Compression Member

• A structural member subjected to compressive forces along

its axis is called a compression member .
• Also called as Columns (stanchions in U.K.), Struts, posts ,
principal rafters, booms, & knee braces.

DESIGN OF
COMPRESSION
MEMBERS

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• A structural member subjected to compressive forces and
Bending Moment is called Beam-Column.

EXAMPLES OF STEEL COLUMNS Parameters Affecting the compressive Strength

• Material of the column
• Cross-sectional configuration (dimensions as well as Shape)
• Length of the column
• Support conditions at the ends (called restraint conditions)
• Residual stresses, and
• Imperfections, which include the following:
– The material not being isotropic and homogenous
– Geometric variations in columns
– Eccentricity of load

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Modes of Failure Limiting w/t Ratios to Prevent Local Buckling

• Local buckling:
– Buckling of one or more individual plate elements, e.g.
flange or web, with no overall deflection in the direction
normal to the applied load.
– It may be prevented by selecting suitable width-to-thickness
ratios of component plates.

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RHS : Rolled Hollow Sections

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 Modes of Failure Modes of Failure
• Squashing: • Overall flexural buckling:
– For extremely stocky members, failure is often by – Occurs in long, Slender columns
compression yielding rather than by buckling – Column becomes unstable when its axial compressive
load reaches a load called the "Critical Buckling Load“
• Torsional and flexural-torsional buckling:
– Failure by twisting about the shear center in the longitudinal axis
 Torsional Buckling
– A combination of flexure and twisting  Called flexural-torsional
buckling
– Torsional-Buckling: Possible mode of failure for point
symmetric (doubly symmetric) sections.
– However, Open sections which are doubly symmetric (point
symmetric) NOT subjected to Flexural-Torsional-Buckling
since in these sections shear center and Centroid coincide.
– Less probability of Flexural Torsional buckling of box-sections

Buckling of Pin-ended column Elastic Buckling-Euler-1759

• A Column with the following characteristics is
called Euler Column
• Assumptions in Euler Columns:
– Material – Isotropic and homogenous and
perfectly elastic
– No imperfections (perfectly straight)
– No eccentricity of loading
– No residual stress
– Ends are Hinged
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Elastic Buckling of Euler Column Elastic Buckling of Euler Column

If at any distance x from upper support, lateral displacement
Lowest value of Critical Load
of column (due to buckling) is ‘y’ then moment developed at
this point will be Py then from theory of bending  2 EI
d2y d2y P Pcr 
EI 2  M   Py   y  0 2
dx dx 2 EI Pcr  2 E I
Solution of above equation may be written as f cr  
A 2
   
A
y  C1 Cos x P EI  C2 Sin x P EI  Er
2 2
 2E  2E
Constants C1 and C2 may be determined by using f cr    2
boundary conditions as
2 ( / r ) 2 
Where, = slenderness ratio = (l/r);
At Lower support, x  0 and y  0  C1  0
At upper support, x  L and y  0  C2 Sin L P EI  0   l = Effective Length of member

Since, C2 can’t be zero, hence Sin L P EI  0   If, Length (Height of column) = L

Hence
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 
25 , L P EI  0,  , 2 , 3 ......
 2 EI
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Effective Length
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may be expressed as l = kL
Taking min imum value, L P EI    P  2 Value of k depends on support conditions
L

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Effective Length of Compression Members Effective Length As Per IS 800:2007

K =251.0 K = 0.5 K = 0.7 K < 1.0

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Limiting Slenderness Ratio Strength Curve of Ideal Column

For limiting slenderness ratio: critical stress, fcr = fy

2 E
f cr   fy
2p
E
 p   88.85 for f y  250 MPa
fy

Behavior of Short compression members:

• failure stress equals yield stress
• No buckling will occur if
• L ≤ 88.85r, for fy = 250 MPa)
• Squash load, Py = fy. A

Behavior of Long compression members: Behavior of Column with Intermediate length :

– Strength is predicted by Euler formula; – At failure some, some fibers yield and some still
– axial buckling stress remains below proportional limit elastic
– Colum will buckle elastically – Failure by both yielding and buckling
– Behavior is "inelastic”.
– Buckling load is predicted by
• "Reduced Modulus Concept" or by
• "Tangent Modulus concept" to account for residual
stresses

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Strength of Actual Columns Behavior of Actual columns vs predicted using
Euler’s approach:
• Behavior of Actual columns differs from the behavior
predicted using Euler’s approach
• Since, test results includes the effects of
– Initial crookedness of the member i.e. Effect of initial out of
straightness
– Eccentricity of applied load
– Residual stress
– Strain hardening and the absence of well-defined yield
point

However, error in results are not significantly large

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Strength Curve as in AISC Factors Affecting Strength of Real Columns

• Effect of initial out of straightness

• Effect of eccentricity of applied load
• Effect of residual stress
• Effect of a strain hardening and the absence of
well-defined yield point
• Effect of all the above taken together

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Residual Stresses in Rolled Steel Sections:

