Buckling of piecewise member composed of steel and high-strength materials in axial compression

Abstract The elastic buckling load of an axially compressed piecewise member was derived under various ideal boundary conditions based on the differential element method; then, the result was simplified for a symmetrical member. The theoretical results were found to be consistent with existing formulas for the elastic buckling load of uniform members. Then, the elasto-plastic buckling of an axially compressed piecewise member composed of steel and elastic materials was investigated and found to be quite different from that of a pure steel member, and a theoretical analysis approach was developed. In elasto-plastic buckling analysis, the load-bearing capacity of the steel section in the ultimate state is determined considering initial imperfections and steel hardening. Furthermore, the symmetric method for obtaining the load-bearing capacity of this member was obtained based on the ultimate state of the critical section, which is simple and reparative for design. The theoretical results of the elasto-plastic buckling analysis were consistent with experimental results, therein obtaining an average error of 4%.