Buckling of Variable Section Columns under Axial Loading

S. M. Darbandi1; R. D. Firouz-Abadi2; and H. Haddadpour3

Abstract: In this paper, the static stability of the variable cross section columns, subjected to distributed axial force, is considered. The
presented solution is based on the singular perturbation method of Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin and the column is modeled using Euler-
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Bernoulli beam theory. Closed-form solutions are obtained for calculation of buckling loads and the corresponding mode shapes. The
obtained results are compared with the results in the literature to verify the present approach. Using numerous examples, it is shown that
the represented solution has a very good convergence and accuracy for determination of the instability condition.
DOI: 10.1061/共ASCE兲EM.1943-7889.0000096
CE Database subject headings: Columns; Buckling; Axial loads; Closed form solutions.
Author keywords: Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin method; Columns; Buckling; Axial loading.

Introduction 共1966兲 obtained analytic solution for critical buckling load of a

Slender structural components like beams and columns are basic
structures that are widely used in engineering applications. Non-
uniform columns with cross section or material properties varying
along their length are of practical importance in structural appli-
cations to reduce weight and increase strength which leads to an
optimized design. Since a small variation in column cross section
and moment of inertia possibly yields to considerable changes in
static critical loads, having a good vision of the physics of such
problems is absolutely in demand. Closed-form solutions for non-
uniform beams with some special cross sections are available, but
in general obtaining the exact analytical solution for governing
differential equation of a beam with general variable cross section
involves many complexities. In practice the numerical methods
such as finite-element, finite-difference, and boundary-element
methods are easily used for obtaining the critical instability loads,
however closed-form solutions have some special benefits rather
than such numerical techniques. For instance, in the case of de-
sign problems as well as inverse problems, a closed-form solution
is absolutely easier to use than a numerical method to find the
design variables which satisfy a prescribed instability condition.
The static stability of nonuniform columns subjected to a dis-
tributed axial load has been studied extensively by many re-
searchers. When the column has a variable cross section or axial
compression, the governing differential equation is no longer an
equation with constant coefficients 共Timoshenko and Gere 1961兲.
Therefore an analytic solution is difficult to find. Frisch-Fay
1 changes of cross section.
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif Univ. of
Technology, Azadai Ave., Tehran, Iran 11155-8639.
2
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering, Sharif Univ. of
Technology, Azadai Ave., Tehran, P. O. Box 1115-8639, Iran 11155-8639.
E-mail: firouzabadi@sharif.edu
3
Associate Professor, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering, Sharif Univ. of
Technology, Azadai Ave., Tehran, P. O. Box 1115-8639, Iran 11155-8639
共corresponding author兲. E-mail: haddadpour@sharif.edu
Note. This manuscript was submitted on October 7, 2008; approved
on September 26, 2009; published online on September 30, 2009. Dis-
cussion period open until September 1, 2010; separate discussions must
be submitted for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of
Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 136, No. 4, April 1, 2010. ©ASCE, ISSN
0733-9399/2010/4-472–476/$25.00.
uniform strut with a uniformly distributed load in different bound-
ary conditions. O’Rourke and Zebrowski 共1977兲 determined an
approximate buckling load for a nonuniform column based on a
finite-difference method. Iremonger 共1980兲 used a finite-
difference method to determine the buckling loads for tapered and
stepped column. Smith 共1988兲 used the energy method to develop
an analytic solution for determination of critical buckling load of
a tapered column. Eisenberger and Reich 共1989兲 obtained the
buckling loads of a nonuniform column and Eisenberger 共1991兲
used a power series solution for calculation of the stability con-
ditions of tapered columns. Based on the slope-deflection method,
Ermopoulos 共1997兲 established the equivalent buckling length of
a nonuniform beam. Elishakoff 共1999兲 developed closed-form so-
lutions for buckling loads of some nonuniform beams with special
stiffness distributions. Elfelsoufi and Azrar 共2005兲 investigated
the buckling of variable section beams resting on an elastic foun-
dation using an integral equation formulation. Lee et al. 共2006兲
obtained the buckling loads of columns with parabolic and sinu-
soidal tapers and constant volume. Rahai and Kazemi 共2008兲 used
the energy method based on modified vibration modes for the
buckling analysis of tapered column members. Totry et al. 共2007兲
employed a perturbation method to find the buckling load of a
heterogeneous column. Karabalis and Beskos 共1983兲 developed a
finite-element method based on an exact flexural and axial stiff-
ness matrix for the static, dynamic, and stability analyses of
beams with constant width and variable height. Based on the
method of assumed modes, Au et al. 共1999兲 analyzed vibration
and stability of axially loaded nonuniform beams with abrupt
This paper deals with the buckling problem of variable section
Euler-Bernoulli beam and represents the application of Wentzel-
Kramers-Brillouin 共WKB兲 method in this issue. It is used to de-
rive a closed-form solution to the static instability problem of
columns. Finally using some examples the introduced solution is
examined for accuracy and convergence.
Governing Equations
Consider a nonuniform beam of length L with elastic boundary
conditions and subjected to axial compression P共x兲, as shown in

