Beam and plate stability by boundary elements

The direct boundary element method is used for the linear elastic stability analysis of Bernoulli-Euler beams and Kirchhoff thin plates. The formulation is based on the reciprocal work theorem of Betti and utilizes either fundamental solutions which incorporate the effect of axial and in-plane forces on bending, or fundamental solutions which correspond to pure flexure. In the former case. only a boundary discretization of the structure is required, while in the latter case discretization of the boundary as well as of the interior is necessary. However, the fundamental solutions in the latter case are less complicated than the ones in the former case. Numerical examples are subsequently presented to illustrate the methodology. The basic conclusion is that the simpler fundamental solutions are adequate and, by virtue of being more general, greatly expand the versatility of the boundary element method.