Stability of slender beams and frames resting on 2D elastic half-space

Making use of a mixed variational formulation based on the Green function of the substrate, which assumes as independent fields the structure displacements and the contact pressure, a simple and efficient finite element-boundary integral equation coupling method is derived and applied to the stability analysis of beams and frames resting on an elastic half-plane. Slender Euler–Bernoulli beams with different combinations of end constraints are considered. The examples illustrate the convergence to the existing exact solutions and provide new estimates of the buckling loads for different boundary conditions. Finally, nonlinear incremental analyses of rectangular pipes with compressed columns and free or pinned foundation ends are performed, showing that pipes stiffer than the soil may exhibit snap-through instability.