472 / JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS © ASCE / APRIL 2010

J. Eng. Mech. 2010.136:472-476.

 w
x

f (x )
␧2
d2
dx
冉 冊 冉 冊
2 ␣
2
2d w
dx2
+
d
dx
␤2
dw
dx
=0 共9兲

KR 1 KR 2 Since the critical value of ␭ in most practical cases is greater than

one, the parameter ␧ has a small value and thus Eq. 共9兲, whose
highest derivative is multiplied by the small parameter ␧, can be
P (x ) treated as a singular perturbation boundary value problem. Sub-
KT 1 KT 2 sequently the WKB method can be used as a suitable candidate to
obtain an asymptotic solution to Eq. 共9兲. Based on the WKB
theory the solution of this problem is an asymptotic sequence and
L we seek a solution in the form

冋兺 册
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Fig. 1. Geometry of a nonuniform Euler-Bernoulli beam with elastic n

1
boundary conditions subjected to transverse and axial loads w共x兲 ⬃ exp Sk共x兲␦k , ␦→0 共10兲
␦ k=0

Fig. 1. The governing equation of the transverse deflection of the which converges if
Euler-Bernoulli beam is written as follows: ␦ → 0 ⇒ ␦Sk+1共x兲 Ⰶ Sk共x兲, ␦kSk+1共x兲 Ⰶ 1 共11兲
d2

dx
冋
2 EI共x兲
dw
dx 2 +
d
dx
2
册 冋
P共x兲
dw
dx
= f共x兲 册 共1兲 Next we substitute Eq. 共10兲 into Eq. 共9兲 and divide off the expo-
nential factors. By choosing ␦ proportional to ␧ 共for simplicity we
select ␦ = ␧兲 and truncating the series and dominate balancing the
where w共x兲 = flexural deflection; f共x兲 = distributed load on the
terms of the same order of ␧, one obtains a set of ordinary differ-
beam; E = Young’s modulus of elasticity; and I共x兲 = area moment
ential equations as the following:
of inertia. It is assumed that the x axis coincides with the neutral
axis of the beam. ␧−2:S⬘0 = 0 共12兲
The boundary conditions are obtained by balancing the forces
and moments at both ends of the beam. The associated boundary ␤⬘
conditions corresponding to Eq. 共1兲 are in the following general ␧0:S1⬙ = − S1⬘2 − 2 S⬘ 共13兲
form at x = 0: ␤ 1

K T1w +
d
dx
冋 d 2w
EI共x兲 2 + P
dx
dw
dx
=0册 共2兲 ␧1:S⬙2 = − 2S⬘1S⬘2 − 2
␤⬘
␤ 2
S⬘ 共14兲

dw d 2w ␧2:S3⬙ = . . . 共15兲
K R1 − EI共x兲 2 = 0 共3兲
dx dx
and either
and
␤2
K T2w −
d
dx
冋
d 2w
EI共x兲 2 − P
dx
dw
dx
=0 册 共4兲
␧−2:S⬘02 = −
␣2
共16兲

