Eccentric Column Buckling

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Column Buckling

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Like classical column buckling theory, the

buckling of columns under eccentric (offset) loads
is also a topic of unique complexity. It is unique in
that the analysis leads to nonlinear dependences
of beam deflections and stresses on the applied
load. As shown in the figure, a load, , is
eccentric when its line of action is offset a
distance, , from the column. This produces a
bending moment equal to
that exists in
addition to the usual deflection-related moment in the classical theory.
Curiously, the mechanics of eccentric column buckling can be considered more straight-forward
than those of the classical theory. For example, unlike classical column buckling, failure here can
indeed be related to the material's yield strength. In fact, it will be shown that under eccentric
loading conditions, failure will always occur due to stresses exceeding the material's yield
strength before the load reaches its so-called critical value, cr.

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Analysis of the buckling of eccentrically loaded columns begins just as that of classical Euler
Buckling Theory, with the beam bending equation .

However, this time the bending moment is slightly more complex. It is now
,
where
is the compressive load, is the column deflection, and is the offset distance of the
load relative to the vertical portion of the column, the eccentricity.
Inserting this expression for

in the above differential equation produces

which has the following general solution

where

and

are constants determined from the boundary conditions.

The boundary conditions are

pinned.

at

The first boundary condition,

gives

at

The second boundary condition, (

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and

, corresponding to both ends being

, leads to the conclusion that

at

. And this

), gives

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Eccentric Column Buckling

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And the complete solution to the differential equation is

Interesting Observations
It is quite interesting to note that unlike the classically loaded column of the previous
page, this eccentrically loaded column has a straight-forward, well-behaved, solution
for its lateral displacements. It is equally interesting to note that the dependence of
these lateral displacements on the applied load is quite nonlinear. This is highly
unusual for elastic analyses.
Equally interesting is the fact that the dependence on eccentricity, , is linear even
while the dependence on load is not. In fact, the deflection of every portion of the
column is directly proportional to the eccentricity. Note that the equation reduces to the
scenario of classical column buckling as goes to zero because it predicts
everywhere even in the presence of the load.
Returning to the case of nonzero eccentricity. Yet another fascinating property of the
analytical solution above is its dependence on the tangent function. Recall that the
tangent function goes to infinity as its argument approaches
. Therefore, the
solution is telling us that the column deflections become infinite whenever

Solving this equation for

gives the following result, which is remarkable because it
is exactly the buckling solution for classical noneccentrically loaded columns.
2
cr

Furthermore, it is independent of the eccentricity, . This is completely counterintuitive. All engineering intuition believes (strongly!) that the buckling load should
decrease as the eccentricity increases. We will resolve this next... and engineering

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intuition will be satisfied.

The resolution to the above dilemma, namely that the critical buckling load in an eccentrically
loaded column is independent of the load's eccentricity, is found in the stresses generated by
the beam's deformations. To see this, begin by recognizing that the stress in the column is
governed by

where
is the stress due to the compressive load, and
is the stress due to
bending. Note that here is not the column deflection. It represents the distance from the
column's neutral axis. Note also that sign conventions are being completely ignored here
because everything is being treated as a positive value, when in fact, the stress is clearly
compressive. Even the applied load is being taken as a positive value. This is OK. Simply
interpret the stress as an absolute value.
The question is, "What is the maximum compressive stress in the column?" This is found by
inserting the conditions that maximize the effects of bending. The maximum bending stress
occurs at a point in the cross-section farthest from the neutral axis, i.e.,
. Second, it occurs
where the bending moment is a maximum along the column's length. In other words

m ax
m ax

Recall from above that

where now represents the beam/column deflection
(and once again, negative signs are being ignored). So the maximum bending moment,
m ax
corresponds to the maximum beam deflection.

m ax

So m ax is needed. This occurs at

gives

m ax

on the beam. Evaluating the column deflection at

m ax

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Recall that

Using this result and substituting back through the equations for

m ax and

m ax leads to

m ax

Like the tangent function, the secant function also goes to infinity as its argument approaches
. The result is that the predicted stress also approaches infinity. This leads to a new column
failure criterion, namely, the column will fail when the stress equals the material's yield stress:
m ax
yield.
It is worth noting that the equation can also be written as

m ax
cr

2
2
where cr
. This reveals that cr in eccentrically loaded columns is only an
academic landmark. The column will actually fail when m ax
yield, and this will always
occur at a load less than cr.

