NUM2EICAL APPROACH TO THE) PHOCSSS OF BUCKLING OF

ELASTIC MB INELASTIC COLUMNS

DISSERTATION

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degree o f

DOCTOR ÜF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

a t the

POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF BROOKLYN

by

Jagannath P. Chawla

May, 1950

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Approved by the Guidance Coiamit t e e i

Major: A ir c r a ft S tru ctu res

NTJ. Hoff
P ro fesso r o f A eronautical E ngineering

Minor: A eron autical E ngineering

H. J . Eel saner
P ro fesso r o f Aerodynamics and A ir c r a ft
S tru ctu res

Minor; Mathematics

L.C. Hutchinson
A sso c ia te P ro fesso r o f Mathematics

A d d ition al Member:

7/ * v L . Sale S o %
A ssociate» P r o fe sso r o f A p p lié i^ e c h a n ic s
 V ita

The author, Jagaiinath P. Chawla was horn in the town o f

Cera Ghazi Khai , Punjab, In d ia . As a consequence o f the p a r t i­

tio n in g o f In d ia i t i s now in P ak istan . He r eceiv ed h is e a r ly

education in Q,uetta, B alu ch ista n and l a t e r a tten ed the U n iv ersity

o f Bombay and the Indian I n s t it u t e o f Science a t Bengal o r ;. During

the y e a rs 1942-44 he worked in the E ngineering Department o f the

Hindustan A ir c r a ft, Ltd. a s a group le a d e r in the p relim in ary

d esig n s e c tio n and la t e r as a l i a i s o n en g in eer. In the year

1944 he was awarded th e f i r s t W illiam D. Pawley Scholarship esta b ­

lis h e d a t the Indian I n s t it u t e o f S cience and came to the United

S ta te s o f America fo r fu rth er s tu d ie s in a e ro n a u tic a l en g in eerin g .

He attended the M assachusetts I n s t it u t e o f Technology and obtained

h i s M aster’ s degree in a ero n a u tic a l en g in eerin g in 1945. A fter

working w ith P r o fe sso r Manfred Rauscher fo r s i x months he jo in ed

the C ornell A eron autical Laboratory in A p ril 1946 as a sen io r

resea rch en gin eer in the F l i ^ t Research Department. He returned

to the M assachusetts I n s t it u t e o f Technology in May 1947 and was

a h a lf-tim e graduate stud en t and a h a lf-tim e a s s is t a n t to P ro fesso r

E.H, M ille r t i l l June 1948. During the Summer o f 1948 he was w ith

th e Pan Ajiierican World Airways in th e ir A tla n tic . D iv is io n in Boston.

In October 1948 he came to the P o ly tech n ic I n s t it u t e o f Brooklyn as

a sen io r rese a rc h fe llo w in the Department o f A eron autical E ngineering

and Applied Meciianics and has sin ce been th ere.

 The work p resen ted h e r e in was s ta r te d in the Summer o f 1949,

and was done in the S tru ctu res Research Laboratory under the

su p erv isio n o f P r o fe sso r N .J. H off.

This paper p r e se n ts a p a rt o f the s tu d ie s on b u ck lin g c r i t e r i a

being made a t the P o ly tec h n ic I n s t it u t e o f Brooklyn under the

sponsorship o f the O ffice o f Naval R esearch, United S ta te s Navy.

 Acknowledgement

The author i s indebted to P ro fesso r N»J. Hoff fo r the

su g g estio n o f the to p ic and fo r h is guidance and encouragement;

to P r o fe sso r V.L. Salerno and Dr. Joseph Kempner fo r th e ir

c r it ic is m .

He a ls o w ish es to ex p ress h is a p p recia tio n to P ro fesso r

H.P. H arrington, Head o f the Department o f A eronautical Engin­

e e r in g and S p i l e d Mechanics and to Dr. Raymond E. Kirk, Dean

o f the Graduate School fo r h i s appointment as a Senior Research

F ellow for h is e n tir e sta y a t the P o ly tech n ic I n s t it u t e o f

Brooklyn.
 Abstract

A num erical method o f s te p -b y -ste p in te g r a tio n o f the dynamic

eq u ation s fo r the tra n sv erse motion o f an i n i t i a l l y s l i g h t l y curved

column i s p resen ted . One o f the end p o in ts o f t,.e column i s a x ia lly

d isp la c e d a t a con stan t r a te in a p e r f e c t ly r ig id t e s t in g machine.

For the e l a s t i c case a sim ple recu rsio n form ula g iv e s a complete

p ic tu r e o f th e l a t e r a l d isp lacem en ts and p erm its an easy c a lc u l­

a tio n o f th e com pressive lo a d in the column. The r e s u lt s are pre­

sen ted in a non-dim ensional form. The e f f e c t o f the speed o f the

lo a d in g head o f the t e s t in g machine and the amplitude o f the

i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s from s tr a ig h tn e s s on the maximum com pressive

lo a d recorded in a t e s t has seen stu d ied and found to be q u ite

a p p re c ia b le . A non-dim ensional q u a n tity JTl , f i r s t Introduced

by Hoff and r e fe r r e d to a s th e dynamic b u ck lin g ind ex, i s made use

o f. T his index depends on the slen d ern ess r a t io o f the column and

the r a t io o f the v e lo c it y o f propagation o f sound in i t s m aterial

to the epeed o f the te s t in g machine.

C on sid eration s o f dynamic s im ila r it y perm itted the u t i l i z a t i o n

o f r e s u lt s o f th e e l a s t i c ca se to shorten the work fo r the i n e l a s t i c

c a se . A sim ple foimnila ex p ressin g s t r e s s in terms o f s tr a in i s

introduced to rep resen t the s t r e s s - s t r a in r e la t io n beyond tlie e l a s t i c

lim it. A method i s givm i fo r c a lc u la tin g the bending r i g i d i l y of

the column which v a r ie s alon g th e le n g th . These c a lc u la tio n s are

f a c i l i t a t e d by the u se o f th e assumed s t r e s s - s t r a i n r e la t io n .
 A num erical exaizple i s worked out to o u tlin e a l l the ste p s

n ecessary to o b ta in the d e f le c t io n p a tte rn a t any in s ta n t, in

th e i n e l a s t i c range. As the bending r ig id it y depends on th e

changes in curvature and on the s t r e s s - s t r a i n r e la t io n fo r the

m a te r ia l, the d e fle c te d shape o f the column in the i n e l a s t i c reg io n

has a pronounced e f f e c t on the maximum lo a d .

