Instability of elastic bodies

The study of the equilibrium of systems constitutes an important chapter of applied mechanics. Since Euler's works on beam buckling, in 1774, many eminent specialists studied the problem of the elastic instability of structures. An examination of many works published in this field shows a large number of approaches or criteria adopted by various authors. The objective of this study is to show through a classical example the link between the different approaches to provide a multi-level basis and to propose a valid global approach for conservative as well as nonconservative systems. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.