Extensional Buckling Analysis of Asymmetric Curved Beams Using DQM

Curved beam structures are generally used as components in structures such as railroad bridges and vehicles. The stability analysis of curved beams has been studied by a large number of researchers. Due to the complexities of structural components, it is difficult to obtain an analytical solution for any boundary conditions. In order to overcome these difficulties, the differential quadrature method (DQM) has been applied for a large number of cases. In this study, DQM was used to solve the complicated partial differential equations for buckling analysis of curved beams. The governing differential equation was deduced and solved for beams subjected to uniformly distributed radial loads. Critical loads were calculated with various opening angles, boundary conditions, and parameters. The results of the DQM were compared with exact solutions for available cases, and the DQM gave outstanding accuracy even when only a small number of grid points was used. Critical loads were also calculated for the in-plane inextensional buckling of the asymmetric curved beams, and two theories were compared. The study of a beam with extensibility of the arch axis shows that the effects on the critical loads are significant.