I t i s a ls o shown how the p ro cess o f b u d ilin g o f an i n e l a s t i c

column d i f f e r s from th at o f an e l a s t i c column.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

In tr o d u ctio n ....................................... 1

P art I

E la s t ic Column w ith Small I n i t i a l Curvature. .................. 4

P art XI

I n o la a tic Column w ith Small I n i t i a l C urvature. ................................14

Development o f B a sic E q u a tio n s............................................................. 15

D eterm ination o f Bending R ig id ity R a t io . ............... 18

D eterm ination o f Load».......................... 22

l'îumcrioal Example ............. 24

D isc u ssio n o f R e s u l t s .................. 29

R eferen ces................................. 31
 Introduction

The c l a s s i c a l approach to the problem o f b u ck ling i s based

e n t ir e ly upon c o n sid e r a tio n s o f the nature o f eq u ilib riu m . For

t h is reason i t can g iv e the c o rr e ct tuiswcr only i f q u a si-

s t a t i c c o n d itio n s p r e v a il. This im p lie s th at the load must be

a p p lied a t an extrem ely slow r a te . I t i s known th at t h is i s

n ot always the case in p r a c tic e . Moreover, the s t a t i c approach

to the problems o f b u ciilin e cannot be a p p lied c o n s is t e n tly to

system s th a t are n o n -lin e a r or to system s th a t develop permanent

deform ations through p l a s t i c i t y or creep under s u f f i c i e n t l y la r g e

lo a d s. Because o f th ese s a lie n t shortcom ings o f the c la s s ic a l

approach to the problem o f buckling Hoff^ suggested th a t the

s t a b i l i t y o f such system s be in v e s tig a te d by assuming a f i n i t e

dist\u*bance and fo llo w in g up the ensuing m otion by means o f the

dynamic eq u ation s o f m otion. The concept o f a s t a t i c s t a b i l i t y

i s thereby rep laced by dynamic s t a b i l i t y c o n sid e r a tio n s.

When a column i s te s te d in a conmierical t e s t in g machine

the displacem ent o f the lo a d in g head ra th er than the lo a d i s

p resc r ib e d . A column t e s t being a continooiflBprocess, the column

f a i l s w hile the load in g head i s descending. On the b a s is o f

O y / 3
S ta tic co n sid e r a tio n s, i t was assumed by S n g e sse r ’' and von Karman

th a t the b u ck lin g o f an in e l a s t i c c o l’jmm occurs under a constant

 lo a d w h ile Shanley"^ su ggested th a t i t was accompanied by an

in c r e a se in lo a d . B uckling t e s t s .on sh ort columns conducted

a t the P o ly tec h n ic I n s t it u t e o f Brooklyn in the Summer o f 1949

by the research s t a f f o f the S tru ctu res Laboratory bore out

H o ff’ s con jectu re th a t th e com pressive load drops during the

b u d d in g p r o c e s s . The r a p id ity w ith which the drop in lo a d

took p la c e was a ffe c te d by th e speed o f the descending lo a d in g

head and the i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s o f the column from s tr a ig h tn e s s .

These ob serv a tio n s le d to a th e o r e tic a l in v e s tig a tio n o f the

p r o c ess of b u ck lin g o f e l a s t i c and i n e l a s t i c columns by u sin g the

dynamic eq u ation s o f m otion. One has to so lv e a p a r t ia l , n o n -lin e a r ,

non-homogeneous in t e g r o - d if f e r e n t ia l equation o f tire fo u rth order

w ith v a r ia b le c o e f f ic ie n t s ; hence i t i s n atu ral to talce recourse to

a num erical approach.

For e l a s t i c columns, an a n a ly tic a l s o lu tio n o f the problem

fo r a com paratively h ig h speed o f the lo a d in g head o f the t e s t in g

machine has alread y been p resen ted by Hoff^. The g en era l co n clu sio n s

drawn by him were o f a nature sim ila r to th ose p resen ted in Fart I o f

t h is paper.

The p r e se n t in v e s tig a tio n i s d iv id ed in to two p a r ts: In tlie

f i r s t p a r t, the behaviour o f an e l a s t i c column contre seed in a

c o im erica l t e s t in g machine i s sought by means o f the dynamic eq u ation s

o f m otion. The t e s t in g machine i s assumed to be p e r f e c t ly r ig id and

i t s lo a d in g head descends w ith a uniform v e lo c it y . The column i s of

 uniform c r o s s - s e c t io n and has a sm all i n i t i a l curvature o f sinu­

s o id a l shape. The behaviour o f a p e r f e c t ly s tr a ig h t column can

be regarded as the lim it in g behaviour o f an i n i t i a l l y curved column

by a r b it r a r ily d ecreasin g the am plitude o f i t s d e v ia tio n from

s tr a ig h tn e s s . The e f f e c t o f the speed o f load in g head and o f

the aiqplitude o f the i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n from s tr a ig h tn e s s has

a ls o been in v e s tig a te d .

The second p a rt d e a ls w ith the behaviour, in a t e s t in g machine,

o f a column d esign ed to f a i l in the i n e l a s t i c range. The s t r e s s -

s tr a in curve o f the m a teria l i s used and fo r ease o f com putations,

i s rep laced by a s u ita b le a n a ly t ic a l ex p ressio n . For an id e a liz e d

H- s e c tio n , a numerical example has been worked out fo r a moderate

5
speed o f lo a d in g . The concept o f dynamic s im ila r ity i s made u se

o f in order to u t i l i z e r e s u l t s obtained in Fart I to fo llo w the

motion of the column up to the p o in t when the s tr a in on the concave

s id e a t the m id-point o f the column b eg in s to enter the in e l a s t i c

p a r t o f the s t r e s s - s t r a in curve. 2Tne procedure fo r determ ining the

lo a d corresponding to a p a r tic u la r co n fig u ra tio n o f the column and

the bending r ig id it y d is t r ib u t io n along the le n g th o f the column

i s a ls o o u tlin e d .
 4.

Fart I

ELASTIC COLUMN WITH SvLALL INITIAL CURVATURE

With the aid o f one o f the b a sic assum ptions o f tlie bending

theory, namely, th at plane s e c tio n s perpendicijlar to the beam

remain p lan e a ft e r bending, one cen d e r iv e the r e la t io n

E I/R =-M (1)

where El i s the fle x u r a l r i g i d i t y , R the ra d iu s o f curvature

and M the bending moment a t arçrc r o s s -s e c tio n o f the beam. The

exact e x p r essio n fo r the curvature i s

1 /r r (2 )

I f th e d e f le c t io n s are sm all in comparison w ith the le n g th

2
o f the beam, (dy/dx) may be n e g le c te d as sm all in comparison

w ith u n ity and Eq. (s ) becomes

l/R = (2a)

S u b s titu tio n o f E q .(2a) in Eq. ( l ) g iv e s

E l = -M ( la )

T his i s the well-known d if f e r e n t i a l equation o f the d e f le c t io n

curve o f a b en t beam. Use o f Eq. ( la ) le a d s to the equation

governing the tran sverse motion o f an elem ent o f a column (P ig . l a )

which i s

-l-f f ' j / D t h o (3)

where i s th e i n i t i a l and y the a d d itio n a l d e f le c t io n , F the

com pressive fo rce in the pærtircnlar—sectiroa-of-^the column and Y

th e mass o f a u n it le n g th o f the column, x i s the coord inate

along the a x is o f the unbent column w h ile t denotes tim e.

