Similarity consideration of structural bifurcation buckling

Many structural bifurcation buckling problems exhibit a scaling or power law property. Dimensional analysis is used to analyze the general scaling property. The concept of a new dimensionless number, the response number-Rn, suggested by the present author for the dynamic plastic response and failure of beams, plates and so on, subjected to large dynamic loading, is generalized in this paper to study the elastic, plastic, dynamic elastic as well as dynamic plastic buckling problems of columns, plates as well as shells. Structural bifurcation buckling can be considered when Rn(n) reaches a critical value.