Investigation of The Effect of Radius of Curvature on Buckling Load in Thin-Walled Beams

This study examines the effect of curvature radius on the buckling behavior of thin-walled beams, which are commonly used in aerospace, automotive, and structural engineering due to their high strength-to-weight ratios. The buckling phenomenon, which represents a critical failure mode for thin-walled hat-shaped structures, was investigated under axial loading through the utilization of numerical methods. A nonlinear analysis was conducted using ANSYS Workbench to model three distinct geometries with varying curvature angles and identical dimensions. The models were subjected to analysis in order to ascertain the critical buckling loads and reaction forces at a displacement of 1 mm, with a particular focus on both nonlinear and post-buckling behavior. Given its importance in structural applications, Aluminum Alloy NL was selected as the material. The eigenvalue buckling analysis identified the critical loads for the first ten modes, revealing that models with higher curvature angles demonstrated more stable buckling characteristics, whereas those with smaller angles were more prone to local deformation. A post-buckling analysis was conducted to ascertain the nonlinear load-bearing capacities of these structures.