A study of localized collapse

of a beam-column
Akihito Kasagi and Srinivasan Sridharan
Department of ClvE Engmeering, Washmgton Untverstty m St l_xml~, St Louts, MO
63130, USA
(Recetved January 1991, rewsed February 1991)

Most structural components collapse in a highly localized mode. Information about the abruptness of the collapse and the stiffness of
the collapsed structural component can be of vital )nterest from a
design point of view. A column resting on an elastic-plastic spring
foundation ts chosen as a representative model, and the analysis is
carried out by the finite element method. The objective here is to gain
an insight into the mechamcs of localized failure, to devise a strategy
by whtch to predict the onset of localized collapse, and to trace the
transition from the pre-collapse to post-collapse stages of behaviour.
It was found that localization of deformation takes place past the hmit
point of the nonlocalized response, and that it can be dynamic or
gradual under controlled end-shortening. Material softening tends to
accentuate the localization.

Keywords: localized collapse, buckling, beam-column, finite element, plasticity, tangent modulus, corotational formulation

The subject of collapse is of fundamental interest in

structural design. The failure of compression members
occurs, m general, as a result of the combined influence
of plasticity and geomemc instability. Under quasi-static
loading, a member is deemed to have faded as soon as
it reaches the limit of its load carrying capacity. The
maximum load is attained either under a load controlled
or a displacement controlled loading arrangement. The
latter case models the behaviour of a component, which
is a part of a structural system more realistically In this
case the unloading characteristic is partly or fully stable.
This unloading characteristic, if traced carefully, can
give information on the abruptness of collapse and the
energy absorption capabilities of the component, and is
therefore of vital interest from a design point of view
But because of its complexity such a post-collapse
analysis has not received much attention in the
literature It is often assumed that the unloading
characteristic is a smooth continuation of the loading
branch as it curves round the limit point. If this were
true, the behaviour would be well predicted by a general
purpose finite element code
Unfortunately this assumption Is not supported by experimental observation; it is generally observed that
after attaining the limit point the structure sooner or later
collapses rather abruptly in a localized mode_ This is
especially true of members with partially compact to
thin-walled sections, stiffened plates, and shells. Such
behaviour has been observed m tests and documented in
the hterature by several investigators 1-3.
Tvergaard and Needleman'4.5 suggested that the
0141-0296/92/01002-05
1992 Butterworth-Hememann Ltd

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 1

appearance of a locahzed mode is a result of bifurcation

from the unloading path corresponding to the overall
failure, I.e., the path traced by ignormg the possibility
of localization. They proposed a beam-column model
resting on an elastic-plastic foundation and located bifurcation points on the descending post-buckled loaddeflection characteristic. Bifurcation modes were
extracted and it appeared that the deformations of the
column had a tendency to localize. In the present paper,
the analysis Is carried a stage further. Not only are the
bifurcation points deterrmned but the bifurcated paths
are also traced. Plasticity is also introduced m the
column and this accentuates the localization process and
makes the collapse rather abrupt.
The choice of the model of a column on elasuc foundation requires some justification. Consider for example
a thin-walled member such as a box-column. Here the
failure takes place by a crinkly collapse 3 of the corners
in the advanced post-local-buckling regime. The
relatively straight corners may be viewed as a column
and the buckled regions of the side plates as some foundation material offering resistance against corner collapse. Again, m stringer stiffened shells, the stiffener
together with the region in the Immediate vicinity may
be modelled as a column, and the effect of continuity of
the material in the circumferential direction may be
modelled by a nonlinear foundation 6. Thus it is believed that the chosen model, though simple, can give an
insight into the mechanics of localized collapse in more
complex structures.
The objective of this paper is to gain an insight into the

Localized collapse of a beam-column: A. Kasagi and S. Sridharan

common phenomenon of localized collapse in structural

testing and to devise a simple strategy by which to trace
the transition from the overall collapse mode to the
localized collapse mode.

L.

