Safety issues in buckling of steel structures by improving accuracy of historical methods

Buckling of structural elements is a phenomenon that has great consequences on the bearing capacity of structures. Historically, there have been serious buckling-related structural accidents that have resulted in loss of human lives and high material costs. In this article, an attempt is made to perform a historical analysis of the diverse models that experts have been using in designing and calculating compression buckling of simple metallic elements in the last 275 years. The analysis covers the lapse from the mid-18th century, in which the pioneers in this classic field of structural design are located, up to the present, highlighting the main standards that have been applied to steel structural analysis in the past and at present all over the world. What the study tries to provide is an overall view and a sense of continuity of the methods used for improving structural safety regarding buckling failures in the last three centuries. Each analyzed buckling model is compared with the results of a numerical finite element model of compressed steel columns. Finally, the conclusion reached is that in the last one hundred years, the convergence of solutions proposed in the field is gradually greater and more accurate. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland