Abstract:
The elastic buckling behavior of thin plates changing in width as well as hollow
thin section tapered columns are studied using the finite element method. The
buckling load is first defined for the case of simply supported trapezoidal plate
subjected to uniform compressive stresses. The influence of tapering ratio, aspect
ratio and flange width to average web depth ratio on the stability of thin -walled steel
members is investigated. The results are compared to those of rectangular plates. The
results are represented diagrammatically as function of the buckling coefficient with
respect to the different mentioned ratios. The results show that, the buckling
coefficient(k) becomes larger as the tapering ratio decreases as well as the flange
width to average web depth ratio also decreases.