Implementation of an improved bisection algorithm in buckling problems

Abstract An improved bisection strategy is presented to determine the eigenvalues of a real symmetric tridiagonal matrix which occurs in a simple column buckling problem. The new strategy, which involves only a minor modification, utilizes incomplete Sturm sequences only as long as relevant information on the next and following eigenvalues is obtained resulting in a minimization of the computational work. The strategy is particularly effective if only a few eigenvalues are required. The technique can be used for a wider class of eigenvalue problems than the illustrative one presented here.