An e x p r essio n fo r P i s d erived in the fo llo w in g manner:

I f y^ d en otes the i n i t i a l d e f le c t io n s o f the s l i g h t l y curved

column, the d iffe r e n c e between the le n g th o f th e median lin e

o f the column and the le n g th o f the s tr a ig h t l i n e d ista n c e be­

tween the end p o in ts o f the column i s given by

L (4)
iL , = (V 2') (JV, j 'X
''0
where

( ) E

A fter an a d d itio n a l d e f le c t io n y has taken p la c e , the above

d iffe r e n c e becomes
L

'^(-2 = C '/2) J (S)

0

The change in the d is ta n c e between the end p o in ts o f the column

du© to a d d itio n a l d e f le c t io n y i s th erefo re

L
, C '/z lj j / (6)
0

With a p e r f e c t ly s tr a ig h t column in a r ig id t e s t in g machine

th e coB ^ ressive lo a d i s a lin e a r fu n c tio n o f the displacem ent o f

the lo a d in g head. I f t h is i s descending w ith a uniform v o lo c it y

c from the unloaded p o s it io n , the com pressive s tr a in I s

& = c ty L

where L i s the i n i t i a l d ista n c e between the end p o in ts o f the

column. The shortening given by Sq. ( s ) d ivid ed by the le n g tii L

con seq u en tly p rovid es a r e l i e f in the com pressive s tr a in due to

the l a t e r a l disp lacem en ts and the true com pressive s tr a in along

the median l i n e of the column i s given by

A
So = C'/L') ct _ o iz) (7)

In th e fo llo w in g d is c u s s io n , com pressive s tr a in and load

w i l l be considered p o s it iv e .

I f the c r o s s -s e c tio n s o f the column are symmetric about tlie

median l i n e , the com pressive fo rce P, assumed co n sta n t along the

le n g th o f the column, can th er e fo re be w r itte n as

P = EA£o .

where 8^ i s given by Eq. (? ) and EA i s the r i g i d i t y o f tlie column

in ccflipreasion.
 I f i t i s now assumed th a t the r i g i d i t i e s El and EA are con­

sta n t and th a t the i n i t i a l d e fle c te d sliape i s given by

\j - d (IT X/L')

fu r th e r , th a t ^ - F sin ( tt'X/

where F i s a fu n c tio n o f time a lo n e, then e q .(3 ) becomes

f E l (ir/l-Y F - (E A /g [ c t . (L/4-) (W/Lf F (F 4. 2 0 )] (F 4 a ) (TX/uf

( 8)
sm (IT% /p . o

As t h is eq u ation must be s a t i s f i e d i d e n t ic a lly fo r a l l v a lu e s

of X , the ex p ressio n In b races must v a n ish .

Introducing the fo llo w in g a b b rev ia tio n s which are a l l seen

to be non-dim ensional
, ttV cV?)^ T = ct/L Eg
n = E A /jc ^ y (9 )

e = a -/f f = ( F +a )/f ^
[ Cg denotes s tr a in corresponding to Euler d isp la cem en t]

where y i s th e rad iu s o f g y r a tio n o f th e c r o ss s e c tio n , one g e ts

^ [ f [ x - 0 /4) ( e^)] - ( f - e ) j = 0 (1 0 )

or

aq/dx" = a j^[[t pvpcfAe^)] - ( f - e l | (10a)

T his i s a n o n -lin e a r , nonrhomogenoua ordinary d if f e r e n t ia l equation

in the non-dim ensional time X and has to be solved in order to g e t

 the la t e r a l d isplacem ents o f the m id-point o f the column* The

grouping o f terms In E q .(io ) w ill become c le a r i f one rec o g n iz e s

th a t f i s the t o t a l displacem ent o f the m id-point as a fr a c tio n

o f the ra d iu s o f g y r a tio n a t any time Z , ( f - e) i s the

corresponding a d d itio n a l displacem ent, and

[X z 6o/<5g % P /P e (10b)

I t i s now proposed to so lv e B q.(lO ) by a num erical method

o f ste p -b y -ste p in te g r a tio n . R eplacing d ^ f / d l ^ by i t s " tlir e e -

point" f i n i t e d iffe r e n c e form ula, we may w r ite

(11)

The su b sc r ip t n r e f e r s to a step corresponding to X =

or

A = + O . aP «0] (lia )

or

f.K -L = L - L , + o . {"1^1 -CA) ( ( \ (11b)

or

or

eP ] ( lid )

Eq. ( l i a ) grives the recu rsio n form ula to be used fo r g e ttin g

a s o lu tio n to Eq. (lO ). The beauty and the s im p lic it y o f the

metliod l i e s in the use o f a recu rsio n formula to g iv e the la t e r a l

d isp lacem en ts o f the m id -p oin t o f th e column.

 B efore proceeding fu rth er an ex p la n a tio n must be given fo r

reducing Eq. ( l i a ) to th e form g iv en in Eq. ( l i d ) . ( ^ f) denotes

the in c r e a se in d e f le c t io n from X = X toX *= X . I f tlie l e f t

n n+1
hand sid e o f Eq. ( l i d ) were zero, that i s , i f ( h_f ) =( a f ) ,
n n-1
one would o b ta in the s t a t i c s o lu tio n . The p ro cess o f a very

slow lo a d in g w i l l approximate t h is c a se. Hence the r ig h t hand

sid e o f Eq. ( l i d ) which i s equal to the d iffe r e n c e between the

forward and the bacintrard increm ent in f a t X =X ^ g iv e s a

measure o f the a c c e le r a tio n and hence the e f f e c t o f the in e r t ia

term, in Eq. ( 3 ).

Going back to the s o lu tio n o f E q .(lO ), one fin d s the i n i t i a l

c o n d itio n s to be

For # 7 -0 , 'i" h = ® f.r T1 § 0

S u b s titu tio n o f t h is in Eqs. (lOa) and ( l i a ) g iv e s th a t a t X = X ^ ,

both the v e lo c it y and the a c c e le r a tio n o f the m id-point o f the

column are zero.

The th ree independent param eters which in flu e n c e the la t e r a l

m otion o f the column are c , the speed o f lo a d in g , (L /ç ) the

slen d ern ess r a tio o f the column and 0 , the i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n

o f th e column from s tr a ig h tn e s s . O. , th e dynamic b u d d in g ind ex

in c o r p o r a te s the f i r s t two thus reducing the number o f inde^'cndent

param eters to two. The la t e r a l motion o f the column as in flu en ced

by e a n d X lis shown in F ig s . ( 2) and ( 3 ) . F i g . ( 2 ) g iv e s a p lo t

o f f and F/Fg v s . X fo r a con sta n t value o f X) *= 10^ and fo r three

 10.

d if f e r e n t v a lu e s o f e , namely, 0 .1 , 0 .0 1 and 0 .0 0 1 . F ig .(2 b )

shows the e f f e c t o f varying Cl fo r a co n sta n t value o f e = .01.

In F ig s ( 2 a ,, b aiU c ) the curves o f s t a t i c d e f le c t io n and the

Corresponding lo a d are a ls o shown. I t i s to be observed th a t in

the i n i t i a l s ta g e s o f lo a d in g , th e e f f e c t o f the in e r t ia term i s

sm all and th a t the load v a r ie s lin e a r ly w ith tim e. As lo a d in g

p roceed s, the dynamic d e f le c t io n la g s fu rth er and fu r th e r behind the

s t a t i c d e f le c t io n , then i t oversh o o ts and b eg in s to o s c i l l a t e about

the p o s it io n o f s t a t i c eq u ilib riu m . The la g due to in e r t i a becomes

very marked w ith a d ecreasin g value o f the amplitude o f I n i t i a l

d e v ia tio n s from s tr a ig h tn e s s . This la g in d e f le c t io n i s r e f le c t e d

in the load curves where i t i s seen th a t the dynamic lo a d can fa r

exceed i t s s t a t i c counterpart b efo re i t drops and b eg in s to o s c i l ­

la te . The v a lu e s o f a t 8 = 1 .0 , th a t i s , a t the Bulor

d isplacem ent are tab u lated below to show the la g due to in e r t ia .

