COLUMNS AND STRUTS

CONTENTS
1.BASIC DEFINITION
2. EQUILLIBRIAM
3.STRUTS
(A) INTRODUCTION
(B) TYPES AND APPLICATIONS
4.COLUMNS
5.FAILURE OF COLUMN
6.
FAILURE OF SHORT
COLUMN BY CRUSHING
7.FAILURE BY BUCKLING
8.EULER'S COLUMN
(A) ASSUMPTIONS
(B) SIGN CONVENTIONS
(C) VARIOUS END CONDITIONS
9.RANKINE'S FORMULA

10.CONCLUSION
 TERMINOLOGY
STRESS- STRESS IS THE FORCE THAT AN OBJECT PUSHES BACK WITH WHEN IT IS
BEING DEFORMED.

COMPRESSIVE STRESS – IT IS THE STRESS ON MATERIALS THAT LEADS TO

A SMALLER VOLUME. COMPRESSIVE STRESS TO BARS, COLUMNS ETC. LEADS TO
SHORTENING.

TENSILE STRESS- TENSILE STRESS IS THE STRESS STATE LEADING

TO EXPANSION THAT IS, THE LENGTH OF A MATERIAL TENDS TO INCREASE IN THE
TENSILE DIRECTION. 

FAILURE- STRUCTURAL FAILURE REFERS TO LOSS OF THE LOAD-CARRYING

CAPACITY OF A COMPONENT OR MEMBER WITHIN A STRUCTURE OR OF THE
STRUCTURE ITSELF THUS CAUSING FRACTURE OR EXCESSIVE DEFORMATIONS
 EQUILLIBRIUM
1.Stable equilibrium: A stable equilibrium is one in
which a body in static equilibrium on being
displaced slightly, returns to its original position
and continues to remain in equilibrium.

2.Neutral equilibrium: A neutral equilibrium is one in

which a body in equilibrium, on being displaced
does not returns to its original position,
but its motion stops and resumes

its equilibrium state in its new position .

