Design of Columns

Design of Columns
The following notes are extremely not sufficient for ample and mature comprehension
of the presented subject. These notes are engineered to accompany the module reference
[i.e. the textbook] which is the major source of comprehensive information. Please refer
to the (PowerPoint slides) uploaded on e-learning for illustrative schematics and zoom
out view or perspective of the chapter major headlines.

Notes are adapted from Fundamentals of Machine Elements, 3rd Edition by

S. R. Schmid, B. J. Hamrock, and B. O. Jacobson. Figures are courtesy of
Fundamentals of Machine Elements, 2nd Edition by S. R. Schmid, B. J. Hamrock, and
B. O. Jacobson.

Introduction:

Columns are considered amongst compression members which are widely used in
machinery of all types. A column is a slender compression member that deforms laterally,
or buckles before stresses reach the yield strength of the material. In buckling, loads
below a critical magnitude can be supported, but once the critical load is exceeded, large
deformations result. Discussion of equilibrium regimes are initially presented in order to
nomenclature and concepts relevant to buckling. The classic derivation of Euler is then
applied to elastically deforming columns, and so-called Euler buckling is explained.
Regarding less slender columns, Johnsons buckling criterion is better suited to predict
buckling loads. The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) requirements and design
methodology for compression members are then described and demonstrated.

Definition:

A column is a straight and long, relative to its cross section, (i.e. slender) and is subjected
to compressive axial loads. Because of their slender shape, columns tend to deform laterally
upon loading; and if the deflection becomes larger than their respective critical values, they
fail catastrophically. This situation is known as buckling.

Buckling: it is a sudden large deformation of a structure due to a slight increase in the

applied load, under which the structure had exhibited little, if any, deformation before this
increase in the applied load.

Equilibrium Regimes:

An important question is: when an equilibrium position is disturbed slightly, does the
component tend to return to the equilibrium position or does it tend to depart even further?
To comprehend why columns buckle, it is necessary to understand the equilibrium regimes.
There exist three categories of equilibrium regimes namely:

1- Stable equilibrium.
2- Neutral equilibrium.
3- Unstable equilibrium.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 1

Design of Columns

Figure 1 illustrates the above-mentioned three equilibrium regimes:

Figure 1: Depiction of equilibrium regimes. (a) Stable; (b) neutral; (c) unstable

+ Stable Equilibrium

Figure 1(a) illustrates stable equilibrium. Assume that surfaces are frictionless and that the
sphere has a light weight. The forces on the sphere (i.e. gravity and normal surface reaction)
are in balance whenever the surface is horizontal. The balanced position is indicated by
zero shown in the Fig 1(a) and Fig 1 in general. Figure 1(a) shows the sphere displaced
slightly from its equilibrium position. The forces on the sphere no longer balance; however,
the resultant imbalance is a restoring force (i.e. gravity is accelerating the sphere back
toward the equilibrium position). Such a situation is called stable equilibrium.

+ Neutral Equilibrium

Figure 1(b) considers the sphere in neutral equilibrium. After the sphere has been slightly
displaced from the equilibrium position denoted by zero, it is still in equilibrium at the
newly displaced position and there is neither a tendency to return to the previous position nor
to move to move to some other position. It could be noticed that equilibrium is always
satisfied in both the zero and the newly displaced position or any other position along the
horizontal surface. Because the surface is flat, the sphere does not move after being
displaced in another position. This situation is called neutral equilibrium.

+ Unstable Equilibrium

Figure 1(c) illustrates the case of unstable equilibrium which is the opposite situation from
that presented in Fig. 1(a). When the sphere is displaced from its zero equilibrium position
(i.e. either to the right or to the left), the resultant imbalance is a disturbing force
(i.e. the force accelerated the sphere away from its initial equilibrium position). Such a
situation is called unstable equilibrium. Both gravity and convex surfaces cause the
sphere to move farther from the balanced position.

