Compression Member

CE 359 Md.
Hasan Imam,
Design of Steel Structure Assistant Professor, CE, UITS
Compression Member
Introduction:
• A compression member is a structural element that supports axial

compressive loads applied along its longitudinal axis.
• The loads are applied along a longitudinal axis through the centroid of the
member cross section, and the stress can be taken as
P
f=
A
Where, f is considered to be uniform over the entire cross section.
• Some structural elements act as compression member, is shown in the
following figure-
• The following figure shows some rolled and built up shapes used as
compression member-
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CE 359 Md. Hasan Imam,
Types of compression member or column:
Based on the load carrying pattern and failure behavior the column is classified
into the following type-
1. Short column → never buckle, squashing occur and relatively

large transverse dimension( low slenderness)
2. Intermediate column→ inelastic buckling occur, moderate
slenderness( less than critical value)
3. Long or slender column→ never yields, large slenderness (
greater than critical value)
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From the column strength curve, one can understand these types of column
response
Failure modes (limit states) of compression member:
Compression members can failure in following way-
• Exhaustion of strength / yielding / squashing

• Buckling-
1. Local Buckling
2. Flexural buckling
3. Flexural- torsional buckling
Local buckling: This occurs when some part of the member locally buckles
because of their thin wall before other failure modes take place at the time of
application of compressive load.
Flexural buckling: This is a primary buckling failure mode of the compression

member. It occurs when the member is subjected to bending due to impending
lateral displacement of the longitudinal axis at the time when the member becomes
unstable. Flexural buckling occurs about the axis with the largest slenderness ratio,
and the smallest radius of gyration.
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Flexural- torsional buckling: This type of buckling only occurs in compression

members that have an unsymmetrical cross-section with one axis of symmetry.
Flexural-torsional buckling is the simultaneous bending and twisting of a member.
This mostly occurs in channels, structural tees, double-angle shapes, and equal-leg
single angles
Capacity Calculation:
𝑃𝑛
The design compressive strength, φcPn, and the allowable compressive strength,
Ωc
, are determined as follows-
The nominal compressive strength, Pn, shall be the lowest value obtained based on
the applicable limit states of yielding, local buckling, flexural buckling, torsional
buckling, and flexural torsional buckling.
φc = 0.90 (LRFD) Ωc = 1.67 (ASD)
Yielding Capacity of compression member:
If no other factors affect the column strength and the column is of short type then
the compression member may fail in yielding.
The nominal yielding capacity, 𝑃𝑛 = 𝐹𝑦 𝐴𝑔
Where, Fy = yield stress of column materials
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Ag = gross Cross sectional area
Buckling Capacity of compression member:
1. Flexural buckling: to address the impact of length on compression member

behavior, Euler first presented a model analysis in 1759. Several
assumptions are made in this column model, including:
i) the column ends are frictionless pins,
ii) the column is perfectly straight,
iii) the load is applied along the centroidal axis and
iv) The material behaves elastically.
Based on these assumptions, his analysis revealed a critical load (Pcr) (shown in
the following figure) that can be defined as the load for which the Euler column
impends to displace laterally
From his analysis, he found the critical load Pcr, as below
Where n is an integer. The minimum value of the Pcr can be found when n= 1.
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𝜋 2 𝐸𝐼
𝑃𝑐𝑟 = 2
𝐿
This is called the Euler buckling load or critical buckling load.
It is more helpful to express the above equation in terms of stress. So the

critical stress,
𝑃𝑐𝑟 𝜋2 𝐸𝐴𝑟2 𝜋 2𝐸
𝐹𝑐𝑟 = = =
𝐴 2 𝐿
𝐴𝐿 ( )2
𝑟
The derivation was presented for the pin ended column. To generalized for other
end conditions the length, L is replaced by effective length KL. Where K is the
effective length factor. Thus the general flexural buckling equation becomes-
π2 EI
Pcr = (KL)2 and
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π2 E
Fcr =
KL 2
( )
r
AISC requirement:
1. Flexural buckling capacity of members without slender elements( No

local buckling):
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π2 E
Fe = KL 2 (E3-4)
( )
r
2. Torsional and flexural-torsional buckling of members without

slender elements ( No local buckling):
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where
Ag = gross cross-sectional area of member, in.2 (mm2)
Cw = warping constant, in.6 (mm6)
Single angle compression members KL/r calculation:
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The nominal compressive strength, Pn, of single angle members shall be

