Pre-buckling imperfection sensitivity of pultruded FRP profiles

The aim of the study is to develop a proper tool to analyze the pre-buckling behavior of such beams, since current approaches based on two-dimensional finite element method analysis demand significant computational efforts to be applied to real structures. The numerical results underline the effectiveness of the proposed mechanical model in analyzing case studies of technical interest in Civil Engineering, and the relevant influence of geometrical imperfections on the structural performance of FRP components with regard to serviceability design requirements.