A lso the maximum valu e of F reached in each ca se b e fo r e the

lo a d drops and b eg in s to o s c i l l a t e about the s t a t i c lo a d i s g iv en

In terms o f the Euler load o f a column.

C l a 10^

e 0 .1 0 .0 1 0 .001

(f /f)r , ^ 1 .3 6 5 .7 0 24*8
St L=1'0

W ^E 0-97 1 -4 1 -7
 11,

F ig . (2b) shows the e f f e c t i f the jsç>eed o f lo a d in g . I t i s to

he observed th a t w ith an in c r e a se in the speed o f lo a d in g or a decrease

in C l a g r e a te r la g in d e f le c t io n i s obtained a s the r eta r d a tio n o f the

colunm due to th e I n e r t ia o f i t s mass i s g r e a te r .

I t w i l l be in t e r e s t in g to note the comparative e f f e c t o f an in c r e a se

in the speed o f lo a d in g to th a t o f a d ecrease in i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n in the

same r a t io . At X = 1 .0 the r a t io o f th e d isp la o em m ts fo r ^ « 10^ to

th a t fo r C l = 10^ fo r e = 0 .0 1 i s 4 .2 w h ile fo r Q « 1 0 ^ [(f ) ^ O l / 001^

a t X = 1 . 0 i s 9 .4 . From dynamic c o n sid e r a tio n s, t h is b r in g s out the im­

p ortan ce o f I n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s from s tr a ig h tn e s s . As e talios on van­

is h in g ly sm all v a lu e s , the maximum lo a d can fa r exceed the Eulor lo a d

but i t must be observed th a t i t then f a l l s in a vary ste ep fa sliio n and

th e ançplitude o f i t s o s c i l l a t i o n s about the s t a t i c lo a d i s a ls o cor­

responding la r g e . This may be in te r p r e te d a s a sudden r e le a s e in

energy sto red by the column b efo re i t b egin s to move l a t e r a l l y a t a

rap id r a te as m anifested by the curve o f d e f le c t io n .

A word must be sa id about the choice o f the magnitude o f hX when

the s o lu tio n o f E q.(lO ) i s ob tain ed by the s te p -b y -ste p in te g r a tio n method

w ith th e a id o f Eq. ( l i a ) . The s o lu tio n shows (F ig 5 ) th a t r ig iit from

tlie s t a r t o f the lo a d in g , the column o s c i l l a t e s about the s t a t i c p o s it io n

bu t the am plitude o f th ese o s c i l l a t i o n s i s so sm all as n o t to be de te c ta--

b le in a c tu a l t e s t a . The o s c i l l a t i o n s th at occur beyond the Euler d is ­

placem ent, however, are la r g e enough to be d e te c te d . In a numerical

ste p -b y -ste p in te g r a tio n i t i s n ecessa ry th a t th ese o s c i l l a t i o n s in the

e a r ly s ta g e s o f lo a d in g a ls o be in c ltd e d . I t was shown in refer en ce ( 5 )

th a t fo r sm all v a lu e s o f the t o t a l displacem ent f , the d ista n c e between

two co n secu tiv e in t e r s e c t io n s o f the dynamic w ith the s t a t i c d e f le c t io n

curve i s approxim ately given by 6 /(n ') . A ccordingly, in order to

 12

g e t about f iv e p o in ts in t h is In te r v a l we must have

Ü.Z = i/cn f^ 0Ï a = 1

T his g iv e s a very sim ple r u le fo r choosing the valu e of aX to be used.

However, fo r very slow lo a d in g s fo r whicli Cl i s comparat i v e ly la r g e

(lO^ or la r g e r ), aX has to be taken very sm a ll. In as much as the

am plitude o f o s c i l l a t i o n s in the e a r ly phases of lo a d in g i s s::all and

th e in e r t ia e f f e c t s are n e g lig ib le , the s t a t i c curve i s a good approx­

im ation and one can s t a r t u sin g the dynamic equations from s-^me p o in t

c lo s e to the E uler d isp lacem en t. For example, X = 0 .8 or even 0 .9

would be a good s ta r tin g p o in t.

2
E a r lie r in the d is c u s s io n (pa/;e 4 ) i t was assumed th a t ( dy/ Ix)

nay be n e g le c te d a s sm all in ooiqparison w ith u n ity in the for..iula fo r

the curv'iture (Eq. o) . A lim it to the v a lu e o f f should th erefo re

be found belov; which t h is assum ption w ill h old good.

For a sin u s o id a l sliape

^ F bi'Yi (7\ y I )

wo have ^

= I f - X v î f

We may now a r b it r a r ily make t h is q u a n tity l e s s than, say, .01

Then
( y (L) < c - o i / n n (L/

01 Ly c] < 0 0J2 CW?)

 13.

As e w i l l be sm all in coaparison w ith f , one might say th a t f

should be l e s s than ,032(L /^ ) . For a column 10 in ch es lo n g and having

a ra d iu s o f g y r a tio n equal to l/lO in ch such th a t (L /? ) = 100, the

maxiinuja a llo w a b le d e f le c t io n o f the m id-point would then be 3/1 0 in ch .

In B q . ( l l ) i t was assumed th a t the s te p s were a l l o f equal du ration ,

. However, i f the d e f le c t io n a t an in term ed iate time i s d e sir e d ,

one may e ith e r u se Newton* s in te r p o la tio n formula or a f i n i t e d iffe r e n c e

forioula fo r unequal in t e r v a ls which may be w r lttm as

z
y\ I + I A%2/ AT
tzl

For AX2 = 6.x ^ = aX , t h is reduces to

I f th e slo p e o f the c^jrve o f d e f le c t io n v o r sus time i s not very la r g e ,

the above formula g iv e s n e g lig ib le error fo r the r a tio ( Abz / a X,')

between l / 2 and 1.
 14.

P art I I

mSLASTIC COLTOf WITH SMALL IHITIAL CURVATÜBI!

I t i s d e s ir e d to in v e s tig a te the p r o c ess o f buckling o f a oolumn

d esign ed to f a i l in the i n e l a s t i c range when i t i s b ein g te s te d in

a p e r f e c t ly r ig id te s t in g machine by low ering the lo a d in g head w ith

a uniform v e lo c i t y . As l a P art I , use w i l l be made o f the dynaiaic

eq u ation s o f motion and th e motion o f the column w i l l be fo llo w ed up

by a num erical ste p -b y -ste p p r o c ess.

By in trod u cin g the concept o f dynamic s im ila r it y , use can be

made o f r e s u lt s obtained in P art I . The non-dim ensional q u a n tity

a s d e fin ed on p . 7, Eq. (9 ) may a lt e r n a t iv e ly be w r itte n as

A = 7\^ccb/cf/cL /sf

where a « ^ ^ i s the v e lo c i t y o f propagation o f sound in the

m a teria l o f the column and hence con stan t fo r a g iv e n m a te r ia l.