determined in accordance with Section E3 or Section E7, as appropriate, for axially
loaded members. For single angles with b/t > 20, Section E4 shall be used.
Members meeting the criteria imposed in Section E5(a) or E5(b) are permitted to
be designed as axially loaded members using the specified effective slenderness
ratio, KL/r.
Section E5(a) or E5(b)-
where
L = length of member between work points at truss chord centerlines, in. (mm)
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bl = length of longer leg of angle, in. (mm)

bs = length of shorter leg of angle, in. (mm)
rx = radius of gyration about the geometric axis parallel to the connected leg, in.
(mm)
rz = radius of gyration about the minor principal axis, in. (mm)
Builtup member KL/r calculation:
KL/r is replaced by (KL/r)m determined as follows:
where
𝐾𝐿
( )𝑚 = modified slenderness ratio of built-up member
𝑟
𝐾𝐿
( )𝑜 = slenderness ratio of built-up member acting as a unit in the
𝑟
buckling direction being considered
Ki = 0.50 for angles back-to-back
= 0.75 for channels back-to-back
= 0.86 for all other cases
a = distance between connectors, in. (mm)
ri = minimum radius of gyration of an individual component, in. (mm)
3. Flexural buckling capacity of members with slender elements ( local
buckling govern):
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Slender Unstiffened Elements, Qs
The reduction factor, Qs, for slender unstiffened elements is defined as

follows:
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(a) For flanges, angles and plates projecting from rolled columns or other
compression members:
(b) For flanges, angles and plates projecting from built-up I-shaped columns or
other compression members:
where
b = width of unstiffened compression element, in. (mm)
4
𝑘𝑐 = , and shall not be taken less than 0.35 nor greater than 0.76 for
√ℎ⁄𝑡
𝑤
calculation purposes
t = thickness of element, in. (mm)
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Note: In lieu of calculating f = Pn /Ae, which requires iteration, f may be

taken equal to Fy. This will result in a slightly conservative estimate of column
available strength.
Example:
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Example-02:
Compute the compressive strength of a WT12 × 81 of A992 steel. The effective

length with respect to the x-axis is 25 feet 6 inches, the effective length with
respect to the y-axis is 20 feet, and the effective length with respect to the z-axis is
20 feet.
Solution:
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Pn = FcrAg = 30.63(23.9) = 732.1 kips
The flexural buckling strength controls, and the nominal strength is 683.3 kips.
For LRFD, the design strength is ΦcPn = 0.90(683.3) = 615 kips.
𝑃𝑛 683.3
For ASD, the allowable strength is Pa = = = 409.16 𝑘𝑖𝑝𝑠
𝛺𝑐 1.67
Example-03:
Determine the axial compressive strength of an HSS 8 × 4 × 1⁄8 with an effective

length of 15 feet with respect to each principal axis. Use Fy = 46 ksi.
Solution:
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Design of column:
A systematic approach to making the trial selection is as follows:
1. Assume a value for the critical buckling stress Fcr. Examination of AISC
Equations E3-2 and E3-3 shows that the theoretically maximum value of Fcr is the
yield stress Fy.
2. Determine the required area. For LRFD,
For ASD,
3. Select a shape that satisfies the area requirement.
4. Compute Fcr and the strength for the trial shape.
5. Revise if necessary. If the available strength is very close to the required value,
the next tabulated size can be tried. Otherwise, repeat the entire procedure, using
the value of Fcr found for the current trial shape as a value for Step 1.
6. Check local stability (check the width-to-thickness ratios). Revise if necessary.
Example:
Select a W18 shape of A992 steel that can resist a service dead load of 100 kips
and a service live load of 300 kips. The effective length KL is 26 feet.
Solution:
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Because the initial estimate of Fcr was so far off, assume a value about halfway
between 33 and 7.455 ksi. Try Fcr = 20 ksi.
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Built up member Example:
Compute the available strength of the compression member shown in Figure. Two
angles, 5 × 3 × 1⁄2, are oriented with the long legs back-to-back (2L5 × 3 ×1⁄2
LLBB) and separated by 3⁄8 inch. The effective length KL is 16 feet, and there are
three fully tightened intermediate connectors. A36 steel is used.
Solution:
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The design strength is
ΦcPn = 0.90(71.99) = 64.8 kips