Important Conclusion

Generalizing from the above cases, unstable equilibrium occurs if for small
displacements or perturbations from the equilibrium position, the disturbing forces
tend to accelerate the part, component, or structure away from the equilibrium position.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 2

Design of Columns

Must Read and Comprehend

Columns in compression display unstable equilibrium and are unreliable and hazardous when
overloaded where a small displacement can cause a catastrophic change in their
configuration. Hence, as the load on a column increases, a critical load is reached where
unstable equilibrium occurs and the column will not return to its straight configuration. The
load cannot be increased beyond this value unless the column is laterally restrained. Thus, for
long (i.e. slender) columns a critical buckling load occurs. This critical buckling load (when
divided by the columns cross sectional area) gives a critical buckling stress. For columns,
this critical buckling stress is much lower than the yield strength ( S y ) of the material.
Therefore, columns will generally fail from buckling long before they fail from yielding.

The shape as well as the load establish when buckling will occur. A column may be
viewed as a straight bar with a large slenderness ratio ( l r ), typically 100, subjected to axial
compression. Buckling occurs in such a column when it is loaded to a critical load and
marked changes in deformation occur that do not result from the material yielding.

Concentrically Loaded Columns:

+ Linear Elastic Materials

Figure 2(a) illustrates a concentrically loaded column with pinned ends; thus the ends are
restrained from translation, but are free to rotate. Assume that the column is initially straight
and that the load is concentric; this is, the load acts through the centroid as depicted in
Fig. 2(b). Figure 3(c) shows as free-body diagram of the loads acting on the column.

Figure 2: Column with pinned ends. (a) Assembly; (b) deformation shape; (c) load acting

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 3

Design of Columns

From elementary solid mechanics, the relation between an applied moment and the
resulting deflection is expressed as follows:

d2y
M EI
dx 2

Equilibrium of the section cut from the bar, [Fig. 3(c)], necessitates that M Py .
The ( ve ) sign of the moment comes from the compressive nature of the applied axial force
(i.e. P ). Substituting M Py into the above equation yields:

d2y d2y
Py EI 2 EI 2 Py 0 ; Dividing the entire equation by ( EI ) gives:
dx dx

d2y P
y 0 ; which is a homogeneous, second-order, linear differential equation with
dx 2 EI
constant coefficients.

The general solution of this equation is:

P P
y C1 sin x C2 cos x ; where C1 and C2 are the constants of integration.
EI EI

The boundary conditions, BCs are:

1- At x 0 (vertical deflection) y 0 (horizontal deflection); resulting in C2 0 .

2- At x l (vertical deflection) y 0 (horizontal deflection); resulting in:

P
C1 sin l 0
EI

However C1 0 otherwise a trivial solution of y 0 results and this physically denotes that
the column will always remain straight under compressive loading which is entirely contrary
to experience (i.e. what actually happens).

In order to remedy this situation, the only possibility of satisfying the above equation is for:

P P
sin l 0 ; which is satisfied when: l n
EI EI

Hence, solving for ( P ) gives:

n2 2 EI
P
l2

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 4

Design of Columns

Where n is an integer (1, 2, 3 ). The smallest magnitude of ( P ) is achieved for n 1

(which is the desired magnitude to be applied on the column). Hence, the critical load ( Pcr )
for a column with pinned ends is:

2 EI
Pcr Eulers Equation
l2

This load ( Pcr ) is sometimes called the Euler load, named after the Swiss mathematician
Leonhard Euler, who originally solved this problem in 1757.

The following observations are extremely important aspects of Eulers Equation:

1- The critical load, Pcr is independent of materials strength ( S or S y ), rather it

depends on the columns geometric dimensions (expressed through I and l ) and the
materials modulus of elasticity ( E ). For this reason, as far as elastic buckling is
concerned, long columns made of high-strength steel offer no advantage over those
made of low-strength steel since both steels have approximately the same modulus of
elasticity.

2- The critical load capacity of a column will increase as the area cross sectional
moment of inertia increases. Hence, it is highly preferable in column design to locate
its cross sectional area as far as possible from the sections principal centroidal axes. This
implies that a hollow tube is preferred over a solid cross section.

