2~) + K 7 ] + 3 fl 2(0~ At- fl ) + 2fl 2 ..[_2~fl(1 __+~tfl)
 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 247

With the above abbreviations, section values for channel- and hat-sections
m a y be derived as follows.

2.2.2 For the rigid body modes (k = 1 to k = 4)

Coordinates of the centre of gravity and the shear centre:

zs=K2h
Z M = ( K 2 + Ks)h

Warping constants:

A = K l h t = ~C
lz = K3 h3t = 2C
Iy= K a h 3 t = 3C
CM=KshSt=4C

Torsional constants:

ID = 2D = 3D -- 0
4D = ½ K l h t 3 = I o

Warping ordinates:

k = l : lt/l~- lU2~ lU3~-~- 1//4 -~-lt/5 = lU 6 = -- 1

k = 2 : 2 U I = --2U 6 = -(½~00h
2//2 ---~ 21/3 ~ -- 2//4. ~ -- 2R5 = -½h
k_~.3. 3u 1 ~_.~_ 3 u 2 ~ 3u5~ 3/./6 = -(fl-K2)h
3U3 -~- 3U4 ~ K2h
k=4: 4u1=-4u 6 = KT½h2
4U2---- --'U s = (fl--Ks)½h 2
4u 3 = --4U 4 = --Kz½h 2

2.2.3 For the symmetrical distortion mode ( k = 5)

Warping ordinates:

5U 1 ~-~5U6 ~---1
1
SUE= 5U5 = -- 0~fl(3+ 2fl) A5 N
1
5u 3 = 5u4=~f12 A S N
248 R. Schardt

Element rotation:

Transverse bending moment:

5m3= 5m24= 2 * 5fe,2

Et3
K is the plate modulus
(@+ 1)h K 12(1-$) >

Warping constant, transverse bending stiffness and torsional constant:

SC’ ‘u2t ds
ss
=~(a(l+5Uz+5U;)+~(5U;+5U2* 5u3+5u$)++5u:)ht

“m$
5B=(+j3+1) Kh

2.2.4 For the antisymmetric distortion mode (k=6)

Warping ordinates:

$3 = -6up ~Ca(3T4.)+6U,(3a32a2+3P)1

Element rotation:
 Lateral torsionaland distortionalbuckling 249

1
6f0,2 = 6f0,4= _ (1--6U2___2g"6U3) ~-~

2 6
6fo,3 =-~( U2-- 6U3) 1
P

Transverse bending moment:

6 m 3 ---- - - 6 m 4 - - 3 ( 6 f ° ' 2 - - 6 f ° ' 3 ) K

(fl + ½)h
Warping constant, transverse bending stiffness and torsional constant:

6 C ---~ fs 6u2t d s
= ~(~(1 + 6u 2 --[-6/./2)+ fl(6u2.11_ 6/./2° 6/./3 _[._6/./2)_[_ ½.6u2)h t

6 2
6B--½(2fl+l)~hm3

6D=32(~.6 2 + f l " 6¢2

~f 0,1 JO.2 + x2 ° 6f~,3)ht3

2.2.5 For all modes

Displacement ordinates:

k t / 2 - kul ku 6 - ku5
{~fs,1 -- a kA,5 = a

kfs,2 = ku3--ku2 kfs,4 ~ ku5--ku4

b b

L~s,3 ~ ku4"-- ku3

h

~ , 1 = __.a
2
%.~ +- *L.~

~.3 ~.,-~.2
2
250 R. Schardt

- ~,3
2

k a

The unit warping functions for C- and hat-sections are shown in Figs 2
and 3.

2.3 Second-order terms, the g-values

The second-order effect of the longitudinal stresses o-x depends on the

distribution of the stresses ax(S,X) in the cross-section and the elastic
curvature f"(s, x) of the elements of the section at x.
The second-order theory requires the satisfaction of equilibrium condi-
tions with respect to the deformation of the structure. The system of
differential equations of the GBT is found as the virtual work of stresses

.h

',e~ ''l Ks
h'/2

I I ° I"'o'K'

Fig. 2. Unit warping functions for C-sections.

