Second-order dynamic time-history analysis of beam-columns with nonsymmetrical thin-walled steel sections

Abstract

Abstract An accurate structural analysis is a fundamental requirement for modern design. Nevertheless, this is often difficult for systems comprised of thin-walled members, mostly because of their complicated cross-section shapes with non-coincidence of shear center and centroid, and complex buckling modes. Recent research, using efficient line-finite-element formulations, has made important progress in simulating the buckling behavior of arbitrary open-section members for static loads. This paper extends this method by providing for second-order dynamic analysis and an improved cross-section analysis algorithm for the general thin-walled sections regardless of whether they are open, closed, and multicellular shapes. The numerical algorithms, including mathematical derivations, are provided and thoroughly validated via their implementation within the nonlinear analysis program MASTAN2-v5.