A complementary energy-based formulation for torsional buckling analysis of columns

A unique formulation for the elastic torsional buckling analysis of columns is developed based on the principle of stationary complementary energy. A complementary energy expression is obtained from the well known total potential energy functional by using Frederichs' transformation. In contrast to the flexural buckling analysis of columns, in which the principle of stationary complementary energy provides an upper bound prediction of the critical load, it is shown in the present work that a lower bound prediction of the torsional buckling load can be obtained. The convergence behaviour of the approximate solutions is illustrated through numerical examples for several columns with different boundary conditions. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London