Lecture 4

DESIGN OF COMPRESSION
MEMBERS
 Re-cap
 It should be noted that the actual
buckling load is a function of:

1. The Euler Load appropriate to the

length, support conditions, cross
section and material of the member

2. Initial deformations of the member

  The Critical Stress is given by:
Pcr  2 EI  2 E
 cr   
A AL 2
AL2
I
But

I
 r2 where r  radius of gyration
A
 2E
Therefore  cr  2
 Leff 
 
 r 
 Or
 E
2
Leff
 cr  2 where    Slendernes s ratio
 r

Thus the critical stress in a column is

dependent only on the Young’s
modulus of elasticity and the
slenderness ratio  = (Leff/r)
Because of the phenomenon of buckling, one can
differentiate two types of columns namely:

1. short columns: These are columns, which have

little or no tendency to buckle. A short
column will fail due to material failure
2. slender columns: These are columns, which
are prone to buckle at compressive
stresses that are below the compressive
strength of the material.
 Short and Slender Columns

A Short Column will

fail due to material A Slender Column will
failure fail due to buckling
Measures to prevent buckling of a slender column:

1. Providing lateral restraints

2. Limiting the load which is to be carried by the
column
DESIGN OF COMPRESSION MEMBERS
(see section 4.7)

 Load carrying capacity of a compression

member is determined by:
1. Slenderness of the member
2. Strength of the Material
4. DESIGN OF COMPRESSION MEMBERS
(Cont.)
 The Design Strength is as given in section
3.1.1 and table 9 BS5950

 Slenderness is defined as:

 Le
 Where: Le= effective Length
r
r = radius of gyration
4. DESIGN OF COMPRESSION MEMBERS
(Cont.)

 The guidelines for determining the

effective length are given in 4.7.3

 Effective lengths for standard conditions

of restraint are given in table 24 in BS
5950
Table 22 of BS 5950 :Part1 :2000
 Compression Resistance 4.7.4
 The applied compressive force should not exceed
the compression resistance Pc which is given by:

(a) For class 1 plastic, class 2 compact or class 3

semi compact sections: Pc = Ag.pc

(b) For class 4 slender sections: Pc = Aeff.pcs

 Compression Resistance 4.7.4 (cont.)

where:
Aeff is the effective cross sectional area from 3.6
Ag is the gross sectional Area (see 3.4.1)
pc is the compressive Strength (see 4.7.5)
pcs is the value of pc for a reduced slenderness of
(Aeff/Ag)0.5 in which  is based on the radius of
gyration r of the gross section.
 On Classification of cross sections (see 3.5)

 Note that the class of a cross sections determines

compressive strength.
 Classification of cross sections is done in accordance
with section 3.5
 Elements and cross sections are classified as CLASS 1
PLASTIC, CLASS 2 COMPACT, CLASS 3 SEMI
COMPACT or CLASS 4 SLENDER
 Cross sections may be made of elements of different
classes.
 Classification of cross sections (see 3.5.2)
 Classification is based on Table 11 or Table 12 and
Figure 5 of the code:
 CLASS 1 Plastic: All elements subject to compression
comply with the values given in Table 11 or Table
12 for plastic Elements
 CLASS 2 Compact: All elements subject to
compression comply with the values given in Table
11 or Table 12 for Compact Elements
 CLASS 3 Semi compact: All elements subject to
compression comply with the values given in Table
11 or Table 12 for semi compact Elements
Fig. 5: BS5950
Fig. 5: BS5950
Table 11
BS 5950
Table 12
BS 5950
Figure 6
BS 5950
Outstand and Internal Elements
 Outstand Element: one edge is free the other is
attached to an adjacent element
 Internal Element: Both longitudinal Edges are
attached to other elements or longitudinal stiffeners
 The Compressive Strength pc (see 4.7.5)

 Depends on the slenderness  and the design

strength py
 May be established first by reference to tables 23
and Figure 14. The table and the figure indicate
which of the four tables 24(a) to (d) is relevant to
the case.
 For sections fabricated from plate by welding, the
value of py should be reduced by 20N/mm2
Fig.14 BS 5950
Table 23
BS 5950
Table 24
BS 5950
Battened Struts (see 4.7.9)
 It consists of two or more main components
 The maximum slenderness, c of a main
component (based on its minimum radius of
gyration) between end fasteners of adjacent
battens should not exceed 50.
 The slenderness of the battened strut, b
about the axis perpendicular to the plane of
the battens should be calculated from:
Battened Struts (see 4.7.9)

