Pre-buckling behavior of composite beams: an innovative approach

Francesco Ascione1, a *, Geminiano Mancusi2,b and Marco Lamberti3,c

1,2,3
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy
a
fascione@unisa.it, bg.mancusi@unisa.it, cmalamberti@unisa.it
presentazione GMA

Keywords: FRP profiles, pre-buckling behavior, connection deformability.

Fiber-reinforced composite materials have been used over the past years in several different civil
structures, acquiring a leading role as structural elements [1-4]. In particular, FRP profiles are
manufactured by so-called automated process of pultrusion.
From a mechanical point of view, they can be considered as linear elastic, homogeneous and
transversely isotropic, with the plane of isotropy being normal to the longitudinal axis (i.e. the axis
of pultrusion). It is generally asserted that their mechanical behavior is highly affected by warping
strains due to their small thickness. In addition, low shear moduli, more or less the same as those of
the polymeric resin, can provoke a non-negligible increase in lateral deflections, thus affecting both
the local and global buckling loads. Consequently, FRPs members exhibit significant non classical
effects such as transverse shear, warping displacements and non-uniform torsional rigidity that
make deformability and stability requirements more relevant than the strength limits in the design
process.
Recently, experimental studies by Mosallam [5] and Feo et al. [6] showed that the condition of a
rigid connection should be replaced by a more appropriate assumption due to the presence of a
higher local resin concentration in the connection region between the flange and web. Furthermore,
taking into account that pultrusion guarantees very high strength and stiffness along the longitudinal
direction of the beam, a deeper investigation of this topic is required.
In this paper, which is a continuation of previous ones [7-8], a geometrically nonlinear model for
studying the lateral global buckling problem of a generic open/closed composite beam is presented.
The model is based on a full second-order deformable beam theory and accounts for both the
warping effects and possible displacement discontinuities at the web/flange interface. Equilibrium
nonlinear equations are derived from the Principle of Virtual Displacements. A displacement-based
one-dimensional finite element model is also developed. Numerical results are obtained for
thin-walled composite beams with open and closed section under flexural/torsional loads. The main
aim is to investigate the lateral buckling behavior taking into account the effects of shear and
web/flange junction deformability as well as the initial geometric imperfections.
The reliability of the mechanical model is assured by comparisons with other numerical and
experimental results available in literature.
Preliminary results show that deformability and stability requirements are fundamental in the safety
analysis of such members.

References
[1] CNR DT205/2007. Guide for the Design and Construction of Structures made of FRP
Pultruded Elements. Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Constructions,
Italian National Research Council..
[2] CAN/CSA S806_02-2002. Design and Construction of Building Components with
Fibre-reinforced Polymers. Canadian Standard Association, Rexdale, Canada.
[3] JSCE 1997. Recommendation for Design and Construction of Concrete Structures using
Continuous Fiber Reinforcing Materials. Japan Society of Civil Engineering.
[4] ACI 440.1R-06-2006. Guide for the Design and Construction of Concrete Reinforced with FRP
Bars. American concrete institute.
[5] Mosallam AS, Elsadek AA, Pul S. Semi-rigid behaviour of web-flange junctions of open-web
pultruded composites. Proceedings of the International Conference on FRP Composites 2009,
San Francisco, California.
[6] Feo L, Mosallam AS, Penna R. Mechanical behavior of web-flange junctions of thin-walled
pultruded I-profiles: An experimental and numerical evaluation. Composites: Part B 2013; 48:
18-39.
[7] Ascione F, Mancusi G. The influence of the web-flange junction stiffness on the mechanical
behavior of thin-walled pultruded beams. Composites: Part B 2013; 55: 599-606.
[8] Francesco Ascione (2014). Influence of initial geometric imperfections in the lateral buckling
problem of thin walled pultruded GFRP I-profiles. Composite Structures 2014; doi:
10.1016/j.compstruct.2014.02.002