CE 513

STRUCTURAL
STEEL DESIGN

Amie Lou G. Cisneros, CE

Instructor
College of Engineering and Technology
Digos City
COMPRESSION
MEMBERS
• COMPRESSION MEMBERS
• structural elements that
are subjected only to axial
compressive forces; that is
the loads are applied
along a longitudinal axis
through the centroid of the
member cross section
• TYPES OF COMPRESSION MEMBERS
• Columns
• straight vertical members whose lengths
are considerably greater than their
thickness
• Struts
• Short vertical members subjected to
compressive loads
• Top chords of trusses
• Bracing members
• Compression flanges of rolled beams
Compression Members
1. FLEXURAL BUCKLING (EULER BUCKLING)
• The primary type of buckling
• Members are subject to flexure or bending, when
they become unstable
2. LOCAL BUCKLING
• Occurs when some part or parts of the cross
section of a column are so thin that they buckle
locally in compression before the other modes of
buckling can occur.
• The susceptibility of a column to local buckling is
measured by the width – thickness ratio of the
parts of its cross – section.

3 GENERAL MODES BY WHICH AXIALLY

LOADED COLUMNS FAIL
3. FLEXURAL TORSIONAL BUCKLING
• May occur in columns that have certain cross –
sectional configurations
• These columns fail by twisting (torsion) or by a
combination of torsional and flexural buckling

3 GENERAL MODES BY WHICH AXIALLY

LOADED COLUMNS FAIL
EULER’S COLUMN
BUCKLING THEORY
CE 513 – STEEL DESIGN

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• Column design and analysis was based on
the Euler buckling load theory.
• His analysis is based on the differential
equations of the elastic curve.

• Theory:

“When a column is loaded with the buckling

load or Euler load, a column will fail by
sudden buckling or bending.”

Euler’s Column Buckling Theory

• If the column is hinged at both ends, the
Euler critical load is given as:
𝝅𝟐 𝑬𝑰
𝑷𝒆 = 𝟐
𝑳
• And the Euler critical stress is:
𝑷𝒆
𝑭𝒆 =
𝑨
𝝅𝟐 𝑬𝑰
𝑳 𝟐
𝑭𝒆 =
𝑨
𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑳 𝟐
𝑭𝒆 =
𝑰
𝑨
• And the Euler critical stress is:
𝑰
=𝒓
𝑨
𝟐
𝑰
𝒓 =
𝑨
• Thus,
𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑭𝒆 =
𝑳/𝒓 𝟐
𝑳
= slenderness ratio
𝒓
EFFECTIVE LENGTH
CE 513 – STEEL DESIGN

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• The restraints placed on a column’s ends
greatly affects its stability. To counter these
effects, an effective length factor, K, is used
to modify the unbraced length. This length
approximates the length over which the
column actually buckles and this may be
shorter than the actual unbraced length.
• Thus,
𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑭𝒆 =
𝑲𝑳/𝒓 𝟐

Effective Length
SLENDERNESS RATIO
CE 513 – STEEL DESIGN

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• Steel columns are usually subdivided into
two groups: long and intermediate columns
depending on their slenderness ratio.
• The values of slenderness ratio are:
𝑲𝒙 𝑳 𝒙
𝑺𝑹𝒙 =
𝒓𝒙
𝑲𝒚 𝑳 𝒚
𝑺𝑹𝒚 =
𝒓𝒚

Slenderness Ratio
• The critical slenderness ratio 𝑪𝒄 corresponds
to the upper limit of elastic buckling failure,
which is defined by an average column
stress equal to 0.50𝑭𝒚 , thus:

𝟐𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑪𝒄 =
𝑭𝒚

Slenderness Ratio
Minor and Major Axis Buckling
• LIMITING SLENDERNESS RATIO
• Acc. Section 502.8 (NSCP), the limiting
slenderness ratio 𝑲𝑳/𝒓 for members whose
design is based on compressive force
preferable shall not exceed 200. For
members whose design is based on tensile
force, the limiting slenderness ratio 𝑳/𝒓
preferable should not exceed 300.

