The buckling loads of columns with different boundary

conditions may also be considered by the concept of effective

lengths. The effective length of a column in the considered
plane may be defi ned as the distance between the points of
infl ection (zero moment) in the buckled confi guration of the
column in that plane.
Thus, the effective length of a column is different from
the unsupported length L of the column. The effective length
Le depends on the unsupported length and the type of end
restraints. The relation between the effective and unsupported
lengths of any column is given by
Le kL (13.5)
where k is the ratio of the effective length to the unsupported13.3.2 Buckling of Columns and
Effective Length
Columns, when concentrically loaded, may fail in one of the
following modes of failure, depending on the slenderness
ratio:
Pure compression failure Short columns, with Le/b ratio
less than 12, will fail by the crushing of concrete without
undergoing any lateral deformation.
Buckling failure Slender columns, with Le/b ratio greater
than 30, will become unstable even under small loads,
well before the materials reach their yield stresses. When
such columns are loaded, at a particular load, called the
buckling load, the column undergoes buckling with lateral
defl ection transverse to the applied load of undefi ned
magnitude as shown in Fig. 13.5. The horizontal line in this
fi gure indicates the lateral defl ection and instability of the
column. If the column is also subjected to bending moment
or transverse load, the column defl ects as shown by the
curved line in Fig. 13.5(b). The buckling of the column is
initiated in the plane about which the slenderness ratio is
the largest. Such buckling failures are rare in RC columns,
as the slenderness factor of practical columns is less
than 30.