‫ﺑﺴﻢ ﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ‬

REINFORCED CONCRETE - II
(An Elective Course)

LECTURE #5
Introduction to Long Columns

By

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Contents
2

 Slenderness effects and definition of Slender columns

 Buckling of Axially loaded elastic columns
 Slender Columns in Structures
 P-δ Moments and P-Δ Moments
 Material failures and Stability failures
 Slender-Column interaction curves
 Types of Frames
 Design Approach

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Objective of the Present Lecture
3

 To explain slenderness
effects in RC columns
 To give the definition of
slender or long columns
 To explain behavior of
Pin-Ended RC Columns

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Slenderness effects
4

 For an eccentrically loaded, pin ended

column, the moments at the end (and
anywhere along the height) of the column
are: Me = Pe

 When the loads P are applied, the column

deflects laterally by an amount δ. For
equilibrium, the internal moment at mid
height must be Mc = P(e+δ)
 The deflection increases the moments for
which the column must be designed.
 In the symmetrical column, the maximum
moment occurs at mid-height, where the
maximum deflection occurs.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Slenderness effects (Contd.)
5

 The dashed radial line O-A is a plot

of the end moment (P.e) on the
column.
 The curved line OB is the moment
Mc [=P(e+δ)] at midheight of the
column.
 Failure occurs when the line or
curve intersects the interaction
diagram.
 Because of the increase in
maximum moment due to
deflections, the axial load capacity
is reduced from A to B.
 This reduction in axial-load
capacity is referred to as
SLENDERNESS EFFECTS.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Definition of a Slender Column
6

 A slender column is defined as a column that has a

significant reduction in its axial-load capacity due
to moments resulting from lateral deflections of the
column.
 In the derivation of the ACI Code, “a significant
reduction” was arbitrarily taken as anything greater
than about 5%.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Buckling of Axially Loaded Elastic Columns
(Revision from Mechanics of Materials)
7

Three states of Equilibrium

 If the ball is displaced laterally and released, it will return to its original
position. This is STABLE EQUILIBRIUM.

 If the ball is displaced laterally and released, it will roll off the hill. This
is UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM.

 The transition between stable and unstable equilibrium is NEUTRAL

EQUILIBRIUM. Here the ball will remain in the displaced position.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Buckling of Axially Loaded Elastic Columns
(Contd.)
8

 Similar states of equilibrium exist for the axially loaded column.

 If the column returns to its original position when it is pushed
laterally at mid-height and released, it is in stable equilibrium; and
so on.
 Fig. (b) shows a portion of a column that is in a state of neutral
equilibrium.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Euler Buckling Load
9

The differential equation for the column is :

d2y
EI 2   Py
dx

Leonhard Euler derived its solution as

n 2 2 EI
Pc 
l2
EI  flexural rigidity of column cross section
l  length of the column
n  number of half - sine waves in the deformed shape of the column

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Euler Buckling Load (Contd.)
10
The lowest value of Pc will occur with n  1.0.
This gives what is referred to as the Euler Buckling Load :

 2 EI
PE 
l2

If this column was unable to move sideways at midheight, as shown in Fig. (b), it
would buckle with n  2, and the buckling load would be
2 2  2 EI
Pc 
l2
which is four times the critical load of the same column without the midheight brace.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Effective length
11

 Effective length is the distance between points of

zero moment (or points of inflection) in the column.
 The effective length factor is the number that must
be multiplied by the column’s unsupported length to
obtain its effective length.
 Effective length = k × unsupported length
 Smaller the effective length of a particular column ,
the smaller its danger of buckling and the greater its
load carrying capacity

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Effective lengths for columns in braced
frames (sidesway prevented)
12

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Effective lengths for columns in unbraced
frames (sidesway not prevented)
13

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Critical Load in Terms of Effective length
14

 The effective length is the length of a pin-ended column having the

same buckling load.
 Thus the column in Fig. (c) has the same buckling load as that in Fig.
(b). The effective length of the column is l/2 in this case, where l/2 is
the length of each of the half-sine waves in the deflected shape of the
column in Fig. (b).
 The effective length kl, is equal to l/n.
 The effective length factor is k=1/n.
 Pc can be rewritten as

n 2 2 EI  2 EI
Pc  
l 2
kl 2

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Effective lengths of Idealized Columns
15

 The restraints against end

rotation and lateral translation
have a major effect on the
buckling load of axially loaded
columns.
 Frames (a) and (b) are
prevented against deflecting
laterally. They are said to be
braced against sidesway.
 Frames (c) and (d) are free to
sway laterally when they
buckle. They are called
unbraced or sway frames.
The critical loads of the columns are in the ratio 1:4:1:1/4