 Lateraltorsionaland distortionalbuckling 251

e I

-1
I

, Ks

, ,

Fig. 3. Unit warping functions for hat-sections.

and applied loads at virtual displacements k F'= 1. The derivation of the

second-order terms is given in Ref. 3.
The system of differential equations with the second-order terms in-
cluded now becomes:

EkCkV'm--G kDkV°-Ji-kBkV-~-~ ~ ijkK°(iw Jv')t~-kq

i=l j=2
2<<.k<<.n (5)

for each m o d e k. The differential equations are now coupled by the ijkK-
values.
The expression for ijk/~ is

ijkx __1 ~ ~u(Jf~k~ + ~f kf) t ds (6)

-i C d

F o r a systematic evaluation, the unit warping functions u(s) in each

element r are expressed by ti, and ar (Fig. 4). The unit displacement-
252 R. Schardt

r+1 _'#"~'ur5

,~Ur~'"%/
X

Fig. 4. Warping function of one element between nodes r and r + 1.

functions fs(s) and f(s) are expressed by the constant values f,, f~ and fo,
representing the rigid body deformation (Fig. 5) and

/2~=½(mr+, +m~)
(7)
k]~=½(m~+1--m~)

representing the distortional deformation of an element expressed by the

transverse bending moment re(s). This leads to

ijkK=i~ E {u~fskfs+Jf~(kf~+l-~2kfO)+Jfobr(l~2kfo+3-~6ok~)
r

"1- J~ [--~-- k¢
/~t,12 j ~ -Lr 120
1 k~
/ ~~] LT J/-*t360
~ [ - - ~ k<
JO 71- 75--~60k f i ) ]

-Jr'/~Fj~cIlk4" "~l- 1 k"~'~-~-j~c b tlk¢_~_ 1. ka'~

L.1~6 JO 180 /xl ./O r[6 Js 120 ~ !

2520 /*! /'*~180 J~ 2520 /~1/ r rS (8)

A comparison with the conventional formulation of the beam theory

S
/
b_.// "%,,
j2f "%,,

Fig. 5. Displacement of an element in the y-z plane.

 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 253

identifies the following iJkx-values

i=1 i=2 i=3 i=4

2 3 4 2 3 4 2 3 4 2 3 4
21-1 --r/M --1 2
4 -- 1 --~M 1 3
--qM -- ~M -- i ~ 1 r~,o -- 1 r~, 4 r~o~

The matrix of the ijktc-values for each warping m o m e n t i is symmetrical.

Values for i>~ 4 do not appear in the conventional theory. In general they
are of less importance. What we need for our investigation are the ~c-values
for i = 1 (normal force as load) and for j = 3, 5 (symmetric distortion) and
j = 2, 4, 6 (antisymmetric distortion). F r o m lu = - 1 we get xti = - 1 and
lfi=O.

3 STABILITY CONDITIONS

3.1 The eigenvalue problem

Assume the structure to have pin-ended supports and to be loaded by a

warping stress resultant IW which represents a constant axial force along
the x-axis. In this case the differential eqn (5) is reduced to

EkC'kV"'--GkD'kV" + kB'kV+IW ~ IjkK'Jv"=O (9)

j=2

The solution for kV(x), which satisfies the support conditions, is a sine-
function.

7IX
k V ( x ) = kVm"sin -~- (10)

Introducing this into eqn (9), we get the following matrix eigenvalue
problem

j=2

in which 2 is the load factor for a given normal force tWo.

1Wcr=/~. 1 W 0
254 R. Schardt

It is assumed that, when the load reaches the critical value, the structure is
undeformed so that we are considering a bifurcation problem.

3.2 Single mode buckling

If we only allow a single mode k for the buckling deformation, this means
that all x-values with j ~ k are neglected. Then for each mode we have the
simple formula for the critical load

l'kWc r_ lkkx
kp(/) (12)

with the abbreviation (representing the stiffness for single mode buckling)

kp(l)=E'kC 7 +G'kD+B" (/; (13)

The three components of kp show different characteristics with respect to

variations of the length l:
- - the warping stiffness of the system decreases in proportion to 1/l 2
- - the torsional stiffness is independent on the length
- - the distortional stiffness increases in proportion to l"
The corresponding characteristic length l¢ where 1'kW, is minimum, is
found to be

4 .E/~_'kc
l~=rr ~/- ¥/~ (14)

For kB, equal to zero, lc is infinite.