Residual stress: Stresses present in structure before the • The Magnitude of residual
application of Load. stresses varies between 70
• Residual stresses may develop due to several reasons: to 100 Mpa
• stresses due to fabrication (because of lack of fit) • As the load on column is
• structure subjected to excessive loads in past resulting in increased, some portion of
plastic (permanent) strain column reaches to yield
• However, in the rolled steel sections, residual stresses are stress and reach in plastic
mainly developed due to un-even cooling of molten metal range due to residual
during manufacturing process of steel sections stresses
• Flange tips of an I-section and the middle portion of web • Thus the strength of column
tends to cool faster than the other portions section depends on residual
• Quicker cooling parts of the section, when solidified, stress
resist further shortening • In design of columns, the
• The subsequent cooling of inner portion of flange and effect of residual stress is
the portion of web near the flanges, tends to shorten but included by using the
the already harden portions restrict it. effective moment of inertia
• As a result, tensile stresses are developed in the part of (Ie) based on elastic portion
section which cools later, while compressive stresses in
the portions which cool early and becomes harden early. Residual and Applied Stresses

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Influence of Residual Stresses on yielding of section Effect of Height (h) to width (b) ratio on Residual stresses
• Due to residual stresses: • For (h/b) > 1.2
• Yielding initiates from the locations where residual stresses
• Assumed Ratio of Maximum Residual Stress and Yield
are high stress = 0.3
• Subsequently, whole section reaches to yield stress
• For (h/b) < 1.2
• Ratio of Maximum Residual Stress and Yield stress = 0.5

(Residual Stress/Yield Stress) (Residual Stress/Yield Stress)

for (h/b)>1.2 for (h/b)<1.2

Shapes used for Compression Members Multiple Column Curves

• Common hot rolled and built-up steel members used for
carrying axial compression, usually fail by flexural buckling
• Buckling strength of these members is affected by
– Residual stresses,
– Initial bow, and
– Accidental eccentricities of load
• To predict the strength of real columns, the European
Convention for Constructional Steel work (ECCS) conducted
a large series of experiments on columns.
• Based on these results, five different curves were developed
in the late 1970’s, depending on different cross-sectional
shape of columns (same adopted in IS code)
– Class a,
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– Class c,
– Class d

As per IS800:2007 Determination of Effective Slenderness Ratio ()

Members subjected to axial compression are classified in four According to Euler' s theorem, the slendeness ratio resulting in buckling
different buckling classes as of member (i.e. stress reaches to critical stress f cr ), may be determined as
(i) Class a, (ii) class b, (iii) class c, (iv) class d 2 E 2 E  2E
f cc  f cr    cr 
As per IS 800 (2007), design compressive stress fcd for KL r 2 cr 2 f cr
different buckling class is determined as If the slenderness ratio corresponding to yield stress (f y ) is y then,
f y  m0 fy fy
f cd   
   2  2 
2 E 2 E  2E
0.5
 m0  m0 f cc  f y    y 
1 KL r 2  y 2 fy
where,  (Chi )  Stress Re duction factor, 

  2 2 
0 .5 Slenderness ratio in non  dimensional form  ,

Where,   0.5 1     0.2   2    cr
    E f  f y KL r 
2
    2 E f cr 2
f y f cr 
 = Dimensionless Effective Slenderness ratio y
y
2 E
m0 = partial safety factor for material = 1.10
KL/r = effective slenderness ratio
and,  = imperfection factor, depends on curves = ratio of effective length, KL to appropriate radius of gyration, r
Buckling Class a b c d K depends on support conditions ( as given in Table 11 of IS800:2007)
 0.21 0.34 0.49 0.76

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Determination of Compressive strength using curves:
Alternatively, for a steel having yield strength fy, the design
compressive strength may be determined using following curves:

Tables for Stress

Reduction Factor
(As Given in Code)

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Tables for Design
Compressive
(As Given in Code)

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Design Strength Calculate required tentative area of cross - section as
Pd  Ae f cd Pu
where, Ae = effective sectional area; and Ag 
Design Compressive Sress based on
fcd = design stress in compression
fcd will be read from curves, Assumed Slenderness ratio
• For yield stress 250 MPa  curves are given • Select a section corresponding to required area, such that
• For higher strength steels  Tables are given • rmin is as large as possible
Assumptions in Design of Axially Loaded Columns • Calculate effective length of column and then calculate
• Column is straight and have no crookedness slenderness ratio
• Modulus of elasticity of the built-up section is constant • Calculate new design stress based on newly calculated
• Secondary stress ( may be up to 25- 40%) are neglected slenderness ratio
Design Steps : A trial and error approach • Calculate area based on this newly calculated stress
• Assume Slenderness ratio, • If the area of section calculated above is Less than assumed
• if ht. of column between 3 – 5 m earlier, section assumed is safe.
• Assume Slenderness ration = 40 – 60 • If the area of section calculated above is More than assumed
• if ht. of column ht. > 5 m, earlier, revise the design assuming section with higher area
• assume Slenderness ratio > 60 of cross-section.
• Calculate design stress based on slenderness ratio