Buckling of thin-walled columns accounting for initial geometrical imperfections

The paper is devoted to the effect of some geometrical imperfections on the critical buckling load of axially compressed thin-walled I-columns. The analytical formulas for the critical torsional and flexural buckling loads accounting for the initial curvature of the column axis or the twist angle respectively are derived. The classical assumptions of theory of thin-walled beams with non-deformable cross-sections are adopted. The non-linear differential equations are derived and the critical buckling loads are approximated by means of the Galerkin's method. Comparison of analytical results to numerical analysis of simply supported I-columns by means of finite element method (FEM) is provided. Moreover the analytical formulas is adapted to I-columns with lipped flanges and satisfactory agreement of analytical and numerical results of stability analysis is observed.