The minimum critical warping moment LkWcr at 1¢ is

min l'kWcr = l k1k x . (2. x / E . + G. (15)

3.3 Double mode buckling

If we allow two modes j and k for buckling interaction we have the eigen-
value problem

(JP - - i j j x " i'jk Wcr ) " JVm - - i k j x " i'JkWcr • k v m = 0 (16)

 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 255

--ijkK. i,JkWcr, jVre.Jr (kp__ikkx. i,JkWcr) . kVm = 0 (17)

If eqn (16) is divided by ijj/~ and eqn (17) by ikkK, and with the abbreviation
i'Jw, which is the critical load i'JkWcr when only JV is allowed (individual
mode buckling), we find

iJw ijk r" ' (:) (18)

~--ii~:~ °i'JkWcr i'kw--i'JkWcr/ ~kVm/
The critical value i'JkWer is given as the solution of a quadratic equation
(determinant = zero)
ijk•. ikj/~
(i'Jw--i'JkWcr)(i'kw--i'Jkwcr) ijjK " ikkK i'JkW2r~-0 (19)

We extract the lowest value of i'Jw and i ' k w as a factor of the left side of
eqn (19) and introduce the dimensionless parameters:

1
-- ijkK " ikjK (20)
1 ijj/~ oikk~

and
i,k w
09 = ~-T]--WW
~> 1 (21)

and find

(22)

The parameters fl and 09 vary between 1 and oo. The lowest possible value
of y is ½, when fl = 1 and 09 = 1 (maximum interaction of the two modes).
The function y(to, fl) is plotted in Fig. 6.

3.4 Multi-mode buckling

Equation (11) in Section 3.1 forms a general matrix eigenvalue problem,

with a number of modes equal to n - I for all allowed buckling
256 R. Schardt

1,0,

0.9

0,8

Y 0.7

0.6
N.'<.-< • 0.8

0.5
02 OA 0.6 0.8 1.0

F i g . 6. I n t e r a c t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t 7.

deformations j.

"2p
3p
-;~ZiWo •
i

.p

"i22 r 123 r ... i2n r "

"a2
i32 r 133 r ... i3n r
=0 (23)

in2 r in3 r ... inn r

u I . an.

In matrix symbols this becomes

(P-- 2. K). V= 0 (24)

in which P is a diagonal matrix with the modal stiffness kp as elements and

K is a superposition of the r-matrices factored by the warping moments
i w o and the c o m m o n load factor 2. We multiply by the inverse of P and
divide by ( - 2 ) and arrive at the special eigenvalue problem

(P-I"K-~E)" V=O (25)

 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 257

which is solved by the iteration method of Von Mises and gives the lowest
load factor and the corresponding eigenvector.

4 EVALUATION

4.1 Critical stresses

The evaluation is carried out for an axial normal force, 1W, and eight
combinations of the five modes involved, namely: bending about zz;
bending about yy; torsion; symmetrical distortion; and antisymmetrical
distortion:
(1) five single-mode buckling cases: 1'20"cr , 1'30"cr , 1'40"cr , l'50"er , l'60"cr
(2) two double-mode buckling cases: l'24acr, t'35acr
(3) one triple-mode buckling case: ~'246o.
The ratio of the dimensions for the two standard sections are varied
between the limits

a
0.05 ~ < ~ < 0 . 5

b
0.25 ~< ~ ~< 1"5 (26)

h
20 ~< - ~< 40
t

We therefore have 10x 6 x 6 = 3 6 0 different sections for each C- and

hat-shape.
In Fig. 7 the critical stresses divided by the yield stress fr for a C-section
with different values of a/h are plotted against the slenderness ~. The ratio
between the critical distortional buckling stress and the lateral torsional
buckling stress is also shown (dotted lines). The intersection of the latter
curves with the 95% line gives the limiting slenderness ~d.

4.2 The limiting slenderness

The limiting slenderness ~d is found where

1,asa = 0 . 9 5 . 1 , 3 0 .
1,2460. = 0"95" 1,Z4a
258 R. Schardt

1.8 / \ I
Q/h=0.1 0.3

I
•~ 1.2
1.6
1.4 \ \
I 1
"- 0.95%--
~t

~. 0.8
\
~l 0.6 ./ /.

0.4- 0.5 ~ ....

..j
~0.3 //
0.2
J
!
0 t 1 I

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

lambda bar
Fig. 7. Critical stresses a n d ratio of distortional to lateral torsional buckling for a
C-section with h/t = 30, b/h = 1.

In order to obtain a good approximation to this value, the slenderness is

varied in small steps of 0.0125 between

0"05 ~<~[= ~/E.rc2.i2<<.l (27)

The limiting slenderness only exceeds the value of unity for the sym-
metric buckling of a C-section. This leads to about 80000 cases for
which the critical stresses have to be calculated. It is obvious that
this cannot be a job for the finite element or finite strip methods.
However, using GBT, a modern home computer does it in about one
minute.
In some ranges at low slenderness the solution for one-wave buckling
may be higher than for two or more waves. In this case the minimum value
is held constant until the curve drops under this value (see Fig. 7).
Symmetric buckling is only of interest for C-sections. For hat-sections the
critical values for symmetric buckling are, in the range investigated, always
higher than those for antisymmetric buckling. The limit slenderness ;[d is
plotted over the lip ratio a/h in Figs 8 and 9 for C-sections and in Fig. 10
for hat-sections. The parameter of all of the curves is b/h.
 I.,ReQa_d

