On the lateral-torsional buckling of non-uniform c-beams

This paper experimentally and numerically investigates the lateral stability problem of metallic C-beams with uniformly varying cross-section. The results of a compression test on a physical model are compared with the numerical predictions of the lateral-torsional buckling load given by a variational approach. A good theory vs. experiment matching is observed when a correct modeling of the boundary conditions is introduced. The given numerical approach proves to be an effective tool for studying the non trivial stability problem of thin-walled beams equipped with non-uniform cross section.