An inelastic finite strip method for thin-walled compression members

Over the years the finite strip method (FSM) has proved to be an invaluable tool in the study of buckling modes in thin-walled structural members. This paper presents a formulation of the FSM, which is able to predict the buckling stresses of initially perfectly straight thin-walled inelastic members under uniform compression. Plasticity is accounted for by means of plastic flow equations. Previous short-comings of plastic flow theory with respect to the modeling of buckling problems are overcome by deriving an expression for the inelastic shear stiffness from second order considerations.