NONLINEAR IN-PLANE BUCKLING OF ROTATIONALLY RESTRAINED SHALLOW LAMINATED ARCHES UNDER A CENTRAL CONCENTRATED LOAD

This paper investigates the nonlinear in-plane behavior of rotationally restrained shallow laminated arches under a central concentrated load. Both the differential equilibrium equation and the buckling equation are established by using a virtual work method. The nonlinear equilibrium paths of the arch are traced and the corresponding analytical buckling loads are obtained. A modified slenderness ratio and a flexibility parameter are proposed to characterize the buckling modes. Finite element analysis is performed to verify the accuracy of the analytical solutions. Particular focuses are on the effect of the boundary condition and the layer-ups on the buckling and post-buckling responses of the arch. The results show that the buckling load of the arch increases with increasing included angles and modified slenderness ratios. It is also observed that the stacking sequence significantly influences the buckling load and decreases when the 90-degree lamina is placed far away from the mid-plane.