Theoretical Stability Analysis of a Novel Steel–Concrete Composite Aqueduct

A novel steel–concrete composite aqueduct is presented, which has better fluid tightness, lighter weight, higher capacity, and faster construction speed compared with traditional prestressed concrete aqueducts. Acting as a thin-walled structure, the aqueduct is under a risk of buckling, and the stability design is an important issue in practical engineering projects. This study proposes a theoretical stability analysis method based on the model of compressed bar on elastic foundation. The proposed method is validated against the results obtained from finite element analysis, and the error between the theoretical and numerical results is about 10%. In addition, parametric analysis is conducted to investigate the influence of different section parameters on the stability of the composite aqueduct.