STRENGTH OF MATERIALS LAB.

ME 325

Elastic Buckling Test

OBJECTIVE:
The experiment aims at:
1- determination of critical loads and critical stresses of several specimens,
2- comparison between the experimental and theoretical results,
3- plotting the experimental and theoretical critical stress values vs. slenderness
ratio.

THEORY:
Here, the derivation of the Euler’s load formula for elastic beam with pinned ends is
to be carried out. Assume a slender beam pinned at both ends and subjected to an
axial load P applied through its centerline, as shown in Figure 1(a).

Fig. 1. Pinned-pinned
slender column subjected
to an axial force.

The load will

cause a small
deflection v at distance
x, Figure 1(b). By
using the differential
equation of the
deflection curve:
2
d v M
2
=−
dx EI
(1)
where M is the
moment at x, E is the modulus of Elasticity of the material of beam and I is the
moment of inertia of the beam section about z axis. As shown in Figure 1(c)
M=Pv , and substituting it in equation (1) yields:
P
v ' ' =− v
EI
P
k 2=
By letting EI and rearranging the previous 2nd order ODE, we get in the
following form:
'' 2
v +k v=0 (2)
Equation (2) is called Euler’s ODE and its general solution is as following (revise
your ES201 notes):
v =C1 sin kx +C 2 cos kx

1/4
where C1 ,C 2 are constants that can be obtained by application of boundary
conditions.
First;
v (0 )=C 1 sin k 0+C 2 cos k 0=0
this yields that C2 =0 ,
and v ( L )=C1 sin kL=0
which yields sin kL=0 since C1 ≠0 .
Thus,
kL=0,π ,2π ,3π ,...
By substituting the value of k we get:
P
√ EI
L=nπ
, n=1, 2, 3, …
Note that n=0 is omitted because it causes P=0. By squaring both sides and
rearrangement:
n2 π 2 EI
P=
L2
According to critical load definition, it is the minimum load that causes buckling of
the beam under the load. So, the minimum load will occur at n=1, thus
2
π EI
Pcr = 2
L (3)

The critical load is called Euler’s load after Leonard Euler, who was the first
mathematician formulated the critical load relation. It is called fundamental formula
of critical load of buckling because the formulas of other types of fixture are to be put
in some form like equation (3) but by using effective length concept.

In the same manner, the critical load for other fixture types can be derived. Their
critical load formulas are as following:

2 2
4 π EI π EI
Pcr = =
Fixed-Fixed: L2 ( 0. 5 L)2 K=0.5

2 2
2 . 046 π EI π EI
Pcr = =
Pinned-Fixed: L2 (0 . 7 L )2 K=0.7

2 2
π EI π EI
Pcr = 2 =
Fixed-Free: 4 L (2 L )2 K=2

Effective length (Le):

In order to put the equations above in a general form similar to the fundamental
formula, as mentioned above, the equations are formulated as follows:
π 2 EI
Pcr = 2
Le …(4)

2/4
where
L =KL
e
and K is the effective length factor and its values are shown above corresponding to
each fixture type. Note that for Pinned beam K=1.

Critical Stress and Slenderness Ratio:

Critical stress is the axial stress cause by critical load. Since the deflection is assumed
to be very small the stress can simply evaluated as follows:
Pcr
σ cr =
A
A is the cross sectional area of the beam. By substituting equation (4) we get:
π 2 EI π 2 E
σ cr = 2 = 2 2
L e A Le / r
I
where
r=
√ A is the radius of gyration of the cross section. The ratio e is
called slenderness ratio and since it is a factor contains all geometrical parameters
L /r

of the beam, it is considered as a criterion for application of load formulas on

specified ranges. Figure 2 show the relation between slenderness ratio and critical
stress.

yield
proportional

Le / r
Figure 2: Critical stress-slenderness ratio relationship.

REQUIREMENTS:
1- Compute the critical stress of each tested case in experiment.
2- Compute the critical buckling load and stress of each beam theoretically and
compare them with the experimental results.
3- Plot the theoretical and experimental results on a critical stress-slenderness
ratio graph.
DATA OF EXPERIMENT:
Material: Mild steel
E: 200 GPa
Section width(b): 19 mm
Section thickness(h): 3.2 mm

3/4
Readings:

Fixture type: Pinned-Pinned

Piece No Length (mm) Pcr (N)
1 750 120
2 700 140
3 650 150
4 625 170
5 600 185

Fixture type: Pinned-Fixed

Piece No Length (mm) Pcr (N)
2 700 340

Fixture type: Fixed-Fixed

Piece No Length (mm) Pcr (N)
2 700 730

4/4