THE EFFECT OF SHEAR DEFORMATIONS ON THE ELASTIC CRITICAL COLUMN LOAD

This section discusses the effect of shear deformation on the elastic critical column load. The simple case of a pin-ended column, shown in Figure 3, is considered; for M, N, V, x and y, as defined in this Figure, the following relationships hold:

M = N y,

(2.1)

The total lateral deflection y of the centreline is the result of two components:

y = y1 + y2 (2.2) the bending moment M gives rise to the deflection y1, and the shearing force V to the additional deflection y2. According to elastic theory the curvature due to the bending moment M is as follows:

(2.3) where E is the modulus of elasticity or Young's modulus. I is the moment of inertia of the cross-section. The slope due to the shearing force V is as follows:

(2.4) where A is the cross-sectional area. G is the modulus of rigidity or shear modulus. is the shape factor of the column cross-section ( =1,11 for solid circular cross-sections; = 1,2 for rectangular cross-sections). The curvature due to the effect of the shearing force V is as follows:

(2.5) The total curvature of the buckling curve is due both to the bending moment, Equation (2.3), and to the shearing force, Equation (2.5):

(2.6) It is possible to rearrange Equation (2.6) in the form:

(2.7) Adopting the same procedure as in the Euler case, the critical load is defined by the equation:

(2.8) Solving for N, the following expression for the elastic critical load Ncr,id is obtained:

(2.9) where:

Ncr = is the Euler buckling load obtained disregarding the deformations due to shearing force

Sv =

is the shear stiffness of the column.

Obviously Ncr,id < Ncr ; the greater the ratio Ncr / Sv, the smaller the ratio Ncr,id/ Ncr < 1. The ratio Ncr,id / Ncr obtained from Equation (2.9) is plotted, in Figure 4, as a function of the ratio Ncr / Sv.

For solid rolled cross-sections the shear stiffness Sv is much greater than N. The difference between Ncr,id and Ncr is very small therefore, and can be disregarded for design purposes. However, as will be shown below, the shear stiffness Sv, of built-up columns, is much smaller than it is for solid shapes; in this case, therefore, the influence of the shearing forces on the reduction of the critical load is very significant. In order to compare the shear stiffness Sv to the Euler buckling loads of solid columns Ncr, consider as an example a HE200A column buckling in the plane of the web. The shear stiffness Sv is as follows:

Sv =

E = 200 kNmm-2 = 0,3 Aw = the area of the web = 6,5 x 170 = 1105 mm2 The Euler buckling load Ncr is:

Ncr = where: A is the cross-sectional area = 5380 mm2. is the slenderness of the column. In Table 1 the critical buckling loads Ncr,id, the Euler buckling loads Ncr, and the ratios Ncr / Sv are given as functions of the slenderness; it clearly shows that in the case of solid cross-sections, Ncr is always far smaller than Sv; therefore, for technical purposes, it is possible to disregard the influence of the shear deformations on the elastic buckling loads Ncr,id.