A theoretical proof of the invalidity of dynamic relaxation arc-length method for snap-back problems

Incorporating the arc-length constraint, the dynamic relaxation strategy has been widely used to trace full equilibrium path in the post-buckling analysis of structures. This combined numerical scheme has been shown to be successful for solving snap-through problems, but its applicability to snap-back problems has been rarely investigated and remains unclear. This paper proposes a direct and more general finite-difference equation to investigate the numerical stability of this combined numerical scheme, which is dominated by the spectral radius of amplification matrix. And a key discovery of this paper is that a first minor of the tangent stiffness matrix is always negative once snap back occurs. Due to this negative minor stiffness, the spectral radius is invariably greater than one, resulting in unconditional instability, which demonstrates the invalidity of dynamic relaxation arc-length method for snap-back problems. These important conclusions are corroborated by the numerical results of three representative examples in one-, two- and three-dimensional spaces.