Two p e r f e c t ly e l a s t i c columns are dynam ically sim ila r when com­

p r e sse d in a r ig id t e s t in g machine whose lo a d in g head i s descending

a t a con stan t speed i f the non-dim ensional buckling in d ex O- is

the same fo r both. This requirem ent i s s u f f i c i e n t only when tiie d is ­

placem ents are sm all. For dynamic s im ila r it y a t la r g e disp lacem en ts

th e i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s from s tr a ig h tn e s s must a ls o be th e same*

 16.

Consequently, I f C i ' sad e are id e n t ic a l f o r an e l a s t i c and an

i n e l a s t i c column, the d isplacem ent p a tte r n o f the l a t t e r as lo n g as

the s tr a in s are in the e l a s t i c p a r t o f the s t r e s s - s t r a in curve w i l l be

the same as th at o f the e l a s t i c column. In order to have the same valu e

o f O. in the two c a se s, the speed o f lo a d in g must be d if f e r e n t as the

slen d ern ess r a t io s are unequal. For example, i f th e slen d ern ess r a tio

o f an I n e la s t ic column i s h a lf th a t o f the e l a s t i c column, the screed

o f lo a d in g fo r t e s t in g t h is i n e l a s t i c column must be e ig h t tim es tliat

fo r the e l a s t i c t e s t in order to have dynamic s im ila r it y . On the b a s is

o f tM s , i t i s on ly n ecessa ry to fo llo w the motion o f the column beyond

the p o in t when the s tr a in on the concave s id e o f i t s m id-point has

reached tlie l i m i t o f p r o p o r tio n a lity fo r the m aterial*

In order to s in p l if y t h is very com plicated problem o f th e p ro cess

of bu ck ling o f an I n e la s t ic column, an id e a liz e d fl - s e c tio n ( Fi g. l \ > )

column i s used. Such a column c o n s is t s o f two concentrated fla n g e s

sep arated by a web of n e g lig ib le area but o f i n f i n i t e shear r ig id i t y .

m vE L om m r of b a s ic b ^ u a t ic m s

As in P art I , the b a s ic equation governing the tra n sv erse motion

of an elem ent o f a column i s

Ej^I i s th e bending r i g i d i t y a s b efo re excep t th at i t i s now a fu n c tio n

o f both X and t , th a t i s , i t v a r ie s along the le n g th o f th e column and

 16.

with, each su c c e s siv e con fién iration .

I f I i s assumed to be con stan t fo r the column and B « Ih/Z i s

introd uced , where B i s Young’ s modulus, Eq. ( 3 ) may be r ew r itte n as

(B h i y U b e A /) o (12)

A i s the c r o ss s e c tio n a l area o f the column (assumed co n sta n t in

t h i s d is c u s s io n ) and ^ the rad iu s o f g y r a tio n , so th at I « Aj .

H alf the area i s assumed to be concentrated a t each fla n g e .

Upon in tr o d u c tio n o f the non-dim ensional q u a n titie s X , and O .

d e fin ed in E q .(9 ) p. 7, Eq. ( I 2 ) becomes

f/^y} ( B <r( ? / E l ] li'il'ix- + i i i y 4 - ( 1 3 )

0\

W riting ( )' z ? A aiwi r e p la c in g ^ v l ' y c Ly i t s "three-point"

' dX
f i n i t e d iffe r e n c e formula, one o b ta in s

The su b scrip t n r e f e r s to a step corresponding to X - X u snd the

s u b sc r ip t X r e f e r s to a s e c tio n o f the column a t a d is ta n c e x from

one end.
 17.

Xt i s s t i l l to be shovm, how the v a lu e s o f B and B a t a p a r tic u la r

step C an be determ ined.

In the e l a s t i c c&^e i t was a ssm ed th a t the d e fle c te d siie.pe of the

coluziii could be rep resen ted by a sin u so id a l curve; but. fo r the i n e l a s t i c

Case t h is assum ption i s not v a lid and we wish to fin d o u t, by so lv in g

( i s ) , what the a c tu a l shape would be. However, fo r so lv in g H q .(lS ),

i t i s n ecessary to s tip u la te th at the d e fle c te d shape can be rep resen ted

or at l e a s t approximated by a continuous fu n c tio n , p o s s e s sin g continuous

d e r iv a tiv e s a t l e a s t up to the fo u rth , tlie h ig h e s t occuring in Eq. (16)

and s a t is f y in g a l l the boundary c o n d itio n s. S im ilar s t ip u la tio n s must a ls o

be nr/le fo r B, th e bending r i g i d i t y r a t io , w ith the o n ly d iffe r e n c e th a t

i t s h ig h e st d e r iv a tiv e occurIng in Eq. ( 15) i s o f order two*

As Eq*. (15) must hold id e n t ic a lly fo r any element alon g tlie column,

we may d iv id e the column in t o , s&^y, ten or twenty equal p a r ts and fo llo w

the motion o f each s ta tio n ind ep en dently. With th e d e f le c t io n s thus

obtained, one may conqoute the d e r iv a tiv e s o f y and B by u sin g the f i n i t e

d iffe r e n c e form ulae fo r d if f e r e n t ia t io n and o b ta in subsequent d e f le c t io n s

by s u b s titu tin g th ese v a lu e s in 2 q .( I S ) . I t was found th a t t h i s method

d id not work a f t e r the f i r s t step as the s o lu tio n o f E q .(15) y ie ld s

sm all d if fe r e n c e s o f la r g e q u a n tit ie s and any erro rs introduced wore mag­

n if ie d by u sin g f i n i t e d iffe r e n c e formulae fo r d if f e r e n t ia t io n . It

was thought l o g ic a l to r ep la ce the d e f le c t io n s a t each step by an

a n a ly t ic a l fu n c tio n such th a t the d e f le c t io n s y be monotonie in nature

in goin g from one end of the column to the m iddle and th a t i t s d e r iv a tiv e s ,

up to the fo u rth a t l e a s t , must be continuous. By v ir tu r e o f symmetry

 18.

about the m id -p oin t one need work w ith o n ly h a lf the column.

Eq. (15) may be r e -w r itté n a s

(15a)
w u

îh e su b scrip t m r e f e r s to a p a r tic u la r s ta tio n along tiio colurm.

L e ttin g n h C y ( n / = p and (P y E l^ = oi j Sq. (l5 a ) becomes

(I5b)

E q .(l5 b ) i s the counterpart o f Eq. ( l i a ) in B art I and as b efore the

term + M") i s p ro p o rtio n a l to the a c c e le -

r a tio n o f s t a t io n m a t X -X>v

DETEmilSAIION OF BENDISO RIGIDITY RATIO B = & /E

Bending r i g i d i t y m;y be d efin ed as th e p r o p o r tio n a lity fa c to r by

which a sm all Increment o f th e bending moment U must be d iv id e d to

ob tain the corresponding increm ent in the crirvature o f a d e fle c te d

bar, or, in symbols

(16)

Ey - _ aM /I A^'
 19.