␣⬘ 3␤⬘
dw d 2w ␧−1:S1⬘ = − 共17兲
K R2 + EI共x兲 2 = 0 共5兲 2␣ 2␤
dx dx
for x = L. It should be noted that for the case of free, pinned, or
clamped ends, stiffness of the support springs must be set to zero
1
冉 ␤ ⬘ ␣ ⬘2
␧0:S⬘2 = i − 18␣⬘ 2 −
8 ␤ ␣␤
␤ ⬘2 ␤⬙
+ 27␣ 3 − 14␣ 2 + 2
␤ ␤
␣⬙
␤
冊
or infinity, correspondingly. 共18兲

␧1:S3⬘ = ¯ 共19兲
Solution Method
Eqs. 共12兲–共15兲 are a system of coupled second-order nonlinear
Introducing the following definitions: differential equations and their solutions are
␣共x兲 = 冑EI共x兲, ␤共x兲 = 冑P共x兲
into Eq. 共1兲, the homogeneous part of governing differential equa-
共6兲
S0 = 1, 冉 冕 冊
S1 = ln c1 + c2
1
␤2
dx , S2 = 1, . . . , Sn = 1

tion can be written as follows: 共20兲

d
dx2
2
dw
冉 冊 冉 冊
␣2 2 + ␭
dx
d
dx
2
␤2
dw
dx
=0 共7兲
Subsequently the solution of Eqs. 共16兲–共19兲 can be found simply
as
where ␭ = axial load multiplier which determines the critical buck- S0 = ⫾ i␾0, S 1 = ␾ 1, S2 = ⫾ i␾2, S 3 = ␾ 3, . . . 共21兲
ling load. To solve Eq. 共7兲 we take the parameter ␭ as follows:
where
␧2 = ␭−1 共8兲
and hence, Eq. 共7兲 is rewritten as ␾0 = 冕 ␤
␣
dx 共22兲

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J. Eng. Mech. 2010.136:472-476.

 1 ␣ Table 1. Critical Load 共⑄兲 for Linearly Varying Moment of Inertia
␾1 = ln 3 共23兲
2 ␤ Boundary conditions First order Second order 共Eisenberger 1991兲
Clamped free 3.08 3.13 3.12

␾2 =
1
8
冕冉 ␣ ⬘␤ ⬘ ␣ ⬘2
− 18 2 −
␤ ␣␤
␣␤⬘2
␤
␣␤⬙
+ 27 3 − 14 2 + 2
␤
␣⬙
␤
dx 冊 Free clamped
Hinged hinged
Clamped hinged
4.25
14.38
29.32
4.13
14.5
29.45
4.12
14.51
29.45
共24兲 Hinged clamped 29.35 29.47 29.48

冉 冊
Clamped clamped 57.26 57.39 57.39
1 ␣ ␣ ⬘␤ ⬘ ␣ ⬘2 ␣␤⬘2 ␣␤⬙ ␣⬙
␾3 = 50 2 + − 75 3 + 30 2 − 2 共25兲
16 ␤ ␤ ␣␤ ␤ ␤ ␤
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x
␾4 = . . . 共26兲 I = I0共1 + ␰兲, ␰= 共32兲
L
Combining Eqs. 共20兲 and 共21兲 gives a pair of approximate solu- The column is loaded by a concentrated tip load P. The critical
tions to Eq. 共9兲 and the general solution is a linear combination of buckling load is obtained by using the first- and second-order
these two approximate solutions which can be expressed as WKB theory in the various boundary conditions. The obtained