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Slender Columns in Structures
16

 Pin-ended columns are rare in cast-

in-place concrete construction, but
do occur in precast construction.
 Most building columns fall in the
short-column category. Exceptions
occur in Industrial buildings and in
buildings that have a high first-
floor story for architectural or
functional reasons.
 The left corner column has a height
of 50 times its least thickness. Bank of Brazil Building, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Each floor extends out over the floor below
it.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Material failures and Stability Failures
17
 Load-moment curves are plotted for
columns of three different heights, all
loaded with the same end eccentricity, e.
 The load-moment curve O-A for a
relatively short column is practically the
same as the line M = Pe
 For a column of moderate length, line O-
B, the deflections become significant,
reducing the failure load. This column
fails when the load-moment curve
intersects the interaction diagram at point
B.
 This is called a material failure and is the
type of failure expected in most practical
columns in braced frames.
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017
 Material failures and Stability Failures
(Contd.)
18

 If a very slender column is

loaded with increasing axial load,
P, applied at a constant end
eccentricity, e, it may reach a
deflection δ at which the value of
the M / P approaches infinity or
becomes negative.
 When this occurs, the column
becomes unstable.
 This type of failure is known as a
stability failure and occurs only
with very slender braced columns
or with slender columns in sway
frames.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 P-δ Moments and P-Δ Moments
19

 P-δ Moments
 These result from
deflections δ, of the axis of
the bent column.
 The slenderness effects in
pin-ended columns and in
nonsway frames result
from P-δ effects.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 P-δ Moments and P-Δ Moments (Contd.)
20

 P-Δ Moments
 These result from lateral
deflections, Δ, of the beam-
column joints from the
original undeflected
locations.
 The slenderness effects in
sway frames result from P-Δ
moments.
Column moments in a sway frame

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Slender-Column Interaction Curves
21

 Line O-B1 shows the load-maximum moment curve

for a column with slenderness l/h = 30 and a given
eccentricity, e1.
 This column fails when the load-moment curve
intersects the interaction diagram at point B1. At the
time of failure, the load and moment at the end of
column are given by point A1.
 If this process is repeated a number of times, we get
the slender column interaction curve shown by the
broken line passing through A1 and A2 and so on.
Such curves show the loads and maximum end
moments causing failure of a given slender column.
 A family of slender-column interaction diagrams is
given in figure for columns with the same cross
section but different slenderness ratios

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 First and Second Order Analysis of
Pin-Ended Columns
22

 If the axial load is below the critical load, the

process will converge to a stable position.
 If the axial load is greater than the critical load, it will
not. This is referred to as a second order process,
because it is described by a second-order differential
equation.
 In a second-order analysis, the equations of
equilibrium consider the deformed shape of the
structure.
 In the first-order analysis, the equations of
equilibrium are derived by assuming that the
deflections have a negligible effect on the internal
forces in the members.
 Instability can be investigated only via a second-order
analysis, because it is the loss of equilibrium of the
deformed structure that causes instability.
 However, because many engineering calculations and
computer programs are based in first-order analyses,
methods have been derived to modify the results of a
first-order analysis to approximate the second-order
effects.
d2y
EI 2   Py
dx
CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017
 Types of Frames
23

FRAMES

Non-sway Sway
(No displacement to the left or right)

It is properly restrained Not properly restrained

It is symmetric w.r.t. both It is unsymmetric w.r.t.

loading and geometry. loading and/or geometry.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Non-Sway Frames
24

No Sidesway because frame is properly

restrained/braced

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Sway Frames
25

P  
 
P

Sidesway because loading and/or

geometry are un-symmetric

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Design Approach
26

 If slenderness effects are considered small, then

column can be considered “short” and can be
designed as discussed in the earlier Lectures (on
Design of Short Columns).
 If column is slender, the moment for which column
must be designed is increased or magnified.
 Once the moment is magnified, the column is then
designed according to the earlier Lectures (on
Design of Short Columns) using the increased
moment.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Further Reading
27

Read more about the slender columns from:

1. Reinforced concrete, Mechanics and Design by

James K. Wight and James G. Macgregor, Sixth
Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, USA.
2. Design of Reinforced Concrete by Jack C.
McCormac and Russell H. Brown, Eighth Edition,
John Wiley & Sons.

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017

 Thank You
28

CE 470 (RC - II) : Dr. Nadeem A. Siddiqui May 25, 2017