The Linear Buckling (
) study and study step are used for estimating the critical load at which a structure becomes unstable.
The Linear Buckling study consists of two study steps: a Stationary study step for applying an external load followed by a
Linear Buckling study step. In the second study step, an eigenvalue solver is used to compute the buckling modes and the associated critical load factors.
A Linear Buckling analysis includes the stiffening effects from stresses coming from nonlinear strain terms. The stiffness coming from stresses and material defines an eigenvalue problem in which the eigenvalue is a load factor that, when multiplied with the actual load, gives the critical load in a linear context.
Use the Desired number of buckling modes field to specify the number of buckling modes you want the eigenvalue solver to return.