A Finite Curved-Beam Element for Thermoelastic Buckling Analysis of Elastically Supported Arches
Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
A finite curved-beam element formulation for the thermoelastic analysis and in-plane buckling of elastically supported circular arches that are subjected to a uniform temperature field is presented in this paper using a virtual work method. The finite element model is used to investigate the thermoelastic behaviour of arches under a uniform temperature field. It has been found that the membrane stresses and strains in the arches that are subjected to a uniform temperature field form a special state for which compressive stresses correspond to tensile total strains. The effect of the stiffness of the elastic supports on the thermoelastic behaviour of arches has been found to be substantial. Comparisons of finite element results for the in-plane thermoelastic behaviour with analytical solutions reported elsewhere have shown that the finite element model is accurate. The finite element results for the in-plane bifurcation buckling of shallow arches under a uniform temperature field agree very well with the classical bifurcation buckling solutions. It has been shown that the stiffness of the elastic supports also has a significant effect on thermoelastic in-plane bifurcation buckling and that thermo-elastic in-plane bifurcation buckling at a realistic elevated temperature is possible only for very shallow arches.