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Chapter 12
Elastic Stability of Columns

• Axial compressive loads can cause a

sudden lateral deflection (Buckling)
• For columns made of elastic-perfectly
plastic materials, Pcr
– Depends primarily on E and I
– Independent of syield and sult
• For columns made of elastic strain-
hardening material, Pcr
– Will also depend on the inelastic stress-strain
behavior
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• Ideal column
– Perfectly straight
– Load lies exactly along central longitudinal
axis
– Weightless
– Free of residual stresses
– Not subject to
• a bending moment or
• a lateral force

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1. Introduce some basic concepts of column

buckling
2. Physical description of the elastic buckling
of columns
a. For a range of lateral deflections
b. For both ideal and imperfect slender columns
3. Derive Euler formula for a pin-pin column
4. Examine the effect of constraints
5. Investigate Local Buckling of thin-wall
flanges of elastic columns with open cross
sections

12.1 Introduction to the Concept of Column Buckling

• When an initially straight, slender column with pinned
ends is subject to a compressive load P, failure occurs
by elastic buckling when P=Pcr
(12.1)

• When an ideal column has P < Pcr,

– Column remains straight
– A lateral force will cause the beam to move laterally, but
beam will return to straight upon removal of the force
– Stable Equilibrium
• When an ideal column has P = Pcr,
– Column can be freely moved laterally and remain
displaced after removal of the lateral load
– Neutral Equilibrium
• When an ideal column has P > Pcr
Unstable
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• Magnitude of the buckling load is a function of the boundary conditions

• Buckling is governed by the SMALLEST area moment of inertia
• Real materials experience plastic collapse or fracture

12.2 Deflection Response of Columns to Compressive

Loads
12.2.1 Elastic Buckling of an Ideal Slender Column
• Consider a straight slender pinned-end column made of a
homogeneous material
• Load the column to Pcr
• Lateral deflection is represented by Curve 0AB in Fig. 12.3a

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 6

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(12.2)

where
• r is the radius of gyration (r2 = I/A)
• L/r is the slenderness ratio
• For elastic behavior, scr < syield

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 7

Large Deflections
• Southwell (1941) showed that a very slender column can sustain a
load greater than Pcr in a bent position
– Provided the average s < syield
• The load-deflection response is similar to curves BCD
• For a real column, the syield is exceeded at some value C due to axial
and bending stresses

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 8

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12.3 The Euler Formula for Columns with Pinned Ends

• Five methods
– Equilibrium
– Imperfection
– Energy
– Snap through (more significant in
buckling of shells than of beams)
– Vibration (beyond scope of course)

12.3.1 The Equilibrium Method

• By equilibrium of moments about Point A

(12.3)

• Eq. 12.3 represents a state of neutral

equilibrium Fig. 12.4 Column with pinned ends
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• By elementary beam theory

(12.4)

• From calculus

(12.5)

• Eqs. 12.4 and 12.5 give

(12.6)

• By Eqs. 12.3 and 12.6 after dividing by EI

(12.7)

where Fig. 12.4 Column with pinned ends

(12.8)
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Fig. 12.6 Sign convention for internal moment.

(a) Positive moment taken CW.
(b) Positive moment taken CCW.
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12.3.2 Higher Buckling Loads; n >1

• Higher buckling loads than Pcr are
possible if the lower modes are
constrained
• By Eq. 12.14 for n=2

(12.17)

• By Eq. 12.14 for n=3

(12.18)
• In general

(12.19)
Fig. 12.7 Buckling modes: n=1, 2, 3
• In practice, n=1 is the most significant
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12.2.2 Imperfect Slender Columns

• Real columns nearly always possess deviations from ideal conditions
• Unless a column is extremely slender, it will fail by yielding or fracture
before failing by large lateral deflections
• An imperfect column may be considered as a perfect column with an
eccentricity, e
• For small e, 0’B’FG represents the Load-d curve (max load close to Pcr)
• For large e, 0”B”IJ represents the Load-d curve
(max load can be much lower than Pcr)

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 19

Failure of Columns of Intermediate Slenderness Ratio

• The load-d relations for columns of intermediate slender ratios are
represented by the curves in Fig. 12.3c
• For such columns, a condition of instability is associated with Points B,
F and I
• At these points, inelastic strain occurs and is followed, after only a
small increase in load, by instability collapse at relatively small lateral
deflections

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 20

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Which Type of Failure Occurs?

