Exact post-buckling configurations of cantilevered column subjected to forces produced by a tensioned cable

This study deals with the post-buckling behavior of an inextensible elastic prismatic cantilevered column of length L which is loaded by a cable attached at the tip of the cantilever and at mid-length and terminate at the fixed support. The post-buckling behavior of the column-cable system is solved analytically in terms of elliptic integrals using the principle of elastic similarity. It was shown that for a given prescribed angle of inclination for the lower segment of the cable, four equilibrium configurations exist with two of these are of symmetrical type. Moreover, in order to generalize the present study for n-segment column, the case of the three-segment column has been investigated. For such case, the results showed that eight postbuckling equilibrium configurations existed with four of these configurations as a symmetrical type. This study has several interesting engineering applications in ultra-lightweight aerospace engineering such as in solar sails technology, flexible robotics arms, biomedical instrumentation and it can be used as a flexible fixing rod in space technology. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.