8.

COLUMNS
INTRODUCTION
The selection of structural and machine elements is based on three characteristics: strength, stiffness, and
stability. The procedures of stress (strength) and deformation (stiffness) analysis in a state of stable equilibrium
were seen in the previous chapters. Stability is the ability of a structure to support a given load without
experiencing a sudden change in configuration. It should be noted that not all structural systems are stable. For
example, consider a square-ended metal rod of say 10mm in diameter. If such a rod were 20mm long to act as an
axially compressed member, no question of instability enter, and a considerable force could be applied. On the
other hand, if another rod of the same material were made 1000mm long to act in compression, then at a much
smaller load than the short piece could carry, the long rod would buckle laterally and could collapse. Therefore,
for such members stability considerations are primary.
Buckling can be defined as, large, lateral deflection of a column owing to a small increase in an existing
compressive load. This response leads to instability and collapse of the member. Columns are long, slender
members resisting mainly compression.
To illustrate the phenomenon of buckling in an elementary manner, consider the idealized structure shown in
Fig. 8-1a. Member AB is a rigid bar that is pinned at the base and supported by an elastic spring of spring
constant β at the top.

P P
P
B Unstable
β equilibrium
B
Neutral
L
θ Pcr = βL
equilibrium
Stable
A equilibrium
θ
O
(a) (b) (c)
Fig.8-1 Buckling of rigid bar supported by a spring
The bar supports a centrally applied load P that is perfectly aligned with the axis of the bar, so that initially the
spring has no force on it. Suppose that some external force disturbs the bar so that it rotates slightly through a
small angle θ about support A (Fig. 8-1b). If the force P is small, the bar-spring system is stable and will return
to its initial position when the disturbing force is removed. But if the load is very large, the bar will continue to
rotate and the system will collapse; thus, for a large force, the system is unstable and buckles by undergoing
large rotations of the bar.
When the bar is rotated by an angle θ the force in the spring is
F = βθ L
This force creates a restoring moment of magnitude FL, or βθL2. The tendency of this moment is to return the
bar to its original position. The force P creates a counterclockwise moment about A that tends to overturn the
bar; thus, the overturning moment is PθL. depending on the relative magnitudes of the above moments, we have
the following conditions:
If PθL < βθL2, or P < βL, the system is stable.
If PθL > βθL2, or P > βL, the system is unstable.
The transition from a stable to an unstable system occurs when PθL = βθL2, or P =βL, this value of the
load is called the critical load:
Pcr = βL
As long as P remains less than Pcr, the system returns to its initial position and θ = 0. In other words, the bar is
in equilibrium only when θ = 0. When P is greater than Pcr, the bar is still in equilibrium when θ = 0, but the
equilibrium is unstable and cannot be maintained. The slightest disturbance will cause the bar to collapse. At the
critical load, the restoring and the overturning moments are equal for any small value of θ. Thus, the bar is in
equilibrium for any small angle θ; this condition is referred to as neutral equilibrium.
These equilibrium relationships are shown in the graph of P versus θ (Fig. 8-1c), in which the two heavy lines
represent the equilibrium conditions. Point B, where the equilibrium diagram branches, is called a bifurcation
point. The horizontal line for neutral equilibrium extends to the left and right of the vertical axis because the
angle θ may be clockwise or counterclockwise.

1
AXIALLY LOADED COLUMNS

COLUMNS WITH PINNED ENDS

Consider the column in Fig. 8-2a. The column is loaded by a vertical force P that is applied through the centroid
of the cross section and aligned with the longitudinal axis of the column. The column itself is perfectly straight
and is made of a linearly elastic material that follows Hooke’s law. Therefore this column can be considered as
an ideal column. Assume that any bending takes place in the xy plane as shown in the Fig.8-2b.The behavior of
an ideal column compressed by an axial load P (Fig.8-2) may be summarized as follows:
If P < Pcr, the column is in stable equilibrium in the straight position.
If P = Pcr, the column is in neutral equilibrium in either the straight or a slightly bent position.
If P > Pcr, the column is in unstable equilibrium in the straight position, and hence buckles.
Of course, actual columns do not behave in this idealized manner because imperfections always exist.
Nevertheless, we begin by studying ideal columns because they provide insight into the behavior of real
columns.
x x

P
P

B B
x
P
M
ν
L ν
x

A A y A y
y

(a) Ideal column (b) buckled shape (c) free-body diagram of

part of the column
Fig. 8-2 Column with pinned ends

x x x

π 2 EI
Pcr =
L2
4π 2
EI
C1 P cr = 2
L
L
C1

o o y o y
y
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 8-3 Buckled shapes for an ideal column with pinned ends:(a) initially straight column, (b)
buckled shape for n=1, and (c) buckled shape for n=2

The critical load for an elastic column is also known as the Euler load.

2
COLUMNS WITH OTHER SUPPORT CONDITIONS

The critical loads for columns with various kinds of supports can be determined from the differential equation
for the deflection curve, in a manner similar to that for a pinned-end column.

π 2 EI x 9π 2 EI
P x δ Pcr = δ Pcr =
4L2 4 L2

ν
δ

L/3

O O
y y
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 8-4 ideal column fixed at the base and free at the upper end: (a) initially straight column, (b)
buckled shape for n=1, (c) buckled shape for n=3

Effective Lengths of Columns

The critical loads for columns with various support conditions can be related to the critical load of a
pinned-end column through the concept of an effective length. The effective length Le is the length of
the equivalent pinned-end column, or the distance between points of inflection (the points where the
bending moment changes sign) in the deflection curve.
π 2 EI
Pcr = 2 (8-1)
Le
♦For a column fixed at the base and free at the top, Le=2L and the corresponding critical load is

π 2 EI
From this Pcr = (8-2)
4L2
♦For column with fixed ends Le=L/2 and correspondingly
4π 2 EI
Pcr = (8-3)
L2
♦For column fixed at the base and pinned at the top Le=0.7L and correspondingly

2.06π 2 EI
Pcr = (8-4)
L2
ECCENTRICALLY LOADED COLUMNS

When columns are concentrically loaded the column remains straight until the critical load is reached.
On the other hand, if the load has a small eccentricity e from the axis of the column, the load produces
bending of the column even when the load is small. Therefore, the column deflects from the onset of
loading, and the deflection becomes steadily larger as P increases. In this situation, the allowable load

3
for the column may be determined by the magnitude of the deflection or the bending stress, rather
than the critical load.

Fig. 8-5 Typical example of an Eccentrically Loaded Pin-Supported Column.