Nonlinear analysis of thin-walled members of variable cross-section. Part II: Application

The equilibrium equations of a tapered member may be structured into finite element format by vanishing of the first variation of the Total Potential, while the stability equations may be presented in finite element format wh en the second variation of the Total Potential vanishes. These variations h ave been developed in a companion paper, and are recast into finite element format in this paper. The finite element program is used to investigate th e linear stiffness behaviour of a tapered beam subject to a torque, classic al stability analyses of tapered members and the stability of tapered membe rs when subjected to the effects of initial bending curvature. Where possib le, comparisons are made with other solutions in the literature, and it is shown that the numerical model presented in this paper is very accurate. (C ) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.