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A general approach for the systematic evaluation of the critical buckling load and the determination of the buckling mode is presented. The Navier-Bernoulli beam model is considered, having the possibility of variable cross-section under any type of load (including pressures and thermal loading). With this purpose, the equilibrium equations of each beam element in its deformed configuration under the hypothesis of infinitesimal strains and displacements is considered, resulting in a system of differential equations with variable coefficients for each element. To obtain the nonlinear response of the frame, one should impose the compatibility of displacements and the equilibrium of forces and moments in each beam-end, also in the deformed configuration. The solution is obtained by requiring that the total variation of potential energy is zero at the instant of buckling. The objective of this work is to develop a systematic method to determine the critical buckling load and the bucklingmode of any frame without using the common simplifications usually assumed in matrix analysis or finite element approaches. This way, precise results can be obtained regardless of the discretization done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variational finite element method in displacements is used to solve the problem of geometrically nonlinear deformation and stability of cylindrical shells with a noncircular contour of the cross-section. Quadrangle finite elements of shells of natural curvature are used. In the approximations of element displacements, the displacements of elements as solids are explicitly separated. The variational Lagrange principle is used to obtain a nonlinear system of algebraic equations for the unknown nodal finite elements. The system is solved by the method of successive loadings and by the Newton-Kantorovich linearization method. The linear system is solved by the Crout method. The critical loads are determined in the process of solving the nonlinear problem by using the Sylvester stability criterion. An algorithm and a computer program are developed to study the problem numerically. The nonlinear deformation and stability of shells with oval and elliptic cross-sections are investigated in a broad range of variation of the elongation and ellipticity parameters. The shell critical loads and buckling modes are determined. The influence of the deformation nonlinearity, elongation, and ellipticity of the shell on the critical loads is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]