Abstract
Basic principles governing the optimum design of a structure of given geometry to resist buckling are restated, expanded, and generalized. The specific case of column buckling is cast in a complementary energy format. This format is used to treat the discrete optimality problem of finding the best location and length of cover plates of given cross-sectional area. Both necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are derived, and an iterative design-analysis sequence is established, whose convergence is proved. A simple numerical example demonstrates the procedure.
Although the strict proof of sufficiency is confined to simply supported and cantilever columns, a possible extension to other cases is introduced at the end of the paper.
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Dedicated to Professor W. Prager
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Masur, E.F. Optimal placement of available sections in structural eigenvalue problems. J Optim Theory Appl 15, 69–84 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00933022
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00933022