Shear deformable hybrid finite element formulation for buckling analysis of composite columns.

The objective of this study is to develop a shear deformable hybrid finite element formulation for the flexural buckling analysis of fiber-reinforced laminate composite columns with doubly symmetric cross sections. The hybrid finite element formulation is developed by using the Hellinger-Reissner functional which is obtained by introducing the conditions of compatibility as auxiliary conditions to the potential energy functional. The shear deformation effects due to bending are included by equilibrating shear stress. In comparison to the displacement-based formulations the current hybrid formulation has the advantage of incorporating the shear deformation effects easily by using the strain energy of the shear stress field without modifying the basic kinematic assumptions of the beam theory. The agreement with Engesser formulation for flexural buckling analysis of columns with shear-weak cross sections shows the applicability and accuracy of the current hybrid finite element method for composite structural elements. The applicability of the developed method herein to sandwich and built-up columns are also illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]