3.Unstable equilibrium: An unstable equilibrium

is one in which a body in equilibrium on being
slightly disturbed, moves away from its
equilibrium position and loses its state of equilibrium.
 STRUTS
A STRUT IS A STRUCTURAL COMPONENT
DESIGNED TO RESIST
LONGITUDINAL COMPRESSION. STRUTS PROVIDE
OUTWARDS-FACING SUPPORT IN THEIR
LENGTHWISE DIRECTION, WHICH CAN BE USED TO
KEEP TWO OTHER COMPONENTS SEPARATE,
PERFORMING THE OPPOSITE FUNCTION OF A TIE .
THEY ARE COMMONLY USED IN
ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING.
A STRUT IS A STRUCTURAL MEMBER WHICH IS
SUBJECTED TO AN AXIAL COMPRESSIVE FORCE. A
STRUT MAY BE HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL OR
INCLINED WITH ANY END FIXITY CONDITION, E.G.,
CONNECTING RODS, PISTON RODS, ETC.
1.IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
  MACPHERSON STRUT-
AS COMPONENTS OF AN AUTOMOBILE CHASSIS, THEY CAN BE PASSIVE BRACES TO
REINFORCE THE CHASSIS AND/OR BODY, OR ACTIVE COMPONENTS OF THE
SUSPENSION. AN AUTOMOTIVE SUSPENSION STRUT COMBINES THE PRIMARY
FUNCTION OF A SHOCK ABSORBER (AS A DAMPER), WITH THE ABILITY TO SUPPORT
SIDEWAYS LOADS NOT ALONG ITS AXIS OF COMPRESSION, SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO
A SLIDING PILLAR SUSPENSION, THUS ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR AN 
UPPER SUSPENSION ARM.
2.IN ARCHITECTURE AND
CONSTRUCTION
STRUT CHANNEL MADE FROM STEEL ALUMINUM OR FIBRE-REINFORCED PLASTIC IS USED
HEAVILY IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY AND IS OFTEN USED IN THE SUPPORT
OF CABLETRAYSAND OTHER FORMS OF CABLE MANAGEMENT, AND PIPES SUPPORT SYSTEMS.
IT IS USED FOR SUPPORTING WIRING, PLUMBING, OR MECHANICAL COMPONENTS SUCH AS
AIR-CONDITIONING OR VENTILATION SYSTEMS. THE MAIN ADVANTAGE OF STRUT CHANNEL
IN CONSTRUCTION IS THAT THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR RAPIDLY AND EASILY
CONNECTING LENGTHS TOGETHER AND OTHER ITEMS TO THE STRUT CHANNEL, USING
VARIOUS SPECIALIZED STRUT-SPECIFIC FASTENERS AND BOLTS
3.IN AIRCRAFT
LIFT STRUTS WERE COMMONLY USED IN EARLY AIRCRAFT TO SUPPORT WINGS,
STABILIZERS, CONTROL FRAMES IN GLIDERS AND HANG GLIDERS, AND IN LANDING GEAR.
SINCE THE 1930S THEY WERE MOSTLY REPLACED WITH CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTIONS, AND
BECAME RARE EXCEPT IN LIGHT AIRCRAFT. THESE STRUCTURAL MEMBERS ARE FREQUENTLY
LOADED IN TENSION, BUT MAY VARY BETWEEN TENSION AND COMPRESSION AS THE
AIRCRAFT MANEUVERS.
STRUTS ARE STILL WIDELY USED TO ATTACH THE LANDING GEAR, PARTICULARLY IN
RETRACTABLE-GEAR AIRCRAFT, AND PROVIDE DAMPING DURING THE TAKEOFF AND
LANDING ROLL; HERE THEY ARE OFTEN CALLED OLEO STRUTS
 Columns or struts
COLUMN OR PILLAR IN ARCHITECTURE AND STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING IS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT THAT TRANSMITS,
THROUGH COMPRESSION THE WEIGHT OF THE STRUCTURE ABOVE
TO OTHER STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS BELOW, IN OTHER WORDS A
COLUMN IS A COMPRESSION MEMBER. THE TERM COLUMN
APPLIES ESPECIALLY TO A LARGE ROUND SUPPORT WITH A CAPITAL
AND BASE AND MADE OF STONE, OR APPEARING TO BE SO.. FOR
THE PURPOSE OF WIND OR EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING, COLUMNS
MAY BE DESIGNED TO RESIST LATERAL FORCES. OTHER
COMPRESSION MEMBERS ARE OFTEN TERMED "COLUMNS"
BECAUSE OF THE SIMILAR STRESS CONDITIONS. COLUMNS ARE
FREQUENTLY USED TO SUPPORT BEAMS OR ARCHES ON WHICH THE
UPPER PARTS OF WALLS OR CEILINGS REST. IN ARCHITECTURE
"COLUMN" REFERS TO SUCH A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT THAT ALSO
HAS CERTAIN PROPORTIONAL AND DECORATIVE FEATURES. A
COLUMN MIGHT ALSO BE A DECORATIVE OR TRIUMPHANT

FEATURE BUT NEED NOT BE SUPPORTING ANY STRUCTURE.

FAILURE OF COLUMN
 The failure of a column takes place due to the anyone of
the following stresses set up in the columns:
 a) Direct compressive stresses.
 b) Buckling stresses.
 c) Combined of direct compressive and buckling
stresses.
 The mode of failure of columns depends
 upon their lengths and depending
 on the mode of failure columns are classified as
a. Short columns
b. Long columns
FAILURE DUE TO DIRECT P
COMPRESSIVE STRESS OR
CRUSHING LOADS
1. SHORT COLUMNS
WHEN A COLUMN IS SUBJECTED TO LOADS AND IS
INCREASED, THE COLUMN WILL REACH A STAGE WHEN IT
WILL BE SUBJECTED TO ULTIMATE CRUSHING STRESS.
BEYOND THIS STAGE, THE COLUMN WILL FAIL BY CRUSHING. P
THE LOAD
CORRESPONDING TO THE CRUSHING STRESS IS CALLED
CRUSHING LOAD.

