Buckling of Continuously Supported Beams

The effect of gravity forces upon the buckling of concrete highways or airfield runways as well as upon the stability of a thin layer embedded in a continuous medium suggest the study of a longitudinally compressed infinite beam which is continuously supported by a relatively soft foundation and is subjected to a uniform lateral load. It was found that if the response of a continuous foundation model is assumed linear, then the uniform lateral load, irrespective of its magnitude, has no effect upon the determined buckling force. It is then shown, using the Winkler model, that if the response is assumed nonlinear, which is usually observed in real situations, then the lateral load does affect the buckling force. The larger the uniform lateral pressure, the more stable the continuously supported beam.