The present study presents a new FEM element for buckling analysis of T-section members as well as H-section and its application to spatial structures. The element is fundamentally composed of parallel three beams together with two struts normal to the three elements, enabling a consideration of lateral-torsional buckling. The present study first investigates the capability to analyze buckling strength of T-sections, extended to H-sections with different sizes for top and bottom flanges, then, followed by buckling analysis to a shallow arch. Through the analyses, the effectiveness of the proposed element for buckling analysis of spatial structures is confirmed.