• G ~ ~t~k,~
;.~
~
~"
.~ ~ ,~.
•
(111( I11 II 1Ill
N. II Itl III II IIII
I1 I11 /11 II III!
~" ~ a" .= ~ g.~ ~ lllll ~1 IIIII |
L".
I lllll i 1 IIII1
LIII llVI] 1
lilY,
~-~" ;:~ ilJlrll
--- " a" ~ oZ
,I~1 II,llJ/I -
~ l II1 I ~1111/I
~ d I.I~V~O el

~:~ .] ~ o:
= ~ > ~' ~
o" :r' L"r]
']J i I~I(I ( II1[11 e~

ol I I I , ,, , IIIII I
~.~" ~1ll I1111 Illll J
~ ~ ~ o .~, il I/JiJ/11 I[I II J
~-~. ~ .-
~.o- C~ ~: ~ 1/11 I I1/1/ II II U II
'--' ~
"1 III II/1/1/ 1111 I11
!I ] '11'1/' LII JIV
,-. o I ~1111//I 111RI J
~.
m' :1 I 1\~1/I/I ~t II1~
 260 R. Schardt

15O i
1.0

1,4
1.5o
1.2

0.0" 1.00 ~ ~ d
0.75
0,4' 0 . 7 5 "-----. ~ ~ ~

0.25 ~ ' - ' ~ --

Co 0.08 0.1 0.15 0.2 0,25 0.$ 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0 006 0.1 0.15 0,2 0.25 0.3 0,36 0.4 0.45 0.5
o~ ofn

1.11 kl I°'777,1 I
~,5o

1.6
1.25 ~k \ . .
1.4

1.g, 1.oo~ ~ . ~ ~ ......_,..._. ~

i 1,

o.lg
j I
j~ - ' - - - ---_ _ _..

o.0. 0.75
0.4

0.25 ~ 0.25

0 o,G5 0.1 0.10 0+2 0.25 0.3 0+35 0.4 0.445 0.5 0 0.o5 0.1 0.10 0.2 0.25 0,3 0.18 0.4 0.45 0.5
orn q,h

1.25 ! 1.50 12., 15o c...,~.,..,~ I i,~..ol

1.8
~.¢ i I I I 1\1"\1 I I
1.4 I\ "-.t I J I 1ooi'1, ~ I

i 1

0.8.

0.6

0.4' 0.50 ~ ~

0.2" 0.25 0.2S ~ " ' - ~

i
0 0.08 0.1 0.t5 0.2 O.Z 0.3 0.38 0.4 0.4.5 0.5 0 0.08 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0,3 0,35 0,4 0.45 0.5
Od~ con

Fig. 9. Limiting slenderness for a C-section in symmetrical buckling.

where

~=Ic ~j~
rr" iz

Ic = buckling length of the bar about the z-axis

iz = radius of inertia about the z-axis
fy = yield stress
 o
o°~ ~ ° ~ ~:~

& ~.

+
~ ~ ~ ~ - ~

~0

= I
;~1~
+

Larr,b U d ~ _ d ~n~Ja_d

~ +
=

II o o o - --
~,.,. N"
=r

.<
=
t~
o
g

0~
262 R. Schardt

~a2=c(0-65 + 0"035!(b) ls)

And for a C-section antisymmetrical buckling form: ~d = higher value of

~al = c(0"45 ~-0"7(h)2 + 0"25h)

where c = 0.42 + 0.014 h.

t
The condition for ~[o is valid in the range

0.25~<b~< 1.5

a
0.1 ~<~ ~<0.45

h
20 ~<t~40

6 NUMERICAL EXAMPLE

The following results are for a channel section with the dimensions given
below in kN and cm (see Fig. 1):
h= 10 b= 12"5 a=2 t=0"33333
a/h=0"2 b/h=l'25 t/h=O'033333
E=21000 g=0-3 G=8076-9
Intermediate results:
K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8

3"9000 0"5288 0"7737 0-8363 0"6579 ff5921 1"3553 0"2178

ASN A6N Zs ZM

6"452 12"209 5"288 11"867

 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 263

War p in g ordinates ku:

k= 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - 1.000 - 3.000 - 7-212 67.764 1-000 1"000
2 - 1-000 - 5.000 - 7.212 29-607 -0"213 -0.313
3 - 1.000 - 5.000 5.288 - 32.893 0-048 0.189
4 - 1.000 5-000 5.288 32.893 0"048 -0"189
5 - 1.000 5.000 - 7-212 - 29.607 -0"213 0"313
6 -1-000 3.000 -7-212 -67-764 1"000 - 1.000

