Stability analysis of steel frames according to Eurocode 3

In the paper, the qualitative and quantitative comparison of EC3 methods to verify the global stability of the structure is presented. The steel portal frame subjected to varied loads is considered. The initial global sway imperfection and the initial local bow imperfections of member frame are taken into account. The sensitivity of a structure to the 2nd order effects is assessed indirectly using the elastic critical load. The elastic critical load of a frame is calculated according to the buckling mode. The 2nd order effects are taken into account using the finite element method. Keywords: second order effects, steel frame, global stability, critical load.