AR 136:

STEEL DESIGN AND TIMBER

ANALYSIS OF COMPRESSION
MEMBERS
ENGR. VENSON R. CAI
COMPRESSION MEMBERS
 Structural elements that are
subjected only to axial
compressive forces
 Most common type of
compressive member is column
 Common steel members used as
compression members are: (1)
W-Shapes, (2) Tees, (3) Single
Angles, (4) Channels, (5) HSS,
and (6)Pipes sections
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF COLUMNS

1 SHORT
COLUMN 2 INTERMEDIAT
E
COLUMN 3 LONG
COLUMN
• Fails by buckling but • Member fails due to
• Internal stresses are
some fibers of member lateral buckling
uniformly distributed will not reach yield
throughout the • Buckling remains below
stress the proportional limit or
member’s length • Behavior of these
• Load carrying capacity is fails elastically.
columns are inelastic
independent of its length
 STRENGTH DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
• 
LRFD (ϕ = 0.9)
ASD (Ω = 1.67)

STRENGTH LIMIT STATES

Squash Load
Global Buckling
Local Buckling
STRENGTH LIMIT STATES
1. SQUASH LOAD
Common for short columns
STRENGTH LIMIT STATES
1. SQUASH LOAD
STRENGTH LIMIT STATES
2. GLOBAL BUCKLING
No distortion of column’s cross-section
Global buckling can be any of the three:
 Flexural Buckling - Buckling occurs in one of the
principal planes of member’s cross section
 Torsional Buckling - Rotations of cross-section about
member’s longitudinal axis
 Flexural-Torsional Buckling - Twisting and bending
about two flexural axes of the member
 ELASTIC FLEXURAL BUCKLING
(EULER BUCKLING)
• Instability of a member happens just before stress reaches the
proportionality limit

• Assumptions:
1. Pin-ended prismatic column
2. Perfectly straight column
3. Compressive load applies at centroid and no transverse loads
4. Homogenous material
5. Plane sections remain plane
6. Small deformations
ELASTIC FLEXURAL BUCKLING
(EULER BUCKLING)
Euler’s Critical Load

Notes:
• Euler Load is independent of 𝐹𝑦
• Dependent on materials cross section and
length
 ELASTIC FLEXURAL BUCKLING
(EULER BUCKLING)
Since buckling is controlled by slenderness
ratio, compressive strength is determined by
the minimum value of r.

Where:
• 𝑃𝐸𝑥 Euler’s load at strong axis
• 𝑃𝐸y Euler’s load at weak axis
 EFFECTIVE LENGTH
Both Euler’s and tangent modulus are
based from the following assumptions:

Perfectly straight column

No load eccentricity
Pin-connected at both ends
 EFFECTIVE LENGTH
To account for other end conditions, a
general equation is derived:

Where:
• 𝑃𝐸 elastic flexural buckling
• kL Effective Length
• k Effective Length Factor
• L Length of column
 FYI

EFFECTIVE
LENGTH
FYI
STRENGTH LIMIT STATES
3. LOCAL BUCKLING
Distortion of member’s cross-section
Occurs when member’s compressive
elements of the cross section are so thin
Two types of local buckling
 Flange Local Buckling
 Web Local Buckling
LOCAL BUCKLING
Flange is restrained by the web
at one edge.

Failure is localized at areas of

high stress (maximum moment)
or imperfections.
 LOCAL BUCKLING

Web is restrained by the flanges. Failure is localized at areas of high stress

(maximum moment) or imperfections.
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING CRITERIA

AISC states that Width-to-thickness Ratio, λ
Local Buckling is
applicable only if at
least one member
of the section is
slender.

𝝀 > 𝝀𝒓 then “slender member”,

otherwise, non-slender
FYI
LOCAL BUCKLING PROCEDURE
1. Compute λ for both stiffened and
unstiffened elements and compare with
λr.
2. If the element/s is/are slender (λ> λr),
compute for the corresponding Qs and Qa
factor using provisions in AISC E7.
3. Compute for KL/r and Fe as usual.
 LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Members (𝝀 ≥ 𝝀𝒓)
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Reduction Factor, Q
𝑸𝒔 = 𝟏.𝟎 - no slender unstiffened elements
𝑸𝒂 = 𝟏.𝟎 - no slender stiffened elements
For other conditions, AISC E7.1 for 𝑄𝑠 and
AISC E7.2 for 𝑄𝑎
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Unstiffened Element, Qs
(1) For flanges, angles, and plates projecting from
rolled columns or other compression members,
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Unstiffened Element, Qs
(2) For flanges, angles, and plates projecting from
built-up I-shaped columns or other compression
members.
(3) Single angles
(4) Stems of tees
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Stiffened Element, Qa
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Stiffened Element, Qa
(1) For uniformly compressed slender elements
except flanges of square and rectangular sections
of uniform thickness:
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Stiffened Element, Qa
(2) For flanges of square and rectangular slender-
element sections of uniform thickness:
 FYI

LOCAL BUCKLING
Slender Stiffened Element, Qa
(3) For axially loaded circular sections:
SAMPLE PROBLEM 1
Determine the design strength of 𝑊12𝑥79
column with pinned ends at both directions
and a length of 22 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡. Assume that at least
one member of the section is slender Use
A992 steel (𝐹𝑦 = 50 𝑘𝑠𝑖), E=29000 ksi. Use k
= 1 and Q = QsQa = 1.

𝑊12𝑥79 section:
𝐴 = 23.3 𝑖𝑛2Ix = 662in4
rx = 5.34 𝑖𝑛 Iy = 216in4
 Solution:
•   Case 1: Squash Load
 Solution:
•   Case 2: Global Buckling
We choose the smaller
value between two I’s (Ix
and Iy) given that all
other variables have the
same values and we
want to get the minimum
value for P.
 Solution:
•   Case 3: Local Buckling
Step 1: Solve for kL/r

We choose the smaller

value between two r’s (rx
and ry) given that all
other variables have the
same values and we
want to get the larger
value for kL/r.
 Solution:
•   Case 3: Local Buckling
Step 2: Solve for and compare value with
kL/r
 Solution:
•   Case 3: Local Buckling
Step 3: Solve for
 Solution:
•   Case 3: Local Buckling
Step 4: Solve for

Step 5: Solve for

END