𝑃𝑛 71.99
The allowable strength is Pa = = = 43.2 𝑘𝑖𝑝𝑠
𝛺𝑐 1.67
Design compressive strength = 64.8 kips.
Allowable compressive strength = 43.2 kips.
Example-02:
Determine if a built-up, ASTM A572 grade 50 column with PLa in.×102 in.
flanges and a
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PL4 in.×74 in. web has sufficient available strength to carry a dead load of 40 kips
and a live load of 120 kips in axial compression. The column unbraced length is 15
ft in both axes and the ends are pinned.
Solution:
Material Properties:
ASTM A572 Gr. 50 Fy = 50 ksi Fu = 65 ksi
Geometric Properties:
Built-up Column d = 8.00 in. bf = 10.5 in. tf = 0.375 in. h = 7.25 in. tw = 0.250 in.
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Column in frame:
Assumptions:
Effective length of the column in the frame: Gaylord, Gaylord, and Stallmeyer
(1992) show that the effective length factor K depends on the ratio of column
stiffness to girder stiffness at each end of the member.
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For columns in a frame with rigid joints, the effective length factor (k) may be
determined based on the restraint provided at each end of the column. The
alignment charts are given in AISC 360 Fig. C-A-7.1 and C-A-7.2 and are shown
combined in the following Figure. To utilize the alignment chart, the stiffness ratio
at the two ends of the column under consideration must be determined and this is
defined as above.
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Alternative method for calculation of effective length factor:
G value for fixed support is 1.0
G value for hinged support is 10.0
Effective length for inelastic column:
If the slenderness ratio KL/r is less than the critical slenderness ratio
𝐸
(4.71 √ ) column will buckle inelastically, and the effective length factor
𝐹 𝑦
obtained from the alignment chart will be overly conservative. A large number of
columns are in this category. A convenient procedure for determining K for
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inelastic columns allows the alignment charts to be used (Yura, 1971; Disque,
1973; Geschwindner, 2010). To demonstrate the procedure, we begin with the
inelastic stiffness ratio-
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Alternative method-
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Example:
Solution:
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Example -02:
Solution:
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Compression Member

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CE 359 Md.

• A compression member is a structural element that supports axial

Types of compression member or column:

1. Short column → never buckle, squashing occur and relatively

Failure modes (limit states) of compression member:

Compression members can failure in following way-

• Exhaustion of strength / yielding / squashing

Flexural buckling: This is a primary buckling failure mode of the compression

Flexural- torsional buckling: This type of buckling only occurs in compression

Ag = gross Cross sectional area

Buckling Capacity of compression member:

1. Flexural buckling: to address the impact of length on compression member

From his analysis, he found the critical load Pcr, as below

It is more helpful to express the above equation in terms of stress. So the

1. Flexural buckling capacity of members without slender elements( No

2. Torsional and flexural-torsional buckling of members without

Single angle compression members KL/r calculation:

The nominal compressive strength, Pn, of single angle members shall be

Section E5(a) or E5(b)-

bl = length of longer leg of angle, in. (mm)

Builtup member KL/r calculation:

KL/r is replaced by (KL/r)m determined as follows:

Slender Unstiffened Elements, Qs

The reduction factor, Qs, for slender unstiffened elements is defined as

Note: In lieu of calculating f = Pn /Ae, which requires iteration, f may be

Compute the compressive strength of a WT12 × 81 of A992 steel. The effective

Pn = FcrAg = 30.63(23.9) = 732.1 kips

Determine the axial compressive strength of an HSS 8 × 4 × 1⁄8 with an effective

A systematic approach to making the trial selection is as follows:

2. Determine the required area. For LRFD,

3. Select a shape that satisfies the area requirement.

4. Compute Fcr and the strength for the trial shape.

6. Check local stability (check the width-to-thickness ratios). Revise if necessary.

Built up member Example:

The design strength is

ΦcPn = 0.90(71.99) = 64.8 kips

Design compressive strength = 64.8 kips.

Allowable compressive strength = 43.2 kips.

ASTM A572 Gr. 50 Fy = 50 ksi Fu = 65 ksi

Alternative method for calculation of effective length factor:

G value for fixed support is 1.0

G value for hinged support is 10.0

Effective length for inelastic column:

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