• Two potential types of failures
1. Failure by excessive deflection before plastic collapse or fracture
2. Failure by plastic collapse or fracture
• Pure analytical approach is difficult
 Empirical methods are usually used in conjunction with
analysis to develop workable design criteria

Fig. 12.3 Relation between load and lateral deflection for columns 21

12.3.3 The Imperfection Method

• Acknowledge that a real column is usually loaded eccentrically, e
• Hence, the Imperfection Method is a generalization of the Equilibrium
Method
• By equilibrium of moments about Point A
SMA = M(x) +Pex/L+Py = 0

Fig. 12.8 Eccentrically loaded pinned-end columns

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• As the load P increases, the deflection of the column increases

• When sin(kL)=0 for kL=np, n=1,2,3, …, y
• The Imperfection Method gives the same result as the Equilibrium
Method 23

12.3.4 The Energy Method

• The Energy Method is based on the first law of thermodynamics
The work that external forces perform on a system plus the heat
energy that flows into the system equals the increase in internal
energy of the system plus the increase in the kinetic energy pf the
system
(12.25)
• For column buckling, assuming an adiabatic system  dH=0
• If beam is disturbed laterally, then it may vibrate, but dK << dW
• Implies (12.26)

• Can solve the problem using the Rayleigh method by reducing the
problem to a single DOF, e.g. y(x) = A sin (p x / L)
• A more general form is to use a Fourier series

(12.27)

• Eq. 12.27 satisfies the BCs y=0 @ x=0 and x=L 24

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(12.33)

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12.4 Euler Buckling of Columns with Linear Elastic End

Constraints
• Consider a straight elastic column with
linear elastic end constraints
• Apply an axial force P
• The potential energy of the column-spring
system is

(12.34)

• The displaced equilibrium position of the

column is given by the principle of
stationary potential energy
Fig. 12.10
Elastic column with linear elastic
end constraints
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• By Eq. 12.34, set dV=0

• Eq. 12.37 is the Euler equation for the column

• Eq. 12.38 are the BCs (Includes both the natural and forced BCs)
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(12.40)

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• If any of the end displacements (y1,y2) and the end slopes (y’1, y’2)
of the column are forced (given),
– then they are not arbitrary
– and the associated variations must vanish
• These specified conditions are called forced BCs
(also called geometric, kinematic, or essential BCs)
• e.g., for pinned ends
– y1=0 @ x=0 and y2=0 @ x=L
– Therefore, dy1=dy2=0
– Then the last two of Eqs. 12.38 are identically satisfied
• The first two of Eqs. 12.38 yield the natural (unforced) BCs for the
pinned ends
– Because y’1 and y’2 and hence dy1’ and dy2’ are arbitrary (i.e. nonzero)
– Also for the pinned ends K1=K2=0
– Therefore, Eqs. 12.38 give the natural BCs (because EI>0)
y”1 = y”2 = 0 (12.42)
• Eqs. 12.39, 12.41 and 12.42 yield B = C = D = 0 and A sin KL = 0,
i.e. the result Pcr=p2EI/L2
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• For specific values of K1, K2, k1 and k2 that are neither zero nor
infinity
– The buckling load is obtained by setting the determinate D of the
coefficients A, B, C and D in Eq. 12.40
– Usually must be solved numerically

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12.5 Local Buckling of Columns

• Consider a column that is formed with several thin-wall parts
e.g., a channel, an angle or a wide-flange I-beam
• Depending on the relative cross-sectional dimensions of a flange or
web
– Such a column may fail by local buckling of the flange or web, before it
fails as an Euler column

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• Consider the example

– If the ratio t/b is relatively large, the column buckles as an Euler column
(global buckling)
– If t/b is relatively small, the column fails by buckling or wrinkling, or more
generally, Local Buckling

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• Local buckling of a compressed thin-wall column may not cause

immediate collapse of the column. However,
– It alters the stress distribution in the system
– Reduces the compressive stiffness of the column
– Generally leads to collapse at loads lower than the Euler P cr

• In the design of columns in building structures using hot-rolled steel,

local buckling is controlled by selecting cross sections with t/b ratios s.t.
the critical stress for local buckling will exceed the syield of the material
– Therefore, local buckling will not occur before the material yields

• Local buckling is controlled in cold-formed steel members by the use of

effective widths of the various compression elements
(i.e., leg of an angle or flange of a channel) which will account for the
relatively small t/b ratio.
– These effective widths are then used to compute effective (reduced) cross-
section properties, A, I and so forth.

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Fig. 12.11
Buckling loads for local buckling and Euler buckling for columns made
of 245 TR aluminum (E=74.5 GPa) 47

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