On The Buckling of Fiber-Bundle Type Beams

Euler was the first who studied for engineering applications important problem of buckling arising in a simple, monolithic beam loaded axially by a concentrated load. As it has been shown from two solutions of the problem due to Timosenko theory, the elastic foundation increases the critical buckling load of the beam. Starting from the previous classical results, a mechanism to enhance the buckling strength of a cantilevered beam is investigated. In the place of a single, one-element, monolithic cross-section, the use of a bundle of more than one, similar or not, single cross-sections, placed with parallel axes, and staying in free (unilateral) contact along their adjacent boundaries, is proposed.