Slenderness Ratio
• NSCP ALLOWABLE COMPRESSIVE STRESS
• The allowable column stress varies with the
slenderness ratio.
• Inelastic buckling occurs when 𝑺𝑹 ≤ 𝑪𝒄 and
elastic buckling occurs when 𝑺𝑹 > 𝑪𝒄 .
𝒌𝑳
• For intermediate columns, 𝒓
≤ 𝑪𝒄

𝒌𝑳 𝟐
𝒓 𝑭𝒚
𝑭𝒂 = 𝟏 −
𝟐𝑪𝒄 𝟐 𝑭𝑺

Slenderness Ratio
 𝟑
𝒌𝑳 𝒌𝑳
𝟓 𝟑 𝒓 𝒓
𝑭𝑺 = + − 𝟑
𝟑 𝟖𝑪𝒄 𝟖𝑪𝒄

• For long columns, where 𝒌𝑳𝒓 > 𝑪𝒄

𝟏𝟐𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑭𝒂 =
𝒌𝑳 𝟐
𝟐𝟑
𝒓
• Where
𝒌𝑳 𝑲𝒙 𝑳 𝒙 𝑲𝒚 𝑳 𝒚
is the larger value of and
𝒓 𝒓𝒙 𝒓𝒚

Slenderness Ratio
LOCAL BUCKLING
CE 513 – STEEL DESIGN

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• LOCAL BUCKLING
• Local buckling of a plate element in a rolled
shape or built – up compression member
may occur before Euler buckling.
• The ability of plate sections to carry
compressive loads without buckling is
determined by the width – thickness ratio,
𝒃/𝒕.

Slenderness Ratio
• Compression members are divided into
stiffened and unstiffened elements.
• STIFFENED ELEMENTS
• Are supported along two parallel edges
• UNSTIFFENED ELEMENTS
• Supported along one edge only

• To prevent local buckling, the following

equation must be met if the plates are to be
fully effective.
𝒃 𝑯
≤
𝒕 𝑭𝒚

Slenderness Ratio
• For circular tubular sections whose ratios of
outside diameter to wall thickness to be fully
effective, the following equation must be met.

𝑫 𝟐𝟐, 𝟕𝟓𝟎
≤
𝒕 𝑭𝒚

Slenderness Ratio
Slenderness Ratio
UNSTIFFENED
COMPRESSION MEMBERS
CE 513 – STEEL DESIGN

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• The allowable stress of unstiffened compression
elements whose width – thickness ratio exceeds
the applicable non – compact limit given shall
be subject to a reduction factor 𝑸𝒔 .
• For single angles,
𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝒃 𝟒𝟎𝟕
• When ≤ ≤
𝑭𝒚 𝒕 𝑭𝒚
𝒃
𝑸𝒔 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟒𝟎 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟕𝟎𝟐 𝑭𝒚
𝒕
𝒃 𝟒𝟎𝟕
• When 𝒕 > 𝑭𝒚
𝟏𝟎𝟔, 𝟖𝟕𝟎
𝑸𝒔 = 𝟐
𝒃
𝑭𝒚
𝒕
• For angles projecting from
and plates
columns or other compression members,
and for projecting elements of compression
flanges of beams and girders:
𝟐𝟒𝟗 𝒃 𝟓𝟏𝟐
• When 𝑭𝒚
≤𝒕≤ 𝑭𝒚
𝒌𝒄 𝒌𝒄

𝒃 𝑭𝒚
𝑸𝒔 = 𝟏. 𝟐𝟗𝟑 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟏𝟏𝟕𝟕
𝒕 𝒌𝒄
𝒃 𝟓𝟏𝟐
• When > 𝑭𝒚
𝒕
𝒌𝒄
𝟏𝟖𝟎, 𝟔𝟒𝟎𝒌𝒄
𝑸𝒔 =
𝑭𝒚 𝒃/𝒕 𝟐
ALLOWABLE STRESS

Seismology: Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics

• The allowable stress for axially loaded
compression members containing unstiffened
elements shall not exceed the following:
𝒌𝑳
• When 𝒓
< 𝑪′𝒄
𝟐
𝒌𝑳
𝒓 𝑭𝒚
𝑭𝒂 = 𝑸 𝟏 − 𝟐
𝟐𝑪′𝒄 𝑭𝑺

𝒌𝑳 𝒌𝑳 𝟑
𝟓 𝟑 𝒓 𝒓
𝑭𝑺 = + − 𝟑
𝟑 𝟖𝑪′𝒄 𝟖𝑪′𝒄

𝟐𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑪′𝒄 =
𝑸𝑭𝒚
• Cross sections composed entirely of unstiffened
elements,

𝑸 = 𝑸𝒔

• Cross sections composed entirely of stiffened

elements,

𝑸 = 𝑸𝒂

• Cross sections composed of both stiffened and

unstiffened elements,

𝑸 = 𝑸𝒔 𝑸𝒂
 𝒌𝑳
• When 𝒓
> 𝑪′𝒄

𝟏𝟐𝝅𝟐 𝑬
𝑭𝒂 = 𝟐
𝒌𝑳
𝟐𝟑 𝒓