THE LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY OF A SHORT COLUMN

DEPENDS ONLY ON ITS CROSS SECTIONAL AREA (A) AND THE
CRUSHING STRESS OF THE MATERIAL(ΣCU). THE CRUSHING
LOAD PCU FOR AXIALLY LOADED SHORT COLUMN IS GIVEN
BY
PCU = ΣCU × A .
THE SAFE LOAD ON THE COLUMN IS OBTAINED BY DIVIDING
THE CRUSHING LOAD BY SUITABLE FACTOR OF SAFETY. I.E
PSAFE =PCU/ FS
FAILURE OF A LONG COLUMN
BY BUCKLING
LONG COLUMNS, WHICH ARE ALSO CALLED SLENDER COLUMNS, WHEN
SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSION, DEFLECTS OR BENDS IN A LATERAL
DIRECTION AS SHOWN IN THE FIGURE. THE LATERAL DEFLECTION OF THE
LONG COLUMN IS CALLED BUCKLING. THE LONG COLUMN FAILS WHEN
THERE IS EXCESSIVE BUCKLING .IE WHEN THE LOAD ON THE COLUMN
EXCEEDS CRITICAL LOAD.

CRITICAL LOAD DENOTES THE MAXIMUM LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY OF

THE LONG COLUMN.
THE LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY OF LONG COLUMN DEPENDS UPON
SEVERAL FACTORS LIKE THE LENGTH OF THE COLUMN, M.I OF ITS CROSS–
SECTION, MODULUS OF ELASTICITY OF THE MATERIAL, NATURE OF ITS
SUPPORT, IN ADDITION TO AREA OF CROSS SECTION AND THE CRUSHING
STRENGTH OF THE MATERIAL.
 Euler’s Theory for Columns
HE DID NOT CONSIDERED DIRECT STRESS
ASSUMPTIONS ;-
1.INITIALLY COLUMN IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT AND LOAD IS
AXIAL.
2.CROSS SECTION IS UNIFORM THROUGHOUT.
3.COLUMN IS PERFECTLY ELASTIC, HOMOGENOUS AND
ISOTROPIC.
4.LENGTH IS VERY LONG AS COMPARED TO CROSS SECTION.

5.FAILURE OF COLUMN OCCURS ONLY DUE TO BUCKLING .

 BOTH ENDS HINGED- COLUMN
Consider an axially loaded long column AB of length L. Its both
ends A and B are hinged. Due to axial compressive load P, let the
deflection at distance x from A be y.

The bending moment at the section is given

by d2y B
=-Py P
EI dx
2

-ve sign on right hand side, since as

x increases curvature decreases

d2 y P y L
=0
dx2 + EI
y x

This is the linear differential equation, whose solution is

Y = c1.cos [x√P/(EI)] + c2.sin[x √P/(EI)] …(1) A P

 Where c1 and c2 are the constants of integration. They can be found using the boundary
conditions.
At x =0, y =0,we get c1=0 (from eq.1)
Also at x=L, y =0 we get
c2 .sin [L√P/(EI)] =0
If c2 = 0, then y at any section is zero, which means there is no lateral deflection which
is not true
Therefore sin [L√P/(EI)] =0
sin [L√P/(EI)] =0
=> [L√P/(EI)] = 0, π
Taking least non zero value we get
[L√P/(EI)] = π
Squaring both sides and simplifying
π2 E I
This load is called critical or PE =
buckling load or crippling load L2
S. END RELATION CRIPPLING
NO CONDITION BETWEEN LOAD(P)
EFFECTIVE
AND ACTUAL
LENGTH
1 Both sides Le=L PE= (π 2E I) / Le2
hinged
2 One fixed Le=2L PE= (π 2EI) / 4Le2
and other
free
3 both fixed Le=L/2 PE= 4(π 2 EI) / Le2