In-plane displacements fs:

1 0.000 1.000 0.000 19.079 0-607 0"657
2 0.000 0.000 - 1.000 5.000 - 0"021 -0.040
3 0.000 - 1.000 0.000 - 6-579 0.000 0-038
4 0.000 0.000 1.000 5.000 0.021 -0"040
5 0.000 1-000 0-000 19-079 - 0"607 0"657
Out-of-plane displacements f :
1 0.000 0.000 - 1.000 4.000 -0"080 -0"118
2 0.000 - 1.000 0.000 - 12.829 -0.303 -0"309
3 0.000 0.000 1"000 0.000 0-021 0-000
4 0.000 1-000 0.000 12.829 -0-303 0"309
5 0-000 0.000 - 1.000 -4.000 -0.080 0-118
Rotations fo:
1 0.000 0.000 0.000 1-000 0"060 0-078
2 0.000 0-000 0.000 1"000 0.049 0.056
3 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000 0"000 -0.008
4 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000 -0"049 0"056
5 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000 -0"060 0.078
Transversebendingmomentsm:
3 0.~ 0.~ 0.~ 0.000 0"377 0.776
4 0.~ 0-~ 0-~ 0-000 0"377 -0.776
Sectionproperties:
k C D B

1 13-00 0-000 000 0"000 0

2 257.89 0.000 000 0"000 0
3 278-78 0-000 000 0"000 0
4 7 259-49 0.481 481 0"000 0
5 0.48 0-000 902 0"036 6
6 0.60 0.001 263 0"098 8
264 R. Schardt

Centre of gravity and shear centre:

Zs = 5.2885; zM= 11"867

x-values for i = 1 (applied axial load):

j=2 3 4 5 6
k~
2 - 1"0000 0.0000 - 11"8670 0.0000 - 0"2105
3 0"0000 -- 1.0000 -0-0000 -0.0383 --0"0000
4 -11"8670 -0"0000 -182.1075 -0.0000 -3-4650
5 0-0000 -0"0383 -- 0.0000 --0.1070 0-0000
6 -0"2105 - 0"0000 -3"4650 0.0000 -0-1126

Critical stresses for single mode buckling:

with

iz = 4-454 cm
fy = 30 k N / c m 2

The buckling stresses for the individual buckling modes and the
significant mode combinations (broken lines) are shown in Fig. 11. For the
symmetrical distortional mode 5, the critical buckling stress is
32-9 k N / c m 2 at a critical length of 72.0 cm with ~ = 0.194. F o r the antisym-

Critical stress (kN/cm 2)

200

150

100
4t 6/23~Mode5

50

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 ~ 1.2
Fig.11.
 Lateral torsional and distortional buckling 265

metrical m o d e 6, the critical stress is 55.2 k N / c m 2 with a length of 59.4 cm

and ~[=0.160.
It can be seen from Fig. 11 that for the combination of symmetrical
modes 3 and 5, the distortional mode 3 is critical over most of the range of
slendernesses considered until the horizontal broken line meets the curve
for mode 3 at ~ = 1.0. For the combination of the unsymmetrical modes 2,
4 and 6, the situation is less clear cut because of significant interaction
between the modes. The distortional mode dominates until ~[ reaches
about 0.4 and distortion influences the critical buckling stress until about
~[=0.5.
Results from the approximate formulae for symmetrical buckling are
~[dl =0"591 and ~[d2= 1"003 which corresponds to a length=371.3 cm. The
higher of these two values corresponds precisely with the exact solution.
For antisymmetrical buckling, the results are ~[dl -----0"509 and ~d2 = 0"113
which corresponds to a length = 188-3 cm which is in accordance with the
exact solution discussed above.

REFERENCES

1. Schardt, R., Verallgemeinerte Technische Bieoetheorie. Springer, Berlin, Heidel-

berg, New York, 1989.
2. Davies, J.M. & Leach, P., First-order Generalised Beam Theory. d. Constr.
Steel Research, 31 (1994) 187-219.
3. Davies, J.M., Leach, P. & Heinz, D., Second-order Generalised Beam Theory.
J. Constr. Steel Research, 31 (1994) 221-41.
4. Davies, J.M. & Leach, P., Some applications of Generalised Beam Theory. In
Proc. llth Int. Speciality Conf. on Cold-Formed Steel Structures, St Louis,
Missouri, October 1992, pp. 479-501.