The curvature i s assumed to be equal to as

exp lain ed e a r lie r and th e minus sig n i s introd uced to conform w ith

the convention th a t a p o s it iv e moment produces bending o f the beam

concave upward.

For e a se o f computation the a ctu a l a t r e s s - s t r a in curve fo r the

m a te r ia l, in t h is case 24ST aluminum a llo y i s expressed as

CT = E E € 1=
c r p ..21 _ (17)
(T -Ej^h -

where f ^ p - 6 " p / t b ein g the s t r e s s a t p ro p o rtio n a l l i m i t ,

a r b it r a r ily chosen a s 30,000 l b . / i n , Çp the corresponding s tr a in

and E i s Young's modulus; k i s a co n sta n t. For E » 1 0 .5 x 10^ I b ./in ^

and k = 140, the s t r e s s - s t r a in curve rep resen ted by Eq. (17) i s shown

in F ig . (4). I t must be borne in mind th a t t h is r e la t io n i s v a lid

provided thé s t r e s s i s reached th r o u ^ lo a d in g alone and unloading

d oes not take place*

In the i n e l a s t i c range, th at i s , fo r S > 6 p B q .(l7 ) may be

r e -w r itte n as
= e [^£ - & = E £ 0?a)

where S r A ( £p')^ k = o & 6 £p

and fo r unloading

k a co n sta n t when £ >

th a t i s , fo r any s tr a in t , g iv e s the decrease in s t r e s s from the

 30,

corresponding lin e a r s t r e s s or view ing in terms o f the s tr a in , £ would

g iv e th e same s t r e s s fo r a lin e a r r e la t io n a s £ does fo r a n o n -lin ea r

r e la t io n . T his concept i s found very h e lp fu l In determ ining the lo a d

to m aintain eq u ilib riu m fo r a p a r tic u la r c o n fig u ra tio n by d e a lin g w ith

s t r a in s on ly w ithout a c tu a lly computing the corresponding s t r e s s e s .

Going back to E q.(16) to d e r iv e a s u ita b le ex p ressio n for

u s in g Iq . ( l? ) and tak ing ^ e case when through a lo a d in g the s tr a in

b efo re and a f t e r an increm ent l i a s in the i n e l a s t i c region fo r both

fla n g e s o f the s e c tio n , ( i . e . S ^ 0 ) , we may w r ite

E [ f c , - Sc, = E [ £ c^ -Scj^
ei<

%(Oc_ - - t - C

S u b scrip t ( )
means b efo re and ( ) means a fte r the increment of lo a d .
1 2
The fla n g e on the concave s id e i s ch a ra cterized by the su b sc rip t ( )^

and th a t on the convex sid e by ( )^.

The s tr a in in the column may be decomposed in to a co n sta n t p a rt

M
£ Q and a lin e a r p a r tly ^ ) . The former corresponds to a uniform com­

p r e s s io n , and the l a t t e r to a r o ta tio n . Hence we may w r ite

Ecq = - Z5 A

The sig n o f the m iddle term i s n e g a tiv e in accordance w ith our convention

o f com pressive s tr a in s b ein g p o s i t i v e .

 21

Then

+ Af(j - (&c% - S o

For the oth er fla n g e ,

^2 = E [^ tz -

01

A(Tl
t = -GT^ = £ tz - - I S 12 -

B ut, sin c e ttq = - t + A £o

A G1 = - (& I 2 -

How

ûWl ^ (A /2 ') j' ( i S - c - A S 't')

S u b s titu tin g the above r e la t io n s In % .( 1 6 ) , one g e t s

-- E
b ~ ^ ^ 1') ■*■ CSt2 -

(18)
^i, E k/E -

- 1 - S / C - 2 51^'jj"')
where
S s A 1^(0- Spf - C^c,- t^'f - (tkj- (p f+ O t,- i p f ]
I t must be noted th a t k = 0 when £ ^ and whm an unloading tak es p la c e ,

th a t i s , when E. ' must be taken th a t co rr e ct s l ^ i s used

fo r Ay « In p a r tic u la r , fo r the e l a s t i c ca se B i s equal to u n ity or

3L = B.
W
 22c

DSTEHMIHATXQH OF LOAD B AND USE OF BqUATIOH (I5b )

For the e l a s t i c case a t X - X ^ the v a lu e o f can, e a s i l y he

determ ined frcaa Eq.(lO h) and B « 1 .0 fo r the e n tir e column. A lso

from the r e c u r sio n formula E q .( ll a ) or (15T>) i t may he seen th at when

one c o n sid ers the eq u ilib riu m o f the column a t X = X ^ under th e a c tio n

o f the ooEDpressive lo a d B^, one o b ta in s the subsequent co n fig u ra tio n

corresponding + v a lu e o f X when the e n tir e

column has s t r a in s in the e l a s t i c range but the s tr a in on the concave

s id e o f th e m id -poin t i s very c lo s e to , can be e a s i l y determined

from Bart I . U sing t h i s as th e s ta r tin g p o in t, and by means o f Eq. ( l i a )

one Can g et the n ex t c o n fig u ra tio n a ft e r aX • This w i l l s t i l l be a

s in u s o id a l shape but th e subsequent shapes w i l l d if f e r from i t i f they

are c a lc u la te d from B q .(l5 b ).

The valu e o f B in the i n e l a s t i c reg io n i s determined in the fo llo w ­

in g way.

At X - Xu , Pu i s known

For th e f i r s t ste p in th e i n e l a s t i c reg io n X ^ corresponds to the

l a s t step in the e l a s t i c r eg io n . w ish to determ ine B ^ ^ « B + AP

at X ^X aX^ • aX i s p rescrib ed when E q .( lla ) or in sub­

sequent ste p s B q .(lB b ) i s u sed.

1) Assume A B ( fo r the f i r s t few s te p s i t may be taken equal to th a t

in the e l a s t i c case a s a f i r s t approxim ation. )

2) As exp lain ed on page (2 0 ), th e increm ents in s tr a in may be de­

composed in to a con stan t p a r t a n d a lin e a r p a r t ( _2 ^ A " ) .

 23.

The former corresponds to a uniform compression and the l a t t e r to

a r o ta tio n due to a change in curvature. Care should be taken to

use th e c o r r e c t sig n fo r a change in curvatui'e. Consequently

A£c = -2SA>^" £c^ +

^ Et = A£ ) +A£ ^

Since fo r each s t a t io n Qa y^'jia fix e d by the c o n fiju r a tio n o f the

column, the valu e of(A£^ must be a d ju sted such th a t (A/z^ 4 Ap) =

'mti
- The average s tr a in a t each s ta tio n i e g iv en by =C^c-^^t') /Z

The v a lu e s o f B are computed w ith th e a id o f Bq. (1 8 ).

Determine L ^ E^d(x/L) = % Aly^

This i s the sh orten in g produced in the column due to com pressive

s tr a in s . |

4) C alcu late 1^1 j (SyV^^ + y '^ ) d (x/L ) = E^L =

0

T his i s th e d ecrease in th e p r o je c ted le n g th o f th e column due

to l a t e r a l d isp lacem en ts (s e e Bart I , p 6 )

5) f A s h o u l d be equal to L or sin c e

L i s a common fa c to r , ( £ ^ -v E^ )/CE&^ should be equal to .

