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The study investigates the effect of eccentric load on the stability and post-critical states of thin-walled composite top-hat cross-section columns made of CFRP under compression. The specimens were subjected to compressive load on the universal testing machine Zwick Z100 with regard to both axial and eccentric compressive loads. On the basis of the experimental studies, numerical models of thin-walled composite profiles were designed and verified by numerical analysis based on the FEM. The first stage of the conducted studies was performing a linear buckling analysis of stability of composite structures. The second stage of the analysis involved performing a nonlinear analysis of the thin-walled structures with geometric imperfections reflecting the lowest buckling modes. The obtained test results showed various effects of non-axial compressive load on the critical load values and stiffness of the construction in the post-critical state. In the case of eccentric loading in the direction parallel to the web of the top-hat profiles, the critical load values practically did not change – a drop in the force did not exceed 1.5%, as well as there was no change in the stiffness of the structure in the post-critical state. The realization of the eccentricity in the direction perpendicular to the profile web caused a drop in the critical force equal 43% and a significant decrease in the stiffness of the structure. On the other hand, implementation of the eccentricity load toward the web caused an increase in the critical force by more than 20%, despite very small eccentricity values of only 4 mm were applied. This proved high sensitivity of the tested structures to the non-axial load in the direction perpendicular to the web of the profile. The FEM results and the experimental findings showed satisfactory agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present paper applies Sobol's variance-based global sensitivity analysis (SSA) to quantify the contribution of input imperfections to the load-carrying capacity (LCC) of an IPN 200 steel compressed member. LCC is evaluated using the geometrically and materially non-linear finite element solution with regard to the effects of initial random imperfections including residual stresses. Comparison of results of SSA for (i) buckling about the minor principal axis, (ii) buckling about the major principal axis and (iii) lateral–torsional buckling due to bending moment is performed on the non-dimensional slenderness interval of 0–2. SSA for (i) and (ii) is performed for steel grade (a) S235 and (b) S355, SSA for (iii) is performed only for steel grade S235. SSA found similarities in results (ia) and (ib), (iia) and (iib) and identified significant differences between results (ia) and (iiia), (iia) and (iiia), where sensitivity to the initial axial curvature is more than two times higher in (ia) than in (iiia). The relationships between the effects of initial imperfections on LCC and the design criteria of reliability of Eurocode 3 are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride nanotubes, like carbon nanotubes, possess extraordinary mechanical properties. Herein, a three-dimensional finite element model is proposed in which the nanotubes are modeled using the principles of structural mechanics. To obtain the properties of this model, a linkage between the molecular mechanics and the density functional theory is constructed. The model is utilized to study the buckling behavior of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes with different geometries and boundary conditions. It is shown that at the same radius, longer nanotubes are less stable. However, for sufficiently long nanotubes the effect of side length decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]