Buckling of Beams on Elastic Foundation Considering Discontinuous (Unbonded) Contact

The buckling of axially compressed beams resting on elastic foundation is considered, accounting for discontinuous (unbonded) contact between beam and subgrade which is the case of real structural response. Using Galerkin’s method a two-region contact/non-contact configuration was revealed as the only possible post-buckling deformation for both pinned – pinned and fixed – fixed boundary conditions, a fact strongly contradicting relevant results where continuous contact was assumed.