I f t h is i s n ot id e n t ic a lly s a t is f ie d # the valu e o f û P should be

ad ju sted to s a t is f y t h is requirem snt. T his can u s u a lly be achieved

in one or two I te r a tio n s .

Bor th e f i n a l value o f B thus obtained, the v a lu e s o f B

a t each s t a t io n are computed in step ( 2 ) above fo r u se in H q.(l5b)#

to get d e f le c t io n s a ft e r another p r e sc r ib e d valu e o f aX

 24.

The d e ta ile d procedure i s illu s t r a t e d below by a numerical example.

HUÜ3RICÆ 3XAMZL3 H = , c .= o .o l

The column was d iv id ed in to ten equal p a r ts.

From c a lc u la tio n s in P art I , a t C= 0 .7 0 , we know the fo llo w in g d ata.

P « 5279 lb s . IX * ^ 0 “ 2.7625 x 10~^ in / in

y = P s in F = 2.4045 x 10“®

y** = - F s in B = 1 .0 0 a t a l l s ta tio n s

STA# yxlO^ y^xlO^ £ xlO® h xlO^

0 t

6 2.4046 -.8 6 1 0 2.8529 2.6721

4 2.2868 -.8 1 8 9 2.8486 2.6765

3 1.9453 -.6 9 6 6 2.8357 2.6894

2 1.4133 -.5 0 6 0 2.8157 2.7094

1 0.7430 -.2 6 6 1 2.7905 2.7346

0 0 0 2.7625 2.7625

Hoteî In a c tu a l com putations, e ig h t s ig n if ic a n t fig u r e s were used.

 26.

Tais© ûX =s . 0 0 5 , tiiCTi at X s= 0 . 7 0 5

F * 2.4624 X 10 ^ by u se o f E q .( lla ) sin c e the d e fle c te d

shape a t the f i r s t step in the i n e l a s t i c reg io n i s a ls o assumed to he

s in u s o id a l, ( see p •2

The com putations a t t h is ste p are ta b u la ted below:

f a 5317 lb s . -4 t « & = 2 .7 8 2 2 2 X 1 0 ^ i n / in
inA O

STA S 4 3 2 1

1. y 2.4624 2.3419 1 .9 9 2 2 1.4 4 7 4 0.7609 3dO"3

2. y" -0 .8 8 1 8 -0 .8 3 8 6 -0 .7 1 3 4 -0 .5 1 8 3 -0 .2 7 2 5 11
II
3. Ay -0 .0 2 0 8 . -0 .0 1 9 7 -0 .0 0 6 4 II
-0 .0 1 6 8 -0 .0 1 2 2

4. 0.4369 0.4145 0.3526 0 .2 5 6 2 0.0013 1 0 -5

S. £t 2.8748 2.8703 2.8571 2.8366 2.8108 10-3

6. £t 2.6897 2.7278 2.7536 II

2.6942 2.7073

7. 2 .7 8 2 ,2 4 2 .7 8 2 ,2 3 2 .7 8 2 ,2 2 2 . 7 8 2 ,2 2 2 .7 8 2 , 22 W

8 . g* K V 0 '4 3 7 ,665x10*’’^ 0.241,718x10 0 0 0

9. B 0 .9 8 9 ,9 5 8 0 .9 9 4 ,1 6 9 1 .0 0 1 .0 0 1 .0 0

10. 23* 0 -0 .0 3 2 0 0 0 0
II
U. B .0306 .0306 0 0 0

12. (By")" 0.2866 0.2781 0.2 5 5 4 0.1856 0.0976 %10-3

—0.1 8 6 6 -0 .0 9 8 1 II
-0 .3 1 7 4 -0 .3 0 1 9 -0.2568

.0010 It
14.-p[@ +(g)] .0619 .0463 .0026 .0019

.0580 .0551 .0469 .0341 .0179 II

'i i o

16.&^= 0 .1199 .1014 .0495 .0360 .0189 M

17. M )* .1010 .0929 .0739 .0512 .0253 S

If
1 8 - 2.5634 2.4348 2.0661 1.4986 0.7 8 6 2
 26,

As exp lain ed on page (17) th ese v a lu e s o f y l i s t e d in row ( l6 )

must now be rep laced or approximated by an a n a ly t ic a l ex p ressio n .

2Siis must a ls o s a t is f y th e boundary c o n d itio n s which are

(a) y ’ (L /2 t) =0

(b) ^ y * ( 0 ,t ) « 0

From experim ental observations and fo r i t s s im p lic ity , the ex p ressio n

chosen was o f the form

+ Az %

where ^

In order t<? s a t i s f y boundary co n d itio n (b ), the index n must be

g r ea ter than or equal to 3. From boundary c o n d itio n ( a ) , one g e t s

C - Y1 Az CVz")

or

I'"' r C

(19a)
A = Az
In order to g e t a good approxim ation to th e v a lu e s o f h y by Eq. (I 9 a ),

one m s t determ ine the in d ex n and th e co n sta n t A. For exa^nple, one

may u se the method o f l e a s t squares by which the sum o f the squares

o f the d if fe r e n c e between the valu e o f y and ^ ) a t each s ta tio n

should be amlnimum, th at i s , fo r a given valu e o f n

5 z
^ should be a minimum.
 27,

or

 remark about the ch o ic e of index n . O bservations o f a short

colujm b ein g compressed in a t e s t in g machine r ev ea l th a t in the

beginning o f the lo a d in g the column m aintains a sin u so id a l shape,

b egin s to b u lge a l i t t l e in the m iddle, the bulge in c r e a sin g ra p id ly

t i l l i t a c t u a lly jumps out l a t e r a l l y e x h ib itin g a sharp curva.ture in

the m iddle. Consequently, the value o f n may be 3 - 6 in the

beginn ing in c r e a sin g to 9 - 11 a t the in s ta n t o f t h is jusQp. M

average va lu e o f n = 5 la used in t h is study but the e f f e c t o f a

change in n on the e n t ir e p ro cess o f buckling and the maximum load

reached during a t e s t anould be in v e s tig a te d .

For n = 5, the valu e o f A u sin g v a lu e s o f Ay from row (16)

turns out to be A « 0.80977 x 10

The v a lu e s o f f ( ^ ) a t each s ta tio n are l i s t e d in row ( l7 ) and

row ( l ) added to i t g iv e s the new d e fle c te d shape a t = 0 .7 1 .

The above process i s rep eated a t each v a lu e o f T .

For sim ila r reasons as explain ed on page \J , th e v a lu e s o f B

obtained a t each s ta tio n were a ls o rep la ced by an ex p ressio n of the

f orra *•

- t»o -V - ^ ( 20)
 28,

where ^ = (x/L - 1 / 2)

To s a t i s f y the co n d itio n o f aymiaetiy i.a ,B * = 0 a t x/L = l / 2 or ^ »0,

n nmst he equal to or g rea ter than 2-

For n = 2 a t X « 0 .7 0 5 , one g e ts

= 0.4210 ; h^ « 0 .9 8 9 ,9 5 0

When the s tr a in s in the e n tir e le n g th o f the oolumn reach the

i n e l a s t i c r eg io n and the d e f le c t io n s are s u f f i c i e n t l y la r g e , i t i s

more d e s ir a b le to r ep la ce y rath er than A y by B q .(l9 a ) . This

requirem ent i s a ls o imposed by the boundary c o n d itio n th at the la t e r a l

d isp la c e iw n t o f the end p o in ts be zero a t a l l time .