4 One fixed Le=L/√2 PE= 2(π 2EI) / Le2

and other
hinged
PE= (Π 2E I) / LE2
WE KNOW THAT BUCKLING OF COLUMN WILL TAKE

PLACE AT AXIS OF LEAST RESISTANCE. THEREFORE

SUBSTITUTING
I=AK2(A=AREA AND K=RADIUS OF GYRATION)
PE= (Π 2E AK2) / LE2
= (Π 2E A)
(LE/K)2
HERE (LE/K)2 IS SLENDERNESS RATIO
BASED ON SLENDERNESS RATIO ,COLUMNS ARE
CLASSIFIED AS SHORT ,LONG AND INTERMEDIATE.
GENERALLY THE SLENDERNESS RATIO OF
SHORT COLUMN IS LESS THAN 32 ,
LONG COLUMN IS GREATER THAN 120,
INTERMEDIATE COLUMNS GREATER THAN 32
AND LESS THAN 120.
 LIMITATIONS OF EULERS THEORY

The validity of Euler’s theory is subjected to condition that

failure is due to buckling. The Euler’s formula for crippling is
Pcr= (π 2 EI) / Le 2
But I =Ak2
∴ Pcr/A= π 2E/(Le/K)2
σcr = π2E/(Le/K)2
Where σcr is crippling stress or critical stress or stress at failure
The term Le/K is called slenderness ratio. As slenderness ratio
increases critical load/stress reduces. The variation of critical stress
with respect to slenderness ratio is shown in figure 1. As Le/K
approaches to zero the critical stress tends to infinity. But this
cannot happen. Before this stage the material will get crushed.
 Hence, the limiting value of crippling stress is the crushing
stress. The corresponding slenderness ratio may be found by the
relation

σcr = σc
∴ σc = π 2E/(Le/K)2

Le/K= √ (π2E / σc)

For steel σc = 320N/mm2

and E =2 x 105 N/mm2
Limiting value (Le/K) is given by

(Le/K)lim =√ (π2E / σc) = √ π2 × 2 × 105/320) = 78.54

Hence if Le /k < (Le /k)lim Euler's formula will not be valid.
 We know that, Euler’s formula for calculating crippling load is valid
only for long columns.
But the real problem arises for intermediate columns which fails
due to the combination of buckling and direct stress.
The Rankine suggested an empirical formula which is valid for all
types of columns. The Rankine’s formula is given by,

1/ PR= 1/ Pc + 1/ PE
PR = crippling load by Rankine’s formula
Pc = crushing load = σc .A
PE = buckling load= PE= (π 2 EI) / Le 2
 For short columns: The effective length will be small and hence
the value of PE =(π 2 EI) / Le2 will be very large.

Hence 1/ PE is very small and can be neglected.

therefore 1/ PR= 1/ Pc or PR =Pc

For long column: we neglect the effect direct compression or
crushing and hence the term 1/ Pc can be neglected.

therefore 1/ PR= 1/ PE or PR =PE

Hence Rankines formula,

1/ PR= 1/ Pc + 1/ PE is satisfactory for all types of

columns
1 1 1
 
PR PC PE
1 PC  PE

PR PC  PE
PC  PE PC
PR  
PC  PE P
1 C
PE
 2 EI
substituting PC   c A and PE 
Le 2
c A c A c A c A
PR    
 A  A  c Le 2  c ( Le / K ) 2
1  2c 1 2 c 1 2 1
 EI  E ( AK 2 )  E K2 2E
Le 2 Le 2
c A
PR 
1  a ( Le / K ) 2

where a  2 c
 E
 PR = σcA / (1+a.λ2 )

where a = Rankine’s constant =σc / π 2EI

and λ = slenderness ratio = Le/ k
Conclusion
Columns and struts:
Structural members subjected to compression and which are
relatively long compared to their lateral dimensions are called
columns or Struts. Generally, the term column is used to denote
vertical members and the term strut denotes inclined members

 Short columns fails by crushing or yielding of the material

under the load .

 Long column fails by buckling at a substantially smaller load

 The buckling load is less than the crushing load for a long
column

 The value of buckling load for long column is low whereas for
short column the value of buckling load is relatively high.