冕
results are compared by the same results of Eisenberger 共1991兲 in
1 Table 1. The dimensionless load parameter ⑄ also is defined as
w共x兲 = c1 + c2 dx + eA关c3 sin共B兲 + c4 cos共B兲兴 共27兲
␤2
where PL2
⑄= 共33兲
EI0
n
where I0 = moment of inertia at the column root 共x = 0兲. Table 1
A= 兺
k=0
␧2k␾2k+1 共28兲
provides some data on the accuracy and convergence of the
present solution compared with those obtained by power series
n
solution given in Eisenberger 共1991兲. It can be seen that by in-
B= 兺
k=0
␧2k−1␾2k 共29兲
creasing the order of solution, the accuracy of the obtained results
are improved and the error will be less than 1% using only first-
order approximation.
and cis = unknown constants and can be determined using the
boundary conditions. Introducing Eq. 共27兲 into the boundary con-
dition equations, results in a system of homogeneous algebraic Example 2
equations, which can be written in the matrix form as As the second example, we consider a nonuniform column sub-
jected to constant axial load which its moment of inertia is ex-
Qc = 0, c = 关c1 c2 c3 c4兴T 共30兲 pressed by
To find the nontrivial solutions, the coefficient matrix Q must be
singular, i.e., the determinant of this matrix must vanish. Thus the I = I0共1 + ␰兲2 共34兲
characteristic equation can be written in the following form: In this case, the introduced solution is examined for determination
of critical load for several situations of boundary conditions. The
f共␭兲 = 兩Q兩 = 0 共31兲 results are compared with those of Eisenberger 共1991兲 in Table 2.
Eq. 共31兲 includes highly transcendental terms of the unknown The very good agreement that is achieved in this example vali-
parameter ␭. The zero roots of this expression which are called dates the present approach for the buckling analysis of nonuni-
the instability eigenvalues can be simply calculated using com- form columns. It is very interesting that when the second-order
mon numerical techniques. To find the corresponding eigenvec- WKB approximation is used the buckling load is obtained within
tors we choose c1 equal to 1.0, and then seek the other elements nearly zero percentage of error.
of c using Eq. 共30兲. In this particular example the buckling loads for the fixed
hinged and hinged fixed are the same. This happened because of
the particular variation in cross section properties and for other
Numerical Examples cross sections, this no longer holds.

This section is devoted to examine the proposed asymptotic solu-

tion for static instability analysis of some example columns.
Table 2. Critical Load 共⑄兲 for Parabolic Varying Moment of Inertia
These examples involve some isotropic variable section columns
with various boundary conditions that are under a concentrated Boundary conditions First order Second order 共Eisenberger 1991兲
compressive tip force. Clamped free 3.89 3.84 3.84
Free clamped 6.82 6.73 6.73
Example 1 Hinged hinged 20.54 20.79 20.79
Clamped hinged 41.86 42.11 42.11
Consider a column with rectangular cross section with a linear
Hinged clamped 41.86 42.11 42.11
tapered width and constant height. Thus, the moment of inertia of
Clamped clamped 81.67 81.92 81.92
the column cross section can be expressed as follows:

474 / JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS © ASCE / APRIL 2010

J. Eng. Mech. 2010.136:472-476.

 Pcr Pcr Pcr 10

A A h
6
b
cr
Section A-A

4
(a) (b) (c)
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Fig. 2. Geometry and boundary condition of axially loaded column: 2

