XI
Structural Stability
XI.1 Introduction
In the analysis of the behaviour of slender members performed until now,
equilibrium and compatibility conditions have been used in order to find the
internal forces and deformations. In the simplest cases, a structure’s safety is
evaluated by confirming that the maximum values computed for the stresses
are lower than the allowable stress defined for the material the structure is
made of. This is a necessary condition for structural safety, but it may not
be sufficient, either because the deformations are limited for some reason, or
because there is the risk that the equilibrium configuration of the structure
is not stable, i.e., that buckling may occur. In this chapter the study of the
conditions under which a structure is stable is introduced. Buckling may occur
when there are compressive internal forces in the structure. In fact, while
tensile forces may only do work if the material deforms or ruptures, for the
case of compression there is a third possibility – buckling – which consists of
a lateral deflection of the material, in relation to direction of actuation of the
compressive forces. The main subject of this chapter is the investigation of
the conditions under which buckling occurs in a slender member.
The concept of stability may be easily understood by means of the classical
example of a sphere which is in static equilibrium on a horizontal surface, as
represented in Fig. 154.
In this example physical evidence makes a deeper analysis unnecessary: in
the first case (concavity) the equilibrium is stable, while in the second case
(convexity) it is unstable. However, in the study of the stability of deformable
bodies, the physical evidence is almost completely lost, since stability or insta-
bility are determined by how the internal forces and stiffnesses are distributed
inside the body which, in most cases, is not an intuitive matter.
In order to solve this problem, two distinct approaches are usually taken
into consideration. Both of them are easily understood by analogy with the
example of the sphere.
390 XI Structural Stability
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 154. Equilibrium of a sphere on a horizontal surface:(a) Stable equilibrium;
(b) Unstable equilibrium; (c) Neutral equilibrium
– The first is based on the concept of potential energy. In the example of
Fig. 154, the height of a point on the supporting surface defines the potential
energy. The equilibrium position is an extremum of this energy. If this
extremum is a minimum, the equilibrium will be stable (Fig. 154a), if it is
a maximum, it will be unstable (Fig. 154b).
In the equilibrium configuration of a deformed body the potential energy
also reaches an extremum (see Sect. XII.5). However, in this case it has
two distinct components: the potential energy of the applied forces and
the potential energy stored by the elastic deformation of the body. Both
vary when the deformation field in the body varies. In the same way as
in the example of the sphere, the stability or instability of an equilibrium
configuration may be investigated by determining if it corresponds to a
minimum or to a maximum of the potential energy.
– The second approach is based on the analysis of the effect of perturbations
to the equilibrium configuration. If the perturbation is amplified, the equi-
librium state is unstable; if it is damped, the equilibrium will be stable.
In the example of the sphere the perturbation may be given by a small
displacement from the equilibrium point. It is obvious that in the case of
Fig. 154a, when the force causing the displacement disappears, the sphere
returns to the equilibrium position, which means that the perturbation is
damped, i.e., that the equilibrium is stable. In the case of Fig. 154b any
displacement from the equilibrium point, no matter how small it is, will
cause the sphere to roll away from the equilibrium configuration, which
means that the perturbation is amplified. The situation of neutral equilib-
rium (Fig. 154-c) represents the transition from the the stable to the unsta-
ble phase. It corresponds to a situation in which the deformation state of
the structure can be changed without disturbing the equilibrium between
internal and external forces. This is the so-called critical phase.
In the analysis contained in this chapter the second approach will be used,
since it allows a better physical understanding of the buckling phenomenon.
Furthermore, with this option, the difficulties arising when the energy method
is applied in cases where energy dissipation takes place (plastic and viscous
deformation), may be circumvented.
The analysis of the effect of perturbations requires the analysis of the
equilibrium in a deformed configuration of the structure, as opposite to the