Eccentric Buckling Example

The graph here shows the predicted stress in an 850 mm long steel bar
(E = 200,000 MPa) with cross-sectional area of 100 mm2. The stress is plotted against
load for a series of different eccentricities.
The graph reveals several important properties of eccentric column buckling. The story
begins with the lowest (blue) curve for the near-zero eccentricity of 0.1 mm. This curve
approaches the theoretical limit where the stress is simply
until it suddenly goes
to infinity at
cr. Of course, any object will yield, and soon fail, when its stress
goes to infinity, and this is consistent with the noneccentric buckling theory in which
the column fails at
cr.
Second, the load at which the stress grows rapidly, decreases with increasing offset,
, of the load. Therefore any such eccentrically loaded column will fail before
reaches cr because the stress in it will, at some point, exceed its yield strength. This
is the property of eccentrically loaded columns that satisfies intuition even though cr

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is independent of .

The equation for stress can be cast in a nondimensional form, permitting all solutions to be
plotted as a series of dimensionless parameters in a single graph. This is accomplished by first
returning to the following equation.

m ax
cr

Next, factor area,

, out of the bracketed term

m ax
cr

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and move it to the left hand side.

m ax
cr

Finally, divide both sides by

cr.

m ax
cr

cr

cr

The equation is now nondimensional. It contains several dimensionless terms:

, and
cr .

m ax

cr ,

All solutions of the equation can now be plotted as a series of master-curves on a single graph.

Dimensionless Parameter Calculation Example

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Assume we have a 100 in long bar made of aluminum having

yield strength of yield
65,000 psi. If the bar has
4

, then

psi and
2
, and

cr is
2

cr

2
2

But! Now assume that the load is offset 3 in from the column axis. Now the column will
fail at a lower load than cr because the stress in the column will reach the
aluminum's yield strength. To determine how much lower, we first need to compute
2

yield
cr

And we also need to calculate

2
4

So all we need to do is start on the y-axis at a value of 6.59 and march across until we
intercept the curve labeled "1.5" for
. We then turn down and find that we
intercept the x-axis at
. The stress in the bar will therefore reach
cr
yield at

It would be incorrect to assume that the bar can withstand 9,870 lbf compressive load
if that load is offset 3 in from the bar's axis. Instead, the bar will start to yield at a load
of only 7,600 lbf.

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Ratio of Stresses
The dimensionless term containing stress merits additional comment. Rewriting it as
m ax
cr

permits the denominator to be interpreted as the critical compressive stress that would
cause the column to buckle (when
). Call this cr.

cr
cr

The dimensionless stress term now becomes m ax cr. As in the example above, it
is common to equate the maximum stress in a column to the material's yield strength,
yield , in order to back-solve for , the maximum load the column can support (not
cr). This leads to the ratio

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yield
cr

So the dimensionless term m ax

cr is equivalent to, and can be interpreted as
.
yield
cr, the ratio of the material's yield strength to the critical stress, cr
This stress ratio, yield cr, is the focus of this discussion because of its unique
interpretation. Specifically, it reflects the ratio of (i) the maximum possible load a
column could carry before it yields if no buckling were to take place, to (ii) the
maximum load it could actually carry when limited by buckling considerations (again,
under the condition that
). The higher this ratio, the more severe the buckling
limitation is. For example, in the example above, it was equal to 6.59. If buckling could
be prevented (perhaps through the use of lateral supports), then the column could
support 6.59 times more load before it yields.

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