Local buckling of thin-walled circular hollow section under uniform bending

This article presents a semi-analytical finite strip method based on Marguerre’s shallow shell theory and Kirchhoff’s assumption. The formulated finite strip is used to study the buckling behavior of thin-walled circular hollow sections (CHS) subjected to uniform bending. The shallow finite strip program of the present study is compared to the plate strip implemented in CUFSM4.05 program for demonstrating the accuracy and better convergence of the former. By varying the length of the CHS, the signature curve relating buckling stresses to half-wave lengths is established. The minimum local buckling point with critical stress and corresponding critical length can be found from the curve. Parametric studies are performed to propose approximative expressions for calculating the local critical stress and local critical length of steel and aluminum CHS.