Stability of tapered columns under end-concentrated and variably distributed follower forces

An efficient analytical method for the nonconservative stability of tapered columns is presented. The primary advantage of the method is that the resulting characteristic equation for stability of a nonuniform column with any kind of two-end support configuration can be conveniently determined from a second-order determinant. As a result, the decrease in the determinant order, as compared with previously developed procedures, leads to significant savings in the computational effort.