^Approximate d e fle c te d shapes o f the column obtained In the above

manner are shown in F ig . ( *7 ).

F ig . ( 6 ) g iv e s the v a lu e s o f lo a d B, f ttie t o t a l displacem ent

in the m iddle as a fr a c tio n o f the rad iu s o f g y r a tio n , bending r i g i d i t y

r a t io B for the m id-point and the s tr a in s and 6^ on the concave

and convex s id e r e s p e c tiv e ly o f the m id-point p lo tte d a g a in st X •

F ig . ( 6 ) shows th at the lo a d drops from 5400 lb s to 4400 lb s in

a time in t e r v a l which i s equal to I / 2OO o f the t o t a l time o f lo a d in g .

This occurs when a sharp decrease in the bending r i g i d i t y a t tlie

m id-point tak es p la c e and r e s u lt s in a la r g e in c r ea se in i t s la t e r a l

d e f le c t io n . The s tr a in p ic tu r e a ls o r e v e a ls th a t s tr a ln -r e v e r g a l on

the convex s id e takes p la c e b efore the column a c tu a lly b u ck les and

th a t the load in c r e a se s a f t e r the o n set o f s tr a in -r e v e r s a l. I t must

be r e a liz e d th a t the d e fle c te d shape of the column i s in tim a te ly

 39.

connected w ith t h is c o n tr o v e r s ia l p o in t o f s tr a in -r e v e r s a l. As the

column shape b u lg es out more and more in the m iddle, the curvature

near th e ends d ecrea ses and can bring about a s tr a in r e v e r sa l in

th ose r eg io n s making the column s t i f f e n . I n v e s tig a tio n s o f the

e f f e c t o f the d e fle c te d shapes a s approximated polyn om ials of

v a rio u s degree on the maximum lo a d th a t a column can take w il l

p rop erly answer t h is question*

F ig . (T ) shows the p r o c e s s e s o f b u ck lin g o f an e l a s t i c and an

i n e l a s t i c column. I t i s to be observed th a t the la t e r a l d e flo c tio n s

o f the l a t t e r in crea se much more ra p id ly than fo r the former and th a t

the p r o c ess o f bu ck ling of an in e l a s t i c column i s v ery abrupt w h ile

fo r the e l a s t i c one i t i s com paratively smooth.

DISCUSSXOB OF RESULTS

F ig u r es 2a, 2b and 2c show the l a t e r a l d e f le c t io n s o f the mid­

p o in t and the com pressive lo a d in an e l a s t i c column w ith a small

i n i t i a l curvature when i t i s te s te d in a p e r f e c t ly r ig id machine

one end o f which i s descending w ith a con stan t v e lo c i t y . The

Column i s seen ( f i g . 3) to o s c i l l a t e about i t s p o s itio n o f s t a t i c

equilibrium r ig h t from the s t a r t o f the lo a d in g . %i8 auçjlitude o f

th ese o s c i l l a t i o n s i s so sm all in the i n i t i a l sta g e s o f lo a d in g as

to be u n d etecta b le in an a c tu a l t e s t w h ile a t an advanced stage o f

lo a d in g the o s c i l l a t i o n s can have very la r g e am plitudes. Due to

the in e r t ia e f f e c t s , the d e f le c t io n s la g behind the s t a t i c d e f le c t io n s

a t f i r s t , then they overshoot them and f i n a l l y o s c i l l a t e about the

p o s it io n o f s t a t i c eq u ilib riu m . Due to the la g in d e f le c t io n s

 30,

r e s u lt in g from the in e r t i a e f f e c t , the maximum lo a d reached can fa r

exceed the E uler lo a d b efore i t b eg in s to o s c i l l a t e about the s t a t i c

lo a d due to th e o s c i l l a t i o n s o f the colunm i t s e l f . The amount o f

t h is e x c e ss in load over th e Euler lo a d depends on the magnitude o f

the I n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s from s tr a ig h tn e s s and on the speed o f th e t e s t .

The high er the speed and the sm aller the i n i t i a l d e v ia tio n s from

s tr a ig h tn e s s , the g reater i s the maximum lo a d th at a column can stu p o rt.

In a c tu a l t e s t s on sh o rt columns i t has been observed th a t the

column jumps out in the middle showing a sharp in c r e a se in curvature

i n the middle and a conqjaratlve str a ig h te n in g o f the end p o r tio n s.

At the same time the com pressive lo a d In the column suddenly drops.

From F ig . (6 ) the maximum lo a d recorded by the t e s t in g machine

would be 5490 l b s . Using the s t r e s s - s t r a in r e la t io n shown in F i g . ( 4 ),

one g e ts fo r th e tangent-mod u lu s load 6400 lbs iJ^d fo r th e reduced-

ffiodulus load 6700 lb s . Thus the maximum lo a d reached i s l e s s than the

tangent-mod u lu s load by 15 p ercen t. This i s quit© an ap p reciab le

d iffe r e n c e . A p o s s ib le reason fo r the d e v ia tio n i s th e © ffo ct o f the

assumed d e fle c te d shape as the bending r ig id it y depends g r e a tly on

the changes in curvature. For in sta n c e , a t X = 0 .7 3 3 5 , i f the d e fle c te d

shape i s approximated by A^S/lô')'^-, the lo a d supported by the column

i s 4700 lb s . w h ile fo r A^7/64)^ - i t i s 4400 l b s . A lo o k a t

F ig . ( *7 ) w i l l show th a t the d iffe r e n c e In the two shapes i s conpara-

t i v e l y small* This appears to be a s ig n if i c a n t p o in t and i t should

b e in v e s tig a te d fu rth er b e fo r e drawing any co n c lu sio n s.

 31.

REMIEHCBS

1. H off, N . J . , Dynamic C r ite r ia o f B uckling. R esearch,

E ngineering S tru ctu res Supplement. B utterw orth’ s S c ie n t i f ic

P u b lic a tio n s, Lt d. , London and Academic P ress, I n c . ,

York, 1949, p . l 2 l .

2. E ngesser, F . , Ueber K nlckfragen, Schw eizerisch e B auzeitung,

Vol. 26, No. 4, p. 24, J u ly 27, 1895.

3. von Th., Untersuchungen uber K n ic k fe s tig k e it,

M itteilu n g en uber Forschungaarbaiten, Verein d eutscher

Ingenieuro, H eft 81, J u liu s Springer, B e r lin , 1910.

4. Shanley, Ï . H . , I n e la s t ic Column Theory, Journal o f the

A eron au tical S c ie n c es, V ol. 14, No. 5, May 1947.

5. H off, N . J . , The P rocess o f Bucicling o f E la s t ic Columns,

P o ly teo im ic I n s t it u t e o f Brooklyn, PIML Report No. 163,

December 1949.
 STA.

FIG. la. COLUMN IN TESTING MACHINE

A /a

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