Theory

Modelling of beam-column behaviour

Foundahon

Ftgure I shows a simply supported beam-column resting

on an elastic-plastic spring foundauon. The model is
similar to that mvesugated by Tvergaard and
Needleman 4. The restoring force provided by the foundation is given by
IKIW
for I W I ___ W 0
F = LK~Wo+Kz( W~: Wo) for IWI > W0

(1)

where KI and K2 are constants. The displacement

parameter W0 may be wewed as the yield point of the
foundation. With regard to the material of the column,
the following two cases were considered
the material of the column is assumed to be
elasuc
Case (11) the material is assumed to be elastic-plastic as
represented by the following power law
(Hutchinson 7)

E = 2 9 0 0 0 ks=
V=03
%= 120 ks~

Case (i)

ir

for lal < ar

(2a)
[1 (~)" _ nl+l]

for Iol > or

from which
do

for

Er(a) = ~-e = E

I(rl >_ av

(2b)
In case (ii), the example considered is such that buckling
begins as an elastic process with plasticity intervening in
the post-buckling range. Initial imperfections in the
modes of elastic buckling are considered. The loading
throughout is assumed to be one of prescribed
monotonically increasing end-shortening.
Figure 1 also gives all relevant data of the beamcolumn. A preliminary elastic buckling analysis 8
indicates that the column would buckle at a load given
by the minimum value of

Per -

L2

'21

m2 + ~ 5

(3a)

EI(~/L)4

kips

K 1 = 3 0 in:~
K2
~=01
K1
W o = 0 5 ,n

I Geometry and material propertms of a column on an

elastm-plastm spring foundation

and m is the integer number of half sine waves. For the

properties indicated in Figure 1, the buckling mode
corresponding to the critical load is made up of 5 sine
waves (m = 5). In the nonlinear analysis for the elasUc
column, the initial imperfecuons are assumed to be of
the same mode, with an amplitude 8 = L/IO00. Assuming symmetric response for simplicity, only half of the
column is considered and is modelled by 20 equal sized
finite elements.

Fimte element formulation

The element employed is a general one-dimensional
straight iso-parametric beam element, with linear
Lagranglan interpolation functions adopted for the
displacement fields. The element has two nodes with 3
degrees-of-freedom per node and can transmit an axial
force, a transverse shear force, and a bending moment.
The geometry of the beam element is shown in Figure
2. Thus, introducing a natural coordinate ~, the
displacement fields within the element can be defined by
the interpolation functions N,

Iil r'l
=

N, v,

(4a)

01

in which

gl

3"

L= 100 in
b=2m
t : 1m
cS=OIm

Figure

I=l

where 3' is gwen by

w0

(3b)

N,=z(1-~j)
2

N2=:(1
2

+~)

(4b)

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 1

Locahzed collapse of a beam-column. A. Kasagl and S. Srtdharan

lncotporatton of tnela~tlc behavtour

Y
,12

In the lnvesngatlon of the inelastic behaviour (case (n)),

a layered model as used, as the material properties
depend upon the current level of stress and vary across
the thickness of the member_ In the present work, the
stresses are predominantly unlaxlal so that the consntutwe relaUonshlp between the stress rate o and the
strain rate ~ takes the simple form.

0"~

_.'x . L ~

'3"t

a = Er(tr)e

---X

0
Ftgure 2

Geometry of the beam element

It ts assumed that plane sections of the beam element

remain plane after deformation, but are not necessarily
perpendicular to the deformed middle surface, i.e , constant shear deformation is considered. The element can
undergo large deformations and rotanons, but small
strains are assumed, thus the cross-sectional area and the
length of the beam element do not change after deformation. In order to avoid shear locking, the reduced integration technique 9 is apphed; however, this element
does not develop the zero energy spurious mode. In
order to treat geometrical nonlinearities of structure
which arise during the deformation process, a powerful
corotational formulation l is employed. The solution
path IS obtained by the lteratlve procedure z~ imposing
the central deflection in equal steps of 0.1 in. each. The
algorithm is found to be extremely efficient and capable
of handling large deformation behaviour with ease j2
At each displacement increment, equilibrium iterations
are performed until an appropriate convergence
tolerance is satisfied.
In the present study a check for bifurcation is made at
the end of each load step along the equlllbrmm path. An
lnmal stress matrix [B] is obtained so that the tangent
stiffness matrix would be of the form

