Asymptotic-numerical method for buckling analysis of shell structures with large rotations

In this paper the buckling and post-buckling of elastic structures taking into account large rotations are investigated using an asymptotic-numerical method. The critical points are detected by two different ways: first by a bifurcation indicator, second by analysing the poles of a Padé approximant. The first step of the post-buckling branch is computed starting from the bifurcation point and using an extended system. The remaining bifurcating branch is followed by the same algorithm as for the fundamental path. Several examples are tested to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.