is discussed below in Section 5.2.1. Local buckling is shown in Figure 5.

9
and treated in Section 5.2.2.
Finally, we�ll put it all together: overall and local buckling considerations
and member design. An interaction can occur between overall buckling and
local buckling, causing overall buckling to occur at a lower load than it would
if local buckling were not present. We�ll deal with this insidious effect also.
Local buckling is more likely to limit member strength where slender elements
make up the cross section. Designers of hot-rolled steel shapes usually
deal with what is called compact sections. These are composed of elements
deliberately proportioned, so that overall buckling occurs before local buckling.
This limits concern to overall buckling. While this limitation simplifies
the design process, material can often be used more efficiently when greater
variation in the proportions of the profile is allowed. When the restriction to
compact shapes is removed, however, and more slender shapes are considered,
both overall and local buckling need attention.
Slender is not necessarily synonymous with thin gage; a plate element of
any thickness can buckle locally before overall buckling occurs if it is wide
enough. The parameter that divides the two camps is the slenderness ratio of
the elements of the shape. For rectangular plate elements, this is the ratio of
the element�s width to its thickness. Even a thick element can be relatively
wide and, thus, have a high slenderness ratio, forcing us to consider the
element to be slender.
Finally, a basic ground rule: To calculate compressive stresses, divide the
axial load by the gross area of the cross section, which includes the area of
holes filled by fasteners. (This is one of the reasons for the Aluminum
Specification
requirement that holes be no more than �1� in. [1.6 mm] larger than 16
the fastener diameter.) Unfilled holes, sometimes used to reduce weight or
for convenience in mass fabrication, should be accounted for in computing
the gross area. The cold-formed steel Specification (40) allows unfilled holes
to be ignored if they exist over less than 1.5% of the length of the column
(AISI Section C4). They also offer more complicated methods of calculating
the effective width of compression elements supported along both edges and
with circular holes (AISI Section B2.2). The Aluminum Specification does
not address unfilled holes in columns.