BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
MODULE
FOR
CEA 413 – TIMBER AND STEEL DESIGN
CHAPTER DESIGN OF COMPRESSION
4 MEMBERS
Compiled by:
ENGR. MA. VICTORIA V. UMALI
1st SEMESTER, 2025 - 2026
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Unit Content:
The following are the lessons contained in this module:
Lesson 1 – DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF TIMBER COLUMNS
Lesson 2 – COLUMN CLASSIFICATION
Lesson 3 – LIMITATIONS ON ( l / d ) RATIOS
Lesson 4 – DESIGN OF COLUMNS
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
1. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF TIMBER COLUMNS
Members subjected to axial compression (stress along the axis of member) are
called compression members. They are classified as short, intermediate, and
long columns.
Types of Columns
A. SHORT COLUMNS – are columns that fail by crushing. Such short
columns are not necessarily short in length, rather, have small ratio of the
unbraced length and cross-sectional dimension.
B. LONG COLUMNS – are column that fail by elastic buckling and have larger
ratio of length to lateral dimension.
C. INTERMEDIATE COLUMNS – are columns that have neither very small nor
very large l / d ratios. They tend to fail by a combination of crushing and
buckling.
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Slenderness Ratio
The slenderness ratio of a column is the ratio of its effective unbraced
length to its radius of gyration (le/r). This ratio may differ for the two principal
axes of the cross-section. The larger of the two ratios is the critical one. For
simplicity, the slenderness ratio for wood columns is “le/d.” Where “le” is the
effective unbraced length and “d” is the least dimension of the cross-section of
the timber column.
Radius of Gyration
Distribution of cross-sectional area in column around its centroidal axis.
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
2. CLASSIFICATION OF COLUMNS
a) Simple Solid Wood Columns – consist of a single piece or of pieces
properly glued together to form a single member.
L or Lu – unsupported length or height
h – width or larger dimension of the cross-section
d – thickness or least dimension of the cross-section
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
b) Spaced Column, Connector
Joined – are formed of two or
more individual members with
their longitudinal axes parallel.
c) Built-Up Column –
combination of two or more
simple solid wood columns.
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
3. LIMITATIONS ON (l / d) RATIOS
Effective Column Length, le = KeL
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Ke = design buckling factor when ideal conditions is approximated
Le = effective length or height
L or Lu = unsupported length or height
d = least dimension of the cross-section of column
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
F’c = Modified allowable compressive stress parallel to the grain
P = axial compressive force or load
A = cross – sectional area of the columns
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Values of F’c (Modified Allowable Compressive Stress)
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Sample Problems:
1. A three-meter-long timber column having hinge support on both ends carries an
axial load of 240 KN. If Fc is equal to 10.34 MPa and E = 13.8 x 103 MPa, design
an S4S, square column section using:
a) NSCP Requirements
b) Straight Line or Winslow Formula
2. A timber column of square cross-section has a length of 3.6m and a dimension of
150mm x 150mm. It is fixed at both ends so that Ke = 0.67. Using the
requirements of the NSCP Code, and if the column is made of an 80% visually-
stress graded unseasoned Apitong, identify the following:
a) Is the column: a.1) short column a.2) intermediate column a.3) long column
b) Allowable compressive stress
c) Allowable axial load
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture and Fine Arts
Thank You!