On the stability of imperfect Von Mises arches

This communication aims to provide further insight into the interaction between the classical limit point instability (“snap-through”) of a Von Mises arch and the Eulerian buckling of its constituent rods. The theoretical model incorporates the effects of symmetric geometric imperfections in the rods, as well as the reduction in axial stiffness resulting from second-order effects. The analysis is developed on a theoretical basis to elucidate the influence of key governing parameters—namely, arch shallowness, rod slenderness, and imperfection magnitude. Numerical simulations are performed to validate and illustrate the proposed formulation.