Inelastic Cyclic Analysis of Pin-Ended Tubes

An analytical study of the inelastic cyclic load-deflection behavior and load-shortening behavior of axially loaded steel tubular bracing members subject to cyclic loading is presented. Expressions are first derived for the moment and axial strain expressed explicitly in terms of curvature and thrust for tubular sections with geometric imperfections and residual stresses. For the case of reversed loading, several approximations of the moment-thrust-curvature curves and moment-thrust-axial strain curves are made. Using these relations, cyclic solutions of pin-ended columns subjected to one cycle of axial loading are obtained and compared with some available experimental tests. Good agreement is generally observed.