Design of Axial Members

Martin Gillie

Today
Design of tension members Design of columns Design beam-columns and beam-ties (just a bit of this) Along the way revision of

Euler buckling Real column behaviour Slenderness

Some Questions from Tutorials

Q in EN1990 indicates a variable action Q in EN1991 indicates concentrated load

Tension Members
Carry loads in axial tension Are not susceptible to buckling Frequently used in trusses Angle sections common Are normally simple to design Connections normally limit strength

Bottom chord in tension

Half internal members in tension

Tension Capacity
No bucking phenomena, therefore in principle simple section check. Tension capacity, N , given by

N f u Ae
fu= material ultimate stress Ae= effective area - need to account for bolt holes

Eurocode Formulation
6.2.3 gives two expressions take the smallest for design

N pl , Rd N u , Rd

Af y

m0
0.9 Anet f u

Yield stress with gross area

m2

Ultimate stress with net area

Different partial safety factors

A=bt Anet=(b-d)t

Eccentric Connections
Unconnected leg

Connected leg

Eccentric connection results in force not uniformly distributed through section

6.2.3(5) refers to Part 1-8 3.10.3 for eccentric connections Be careful of partial safety factors Reduction factors used on net area Careful with unequal angles

Columns
Carry load in compression Normally governed by resistance to flexural (Euler) buckling but

Load eccentricity Crookedness Plasticity

all affect strength Can be affected by local buckling Very stocky columns governed by material strength

Idealised Column Behaviour P Revision Yield strength of column given by

N squash Af y
P
Applies to short, stocky columns

cr 1

2 EI
AL
2

cr 4

2 EI
AL
2

2 EI
A( L / 2) 2

Idealised Euler buckling strength of pin ended column

L/2 the effective length Applies to long, slender columns

Effective Length Concept

Generally, cr k

2 EI
AL2

cr depends on geometry of beam (I, A and L) support conditions (k) material properties (E)

k depends on support conditions

k=0.25 Leff=2L

k=1 Leff=1L

k=4 Leff=L/2

Effective lengths can be used instead then

cr

2 EI
ALeff
2

Equation no longer depends on bcs

Effective Lengths
End conditions rarely simple No guidance in Eurocode on effective lengths

Use conservative values (e.g. assume pinned) Refer to NCCI detailed guidance

Note that effective length can be different about different axes (as can slenderness)

Figure from NCCI (non-sway)

Effective Lengths
Pinned Pinned

L Fixed Fixed

Le=2L

Le=0.7L

Sway condition

Non-sway condition

Slenderness
cr 2 EI
ALeff
2

P now depends on geometry of beam (I, A and L) and material properties (E)

Define radius of gyration i, as (I/A) and slenderness as Leff/i

cr

EI
2

ALeff

Ei
2

Leff

E 2
2

Concept of slenderness allows easy comparison of strength of different columns

Slenderness

Elastic Critical Force

This is the theoretical load at which a column buckles elastically (as before) Needed in all column design calculations Slenderness and effective length needed to determine its value

AE N cr 2
2

Idealized Column Behaviour

Yielding y Idealised behaviour

Failure Stress

Euler buckling

Slenderness

Real Column Behaviour

Idealised strength not attained because of

Initial imperfections Local yielding Eccentric load Residual stresses

Various formulae used to predict real behaviour

Rankine (old but simple) Perry-Robertson (varied form used in EN1993)

Real Column Behaviour

Yielding Idealised behaviour y

Failure Stress

Real behaviour

Euler buckling Real response effected by crookedness, residual stresses, yielding eccentricity of load

Relative Slenderness

Real Column Behaviour

Euler buckling Stress or load
Real peak stress always less than buckling stress

Real columns

Lateral Deflection

Non-dimensional Slenderness

Slenderness () arises naturally from column buckling calcs

Cannot be used more generally (e.g for L-t bucking) Contains (weak) dependence on yield stress

Non - dimensional slenderness

Plastic failure load Buckling load

normal slenderness appears in here

Relative slenderness concept introduced to Eurocodes (and elsewhere)

Also modified or generalized slenderness (Eurocode sloppy) Similar concept to traditional slenderness Can be used for other types of buckling

Both types of slenderness needed for EC column design

Eurocode Column Design

Fraction of yield stress ()
Idealised behaviour 1 0.8 Design curve (selected) Euler buckling curve

0.5

Af y Nb ym

0.1

Non-dimensional Slenderness

Eurocode Column Design

First check section capacity 6.2.4

Class four sections have lower capacity due to local buckling

Next check for flexural (= Euler) buckling 6.3.1.2 Need chi factor - this depends on

Elastic critical load (theoretical buckling load) Section capacity (squash load) Imperfection value (Tables 6.2 and 6.1)

Behaviour of all columns captured in Fig 6.4

Example
MAJOR AXIS CONDITION Free to move vertically Free to rotate MINOR AXIS CONDITION Free to move vertically Not free to rotate

Free to rotate Buckles left to right

Free to rotate Buckles up and down

Members With Axial Force and Bending Cross Section Capacity

Reduction in capacity can often be ignored if one effect dominates (6.2.9) If not interaction surfaces are used ( 6.2.1(7) and 6.2.9.1(6) )

M/Mp 1
Real interaction surface

Safe 1 Simple interaction surface Eqn 6.41 N/Np

Members With Axial Force and Bending Buckling Capacity

General case very complex (6.3.3) Rarely needed Simpler case perhaps

M y , Ed N Ed k yy 1 y N Rk LT M y , Rk
Flexural buckling reduction factor (from today)
Interaction factor Lateral buckling reduction Factor (from last week)

Eccentric Connections

P Load applied eccentrically

Eccentric Connections
Can be ignored if symmetrically loaded (beam each side) Nominal eccentricity used (see data sheet) Need to calc for beam-column - difficult Or use design data sheet