Figure 5.15 Inelastic column buckling stress.

Figure 5.16 The three slenderness regimes for overall column buckling stress.
stants, and they are based on the shape of the stress-strain curve above yield.
As we mentioned in Section 2.4, aluminum alloys are divided into two groups:
those that are not artificially aged (tempers -O, -H, -T1, -T2, -T3, -T4) and
those that are (tempers -T5 through -T9). Now the reason is revealed: These
two groups have stress-strain curves with different shapes, the latter having a
curve beyond yield, as shown in Figure 5.17. This means that the
variation of tangent modulus with stress is different for the two groups, hence,
the different buckling formula constants for these groups.
Expressions for the buckling formula constants are given in Aluminum
Specification Table 3.3-3 for alloys not artificially aged, and Table 3.3-4 for
those that are. These expressions are a function of yield strength and modulus
of elasticity only. Aluminum designers do not often use these expressions
because they have been conveniently evaluated for most alloys, and values
have been tabulated in the Aluminum Design Manual, Part VII, Table 2-1 and
Appendix K of this book. It�s useful to remember buckling formula constants
more precisely as inelastic buckling formula constants because they�re used
for calculating inelastic buckling strength.
Finally, the strength of columns so stocky that they will not buckle is just
the compressive yield strength (Fcy):
compressive yield strength # F (5.10) cy
This is sometimes referred to as the ��squash load.�� (Prior to the 7th edition
of the Aluminum Specification, the compressive yield strength was divided
by a coefficient kc which was greater than or equal to one and whose purpose
was to increase the range of slenderness ratios over which the simpler compressive
yield equation could be used. This conservative simplification has
been dropped.)
Comparison to Steel The AISC Steel Specification (39) doesn�t distinguish
compressive yield of the cross section from inelastic buckling and uses just
two equations (inelastic and elastic buckling) to approximate the behavior of
columns. The Aluminum Specification uses three equations (yielding, inelastic
buckling, and elastic buckling), as shown in Figure 5.18. In steel, predicting
inelastic buckling for any slenderness ratio below the intersection of the elastic
and inelastic buckling equations requires a rather complex equation. The
use of two equations to represent this range in the Aluminum Specification
allows the use of simpler expressions, but it does require you to determine
which equation to use or to evaluate both equations and use the lesser strength
from the two.
Pag 138.