Stability research and numerical simulation of high-strength aluminum alloy column in compression

To provide reliable verification and guidance for experiments, numerical simulations of 17 high-strength aluminum alloy columns in compression were conducted using ABAQUS and the results were compared with experimental results. Factors which influenced simulation results, including meshes size, thickness of end plates, initial imperfection and material properties were analyzed. 3D full integration continuum element C3D20 and Ramberg-Osgood model for stress-strain relationship were adopted in simulation. The simulation results show that the relative errors of buckling load between experiments and simulations are under 12%; the meshes size and thickness of end plates have a negligible influence on stability coefficient, and the existence of end plates rarely influence mechanical properties of specimens with hinge supports; as initial geometric imperfection ascends and the parameter n of aluminum alloy descends, the value of stability coefficient decreases; buckling loads of specimens obviously increases as proof stress f _0.2 increases, especially for specimens with small slenderness ratio.