In practical engineering, there are debates in several cases where the buckling shape and mode would not be clear. In such a case, the minimum stiffness of one element can be determined, and the buckling mode can be understood based on that. In the figure, a cantilever beam with the bending rigidity of EI is subjected to a compressive load, p. The beam’s free end is supported by a translational spring with the constant of c.
Determine the critical value of spring coefficient c so that the buckling shape of the compressive element would change from the free end to a supported one.
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