共a兲 hinged hinged; 共b兲 clamped hinged; and 共c兲 clamped free

0
Example 3 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1


Fig. 2 shows a tapered column in three different boundary condi-
tions. The cross section of the column is rectangular, in which its Fig. 3. Critical buckling load of simply supported column versus
height decreases linearly while its width is constant. The moment taper ratio
of inertia of the column can be expressed as
I = I0共1 − ␩␰兲3 共35兲
where ␩ denotes the taper ratio of the column. For the case of the decreasing behavior of the critical load as the taper ratio in-
␩ = 0 the first-order WKB approximation coincides with the exact creases. Furthermore, Fig. 4 depicts the first three buckling mode
solution. Tables 3–5 illustrate the critical load factor of the col- shapes of the considered column with clamped-free boundary
umn in three different conditions. These tables represent a com- condition. The obtained modes using the asymptotic solution are
prehensive comparison between the present solution and the in good coincidence between the results of the finite-element
results of finite-element analysis for various values of taper ratio. analysis which qualifies the present approach adequately.
The convergence of WKB asymptotic solution is more apparent
in this case and it is understood from the results that as the taper
ratio gradually increases the accuracy of the results decreases. Example 4
The variation of the critical load with the taper ratio for simply Due to its applied significance the stability problem of structural
supported boundary condition is plotted in Fig. 3 which illustrates elements under distributed axial loads is considered in this ex-
ample. This problem has an extensive application in engineering
structures. For instance a uniform column under its own weight
Table 3. Critical Load 共⑄兲 for a Hinged-Hinged Tapered Column has a uniformly distributed axial load. Let us consider a uniform
Taper ratio First order Second order Third order FEM cantilever column under a combined load consisting of a uni-
formly distributed axial load q and concentrated load p at the free
0 9.87 —– —– 9.87
end. Thus the axial compression along the column is given by
0.2 7.08 7.09 7.09 7.09
0.4 4.66 4.68 4.69 4.69
0.6 2.63 2.67 2.67 2.68
0.8 1.03 1.06 1.09 1.09
1.8
Table 4. Critical Load 共⑄兲 for a Clamped-Hinged Tapered Column
1.6 1st WKB Mode
Taper ratio First order Second order Third order FEM 2nd WKB Mode
1.4 3rd WKB Mode
0 20.19 —– —– 20.19 1st FEM Mode
2nd FEM Mode
0.2 14.49 14.49 14.49 14.5 1.2 3rd FEM Mode
0.4 9.52 9.54 9.54 9.55 w 1
0.6 5.35 5.39 5.39 5.40
0.8 2.07 2.12 2.12 2.13 0.8
0.8 1.03 1.06 1.09 1.09
0.6

Table 5. Critical Load 共⑄兲 for a Clamped-Free Tapered Column 0.4

Taper ratio First order Second order Third order FEM 0.2
0 2.47 —– —– 2.47
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0.2 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02

0.4 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57
0.6 1.09 1.11 1.10 1.10 Fig. 4. First three buckling mode shapes of clamped-free tapered
0.8 0.58 0.61 0.61 0.60 column, ␩ = 0.8

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J. Eng. Mech. 2010.136:472-476.

 Table 6. Critical Values of ⑄ p for a Cantilever Column with Uniformly Distributed Axial Load ⑄q
⑄q 0 0.25
⑄ p 共second order兲 2.47 2.28
⑄ p 共Timoshenko and Gere 1961兲 2.47 2.28
P共x兲 = p + qL共1 − ␰兲 共36兲
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For this case an analytical solution is available by using Bessel
functions presented by Timoshenko and Gere 共1961兲. Using the
notation
pL2 ␲2EI
⑄p = , ⑄q = qL/ 共37兲
EI 4L2
the critical values of load p are calculated using a second-order
WKB approximation for various values of the uniformly distrib-
uted load q. The obtained results are given in Table 6 together
with the analytical results of Timoshenko and Gere 共1961兲 in
comparison. It is interesting to note the distributed axial load can
decrease the critical value of the tip load. It can be found from
Table 6 that the present results are in reasonable good agreement
with those of Timoshenko and Gere 共1961兲.
Conclusions
The application of WKB theory for static instability prediction of
nonuniform columns is discussed. Based on this perturbation
technique an asymptotic solution is derived for flexural buckling
problem of nonuniform columns and then used to examine some
examples. There is very good agreement between the results of
the introduced approach and the literature which adequately vali-
dates the present asymptotic solution. The case studies show the
satisfactory convergence of the solution with few series terms as
well as its accuracy. As another distinguished outline, it is under-
stood that for the columns having smooth variation of the area
moment along the length, the WKB expansion series converges
faster and more accurate than for the columns with rapid changes
of area moment.
476 / JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS © ASCE / APRIL 2010
J. Eng. Mech. 2010.136:472-476.
0.5 0.75 1 2
2.09 1.91 1.72 0.95
2.08 1.91 1.72 0.96
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