(7)

The ET(a) is given by equation 2(b) where n, the strainhardening exponent, ~s taken as l0 in the present study
An eight-point Simpson integration scheme is employed
m the evaluation of the tangent stiffness matrix.
A variety of example problems involving both
geometric and material nonlinearities was considered In
order to examine the capability of the element and its
convergence characteristics These are fully documented
by Kasagi 12, who showed that the element was very
satisfactory in all the problems considered.

Results and discussion

Case (i)
Figure 3 shows the load end-shortening ( P - A) relationship of the model of the elastic member on the
elastlc-plasnc foundation The earlier stages of the load
end-shortening characteristic are easily predicted using
a linear imperfect beam-column analysis However, it
must be borne in mind that the elastic beam-column

1.0
A

"-"

0.8

r~
r~

[Kr] = [A] - X[B]

(5)
""

where [A] is that part of [Kr] which is linearly dependent on the current displacements, [B] is the initial
stress matrix for the current level of stress, and X, the
elgenvalue, is the incremental value of the load
parameter at which bifurcation occurs. The eigenvalues
are computed at each step and when one of the eigenvalues approaches zero, the structure is in the vicinity of
a bifurcation. When a zero eigenvalue is found, the
bifurcated mode can be defined by using an assumed
Initial displacement vector given by

[ql = [qo} + 4'lqh]

Eng Struct

1992, Vol. 14, No 1

<
,v
<

0.4

0..

C3
<

0- 0 2

(6)

in which [q] is the displacement vector of the bifurcated

mode, [qo] is the predicted displacement vector at the
bifurcation point, I q~l is the elgenvector associated
with zero eigenvalue, and 4~ is a scalar parameter which
should be chosen sufficiently small to achieve convergence on the bifurcated path.

0.6

I---

05

1.0

END-SHORTENING
Ftgure 3

15

A (in)

Load end-shortening curve for elastic beam-column

(
), stable, ( - - - ) ,
unstable, A, maxrrnum load point; B,
bifurcation point

Localized collapse of a beam-column: A. Kasagi and S. Sridharan

problem exhibits unstable bifurcation and imperfection
sensitivity s and this effect begins to be noticeable as the
deflections increase. The exhausUon of the load carrying
capability of the column ~s precipitated by the combined
influence of geometric nonlinearity of the column on
elastic foundation and the recipient plasticity of the foundat;on. Note that the maximum load occurs as soon as
W > W0 (point A In Ftgure 3). The load shedding process is smooth and is similar to the behaviour predicted
by Tvergaard and Needleham4; a blfurcat~on takes
place on the unloading branch of the load end-shortening
characterlsUc. The blfurcaUon pattern ~s shown in
Figure 4. No direct comparison with the results of their
work is possible because of the geometric nonlinearity
which the present model considers and the nonavailability of the value of I410used m their calculations But
m both cases, vlz., the present work and that of
Tvergaard and Needleman% the bifurcation takes place
on the unloading branch of the load end-shortening
characteristic, and the b~furcauon modes bear a
remarkable resemblance to each other.
It should be noted that the unloading path given by
A -- B -- C is unstable beyond B, the point of bifurcation The bifurcated path is shown as B -- D -- E -- F
m Figure 3. It is interesting to note that this path is
re-entrant and starts off being unstable, but becomes
stable beyond point D. Hence under controlled endshortening a snap-through is expected from B to E. The
structure then follows the path E -- F under controlled
end-shortening.
The deflection profile of the member m the post
collapse range corresponding to points 1 and 2 m Figure
3 Is gwen m Figure 5(a, b). In contrast to the expectation of Tvergaard and Needleman, the present study
reveals that the model, after bifurcation, does not exhibit
a highly localized collapse mode, such as observed m
experiments (see for example Graves Smith 2 and
Graves Smith and SndharanJ). This leads to the sup-

position that such severe locahzation is related to the

propagation of plasticity in the direction of the loading,
1.e, m this case, the column member itself
The results presented here must be viewed as essentially qualitative in nature. This is because the problem
is essenually one of dynamic snap-through combined
with propagation of plasticity during such a dynamic
movement The final results, however, are expected to
be close