3- A column will buckle about the planar cross section principal axis having the least area
moment of inertia (the weakest axis). For instance, the meter stick column having a
rectangular cross section shown in Fig. 3 will buckle about the x-axis and not about the
y-axis.

Figure 3: Buckling of rectangular section

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 5

Design of Columns

It could be clearly noticed from the column rectangular cross section illustrated Fig. 3 that
bh3 xy 3 yx3
y x ; hence, I x Iy which denotes that the x-axis is weaker in
12 12 12
bending than the y-axis and hence the columns greater tendency to buckle about the
x-axis. From a physical meaning perspective, the cross section material is far away from the
y-axis, unlike the x-axis, which increases the cross sectional resistance of the column to bend
about the y-axis and that is why I y I x . Contrarily, the cross sectional material is very close
to the x-axis and thereby the cross section has greater tendency to bend about x-axis (i.e. the
weaker axis).

Back to the previously stated general solution of the governing homogeneous, second-order,
linear differential equation:

P P P
Substitute l n and C2 0 into: y C1 sin x C2 cos x gives the
EI EI EI
buckling shape of the column as:

x
y C1 sin
l

P P n
How? From l n ; therefore,
EI EI l

n x
y C1 sin x 0 and for ( n 1 ) y C1 sin
l l

l
Now, need to determine C1 . When x y ymax
2

l 2
How? ymax C1 sin C1 sin C1 since sin 1 ; hence, C1 ymax
l 2 2

x
Therefore: y ymax sin
l

Thus the buckling shape varies sinusoidally with zero at the ends and a maximum
lateral deflection at half-length. Following is a mathematical proof of the previous statement:

0 l
y ymax sin 0 and y ymax sin ymax sin 0
l l

Engineers are often interested in defining the critical stress of a column. From elementary
solid mechanics: I rg2 A where ( rg ) is the radius of gyration. Therefore:

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 6

Design of Columns

I I
rg or A 2
A rg

The critical stress for the Euler equation is:

2 EI
Pcr l2 2 EI
cr E
A I l2I
rg2 rg2

2E
cr E
l rg
2

The critical stress ( cr ) is an average stress within the column just before the column
buckles. This stress results in elastic strains and is therefore less than or equal to the
materials yield strength ( S y ).

+ Tangent Modulus

Above the proportional limit and up to the yield point the material may still be elastic, but it
will not behave linearly. The effect is that the elastic modulus at the buckling stress
2E
cr E may be significantly lower than one would expect from published

2
l rg
magnitudes of elastic modulus. The critical stress or buckling stress equation is often
modified as:

2 Et
cr E
l rg
2

Where Et is the tangent modulus defined as the elastic modulus at the stress level within the
column. The above equation is called the tangent modulus equation or the Essenger
equation. It is extremely difficult to apply this equation in design since the tangent modulus
is rarely well quantified. However, the tangent modulus equation is mentioned due to the
importance of the tangent-modulus effect.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 7

Design of Columns

End Conditions:

The Euler equation was developed for columns with pinned ends; however, other end
constraints are possible. Table 1 illustrates four common end conditions.

Table 1: Effective length for four end conditions

The Euler equation can be used for these circumstances by recognizing that end
conditions change the effective length of the column. The critical load and stress
equations listed previously are modified by replacing ( l ) with the effective length ( le ) for the
corresponding end condition illustrated in Table 1. Substituting ( le ) for ( l ) gives:

2 EI
Pcr E
le2

Pcr E 2E
cr E
le rg
2
A

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 8

Design of Columns

Slenderness Ratio:

The Euler equation is valid for linear elastic materials, but is not accurate near the yield point.
The American Institute for Steel Construction (AISC) [2011] assumes that the
proportional limit of a material exists at one-half the yield strength, or the allowable
stress for elastic buckling is:

all 0.5S y where ( S y ) is the material yield strength. Substituting all 0.5S y into
2E
cr E gives:

2
le rg

2
1 2E l 2 E 2 le 2 E 2
Sy e Cc where Cc is called the
rg rg

2
2 le rg Sy E Sy
critical slenderness ratio since it defines the lower applicability limit of Euler
buckling. Hence, below Cc , the tangent modulus effect will result in lower buckling
stresses than predicted by Euler equation, and a different buckling criterion must be used.

