Considerations on the numerical analysis of initial post-buckling behaviour in plates and beams

In this work, an exceedingly simple examination of the von Kármán theory for the buckling analysis of thin plates is carried out. It is shown that the von Kármán assumption, based on the interaction between axial and flexural deformation, is intrinsically less “robust” in capturing the target phenomenology than the usual treatment of Euler inextensible strut. Finally, the same observation is carried out in the case of a hinged cantilever, which constitutes the simplest structural example of a similar kind.