Case (ti)
Figure 6 shows the response for the case where the
material of the column is elast~c-plastlc. The deformation patterns at selected points designated and 1 and 2 m
Figure 6 are shown in Figure 7(a, b) which shows the
development of localization more clearly. A comparison
ofFtgures 5 and 7 shows that matenal nonlinearity plays
an important role in the process of localization. The load
shedding process is smooth and continuous m this case
as the bifurcation is a stable one.
There are some similarities between case (i) and case
(ii): plasticity of foundation occurs prior to reaching the
maximum load and the bifurcation occurs on the
unloading branch of the equilibrium path. In case (u),
however, no dynamic snap-through takes place. Under
controlled end compression, the bifurcated path is stable
and hence attainable in pracuce.
It ~s apparent that the localizaUon of deformaUon is
caused by the softening of the column material and the
foundation. It is interesting to ponder what actually takes
place m a structure such as the locally buckled column
alluded to before. As the corners (represented by the

1.0

0.8

0.6

Figure 4

B=furcat=on p a t t e r n f o r elastic b e a m - c o l u m n

0.4

i
a

~X

<
0
-~

0.2

0.5

1.0

1.5

END-SHORTENING
Figure 5

Post-locahzed lateral deflect=on patterns (a), at point 1,

(b), at p o i n t 2 in Figure 3

Figure 6

Load e n d - s h o r t e n i n g
c o l u m n (key as in Figure 3)

2.0

2.5

A (in)

c u r v e f o r elastic-plastic

beam-

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 1 5

Localized collapse of a beam-column: A. Kasagl and S. Sndharan

I'
w

'

'

~X

I
w
I

r -

~X

Ftgure 7 Post-locahzed lateral deflecUon patterns (a), at point

(b), at point 2 m Figure 6

1,

column) compresses, such severe geometric nonlinearities develop m the adjoining plates that they tend to
pull in the comers. This phenomenon is realistically
modelled by a foundation material which has negative
tangent stiffness beyond the limit point of its response
characteristic. Such a scenario raises additional questions as to the proper methodology for the modelling of
the foundation stiffness and is currently being studied.

Conclusions
The following conclusions may be drawn from the present study.
The column on an elastic-plastic foundation provides
a simple model to illustrate the intricacies assocmted
with the localization of deformation m the post collapse
range.
The locahzatlon takes place as a bifurcation from the
non-localized response past the limit point of the structure; this finding is in agreement with that of Tvergaard
and Needleman.

Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 1

The locahzatlon occurs as a result of material softening in the column and the foundation (e.g., a stiffener
and the plate surrounding it in a stiffened structure) Introducing the material softening m the column accentuates the localization process.
The localization can be abrupt in the form of a
dynamic snap-through or can occur gradually under
quasi-static conditions for a displacement controlled set
up
A dynamic snap-through collapse is more likely to
occur in structures where plasticity is not the predom=nant factor This corroborates the earlier work of Graves
Smith and Srldharan who reported the crinkly dynamic
collapse of purely elastic box columns.

References
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compression', Cambridge University Engineering Dept, Report
CUED/C - Struct/TR3, 1971
2 Graves Smith, T R 'The postbuckled behavlour of thin-walled box
beams m pure bending', Int. J Mech Scl 1972. 14, 711-722
3 Graves Smith, T R and Srldharan, S "Elastic collapse of thin-walled
columns', in Thin-waUed structures, (Ed J Rhodes and A C
Walker), Granada, 1980, 718-725
4 Tvergaard, V and Needleman, A "On the locahzatlon of buckhng
patterns', J AppL Mech 1980, 47, 613-619
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compressed stringer-stiffened cyhndrlcal shells', Proc Pt 2,
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stabihty, John Wdey, 1973, 205-210
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