Johnsons Buckling Criterion:

Figure 4 illustrates curves for normal stress as a function of slenderness ratio. Note the
abrupt change in Euler curve as it approaches the yield strength ( S y ) (see point A in
Fig. 4) indicating a transition from buckling to compressive yielding or fracture.

Figure 4: Normal stress as a function of slenderness ratio obtained by Euler, Johnson, and AISC
equations as well as yield strength

Because of the tangent modulus effect, the transition is not this abrupt, and the failure
criterion needs to be modified at this location. The most widely utilized modification is the
Johnson equation:

Pcr J
2
S y2 l
cr J Sy 2 e
A 4 E rg

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 9

Design of Columns

Figure 4 shows the tangency point, T where the Euler and Johnson equations give the
same prediction for buckling stress. This tangency point distinguishes between
intermediate columns (Johnson range) and long columns (Euler range). In order to
determine the value

Pcr E Pcr J
2
2E S y2 le
le rg T , cr E and cr J Sy 2
4 E rg
are equated

le rg
2
A A
to give:

2
2E S y2 le
Sy 2
le rg T
2
4 E rg
T

Solving the above equation for l2 rg T gives:

le 2 2 E 2 EA

rg Sy Pcr
T

Design Procedure for Selecting a Buckling Equation:

A crucial objective is to design a column to support a given load and constraints such as
material, column length, etc. may be specified. It is often not clear beforehand whether a
column will buckle according to the Euler or Johnson equations. The following procedure is
useful in these cases:

2 EI
1- Assume that the column buckles according to: Pcr or that it encounters Euler
l2
buckling. Use this equation to determine the columns geometry and hence the columns
cross sectional area.

2 2 E 2 EA
2- Calculate the critical slenderness ratio: Cc
Sy Pcr

le I
3- Calculate the slenderness ratio of the column: C where rg
rg A

4- If C Cc , then the column is indeed described by the Euler equation and the cross
section calculated in step 1 is applicable.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 10

Design of Columns

Pcr J
2
S y2 l
5- If C Cc , the Johnson equation: cr J Sy 2 e must be used
A 4 E rg

to determine the column geometry.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 11

Design of Columns

AISC Criteria:

The American Institute of Steel Construction [2011] has produced design guidelines for
elastic stability conditions. Although the guidelines are intended for steel, the wide use of
steel in compression members makes the guidelines especially useful. As previously shown
2 Et
through the tangent-modulus equation, cr E , the elastic modulus based on the

2
l rg
linear-elastic portion of a stress-strain curve may lead to erroneous results. Additionally,
tangent-modulus data are not readily available in the technical literature and are difficult to
obtain experimentally. The Johnson equation is needed for such circumstances. However,
long columns are more difficult to design because they are extremely susceptible to defects in
straightness or to eccentricity in loading. Therefore, a weighted reduction in the allowable
stress is prescribed. The AISC equations correct for reductions in elastic modulus as the
column stress exceeds the proportional limit of the material and utilize a sliding safety factor.
For elastic buckling, the allowable stress is:

12 2 E
all

2
23 le rg

and for inelastic buckling:

2
le rg S
1 2 y
2Cc
all
n

2 2 E 2 EA
where Cc is the slenderness ratio for Euler buckling, Cc , and n is
Sy Pcr
the reduction in allowable stress given by:

3
5 3 le rg le rg
n
3 8Cc 8Cc3

Note that n is not a safety factor, but a mandatory reduction in a materials allowable
stress. Figure 4 compares the AISC as well as the Euler and Johnson equations. The AISC
Criteria are not intended to predict buckling load of a given column, but instead
provide a design framework for steel columns. Better predictions of buckling load are
obtained from the Euler or Johnson equations depending on the column slenderness
ratio.

Design of Columns Dr. Hany Fayek 12