Application of the empirical mode decomposition for establishing the critical buckling capacity of fibre-reinforced hybrid columns from experimentally obtained data

Evaluation of the stability of slender structural components has been an ongoing research topic for several decades. Designers use the well-known Euler's equation to predict the buckling capacity of such structural components. However, when considering the actual response of such components because of the response being often highly non-linear, the establishment of the onset of buckling cannot be distinctly established. As a result, investigators often face difficulty in deciding what the actual buckling capacity of a given component is when considering load-deformation experimental data. This becomes even more significant when complex composite structural components are examined. In this paper, a novel approach, based on the empirical mode decomposition is introduced for establishing the buckling load of hybrid fibre-reinforced glulaminated columns from load-deformation data obtained experimentally. The performance of the proposed procedure is illustrated for establishing the buckling capacity of unreinforced glulam columns, as well as columns reinforced with fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) sheets, partially or along their full length. The methodology is equally applicable to any column with any initial imperfection and given boundary conditions.