Abstract:
This research investigates buckling and post-buckling behaviors of two-member rigid-jointed frames. These frames have fix supported at both ends and a point load is applied at the member connection. Two types of loads are considered, namely non-follower and follower forces. These study aims at finding exact solutions for post-buckling behavior in the form of buckling shapes and load-displacement curves using elliptic integral method. It is assumed that shear and axial deformations are insignificant and can be neglected in the investigation. The results illustrate that theoretically, for any particular frame, there exist many possible post-buckling behavior curves. Each of these curves consists of different buckling shapes and has different post-buckling behavior-related critical loads. The lowest of these loads is taken as the critical load. Considering the studied geometries, it is found that a symmetric frame exhibits both symmetrical and non-symmetrical buckling shapes. More importantly, these non-symmetrical buckling shapes are associated with the critical loads. It is also found that elliptic integral method together with the principle of elastic similarity was conveniently used for determination the curves within the ranges of snap-through and snap-back. This convenience is due to the direct assumption of buckling shapes.