2 2
b  m  c
 Where m is the ratio LE / r of a whole
member about that axis
c is as defined above
 Example:
Double Angle Connections

2 No. 75 x 50 x 6 mm angles spaced at 8mm apart with spacing

washers at 500mm centre have been proposed for the bottom
chord of the roof truss shown in the figure below. When
subjected to the load combination (1.4Gk + 1.6Qk), the
maximum tension in the chord is +320kN. Under the action of
the load combination (1.4Wk + 1.0Gk), the maximum
compression in the chord is -115kN. Given that the bottom
chord is supported laterally at the nodes and that the end
connections are single bolts M20 in 22mm holes drilled through
longer legs of the angles, check whether the section proposed
for the bottom chord is adequate or not. Material is Steel grade
S275.
The problem was solved in class:

1. As tension member

2.As compression member

For tension strength:
Design as a simple tension member
Ag rx ry
rv-v
Cased columns (Section 4.14)
Solid concrete casing acts as fire protection for steel
columns and the casing assists in carrying the load
and preventing the column from buckling about the
weak axis.
 General requirements
(1) The steel section is either a single-rolled
or fabricated I- or H-section withequal
flanges. Channels and compound sections can
also be used.
(2) The steel section is not to exceed 1000 ×
500mm2. The dimension 1000mm is in the
direction of the web.
(3) Primary structural connections should be
made to the steel section.
 General requirements
(4) The steel section is unpainted and free
from dirt, grease, rust, scale, etc.
(5) The steel section is encased in concrete of
at least Grade 25, to BS 8110.
(6) The cover on the steel is to be not less
than 50 mm. The corners may be chamfered.
(7) The concrete extends the full length of the
member and is thoroughly compacted
 General requirements
(8) The casing is reinforced with steel fabric
mesh #D98 per BS 4483 or alternatively with
rebars not less than 5mm diameter at a maximum
spacing of 200mm to form a cage of closed links and
longitudinal bars.
(9) The effective length is not to exceed 40bc
100b2c/dc or 250r, whichever is the least, where bc is
the minimum width of solid casing,
dc is the minimum depth of solid casing,
r is the minimum radius of gyration of the steel
section
 Compression strength (4.14.2)
(1) The radius of gyration about the y–y axis ,
ry should be taken as 0.2bc but not more
than 0.2(B + 150), where B is the overall
width of the steel flange. The radius of
gyration for the x–x axis rx should be taken as
that of the steel section.
(2) The compression resistance Pc is

but not more than the short strut capacity,

where
Ac = the gross sectional area of the concrete,

Ag = the gross area of the steel section,

fcu = characteristic strength of the concrete at

28 days (but not to exceed 40N/mm2

pc = compressive strength of the steel section

determined using rx and ry (py< 355MPa)

py = the design strength of the steel

 Example: cased column
An internal column in a multi-storey building
has an actual length of 4.2m centre-to-centre of
floor beams. The steel section is a 203 × 203
UC 52. Calculate the compression resistance of
the column if it is cased in accordance with
Section 4.14 of BS 5950: Part 1. The steel is
Grade S275 and the concrete Grade 25. The
casing has been made 310mm2.
Section Properties

The properties of the steel

section are:
For the cased section:
ry = 0.2bc
= 0.2 x310 = 62mm
but not more than 0.2(B + 150)
0.2(203.9 + 150)=70.78mm
 Slenderness ratio
Because the column is cased throughout, the effective
length is taken from Table 22 as 0.7 of the actual
length:
Effective length LE = 0.7 × 4200 = 2940mm.
The effective length LE is not to exceed:
40bc = 40 × 310 = 12,400mm
100b2c/dc = 100 × 310 = 3100mm
250r = 250 × 51.6 = 12,900mm

Slenderness, λ = 2940/62 = 47.4

 Compressive strength
The design strength from Table 9, py = 275
N/mm2.
For buckling about y–y,
select curve (c) from Table 23.
Compressive strength from Table 24(c):

pc = 225.2 N/mm2

The gross sectional area of the concrete:

Ac = 310 × 310 = 96,100mm2
 Compressive strength
Compressive resistance of the cased section:
 Compressive strength
This is not to exceed the short strut capacity:

The compression resistance is 2,380.6 kN.