CHAPTER 5

STRUTS

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TOPICS TO BE COVERED
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Euler’s Theory
3.3 Equivalent strut length
3.4 Comparison of Euler’s theory with experimental results
3.5 Euler’s validity limit
3.6 Rankine or Rankine-Gordon formula
3.7 Struts with Initial Curvature
3.8 Struts with Eccentric Load
3.9 Laterally Loaded Struts
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3.1 Introduction
 Structural members which carry
compressive loads may be divided into two
broad categories depending on their relative
lengths and cross-sectional dimensions.
 Short members are generally termed
Columns and these usually fail by
crushing when the stress of the material in
compression is exceeded.
 Long, slender columns or Struts, however,
fail by buckling some time before the yield
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stress in compression is reached.
 The Buckling occurs owing to one or more of
the following reasons:

A) The strut may not be perfectly straight

initially;
B) The load may not be applied exactly along
the axis of the strut;
C) One part of the material may yield in
compression more readily than others
owing to some lack of uniformity in the
material properties throughout the strut.
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 At values of load below the buckling load a strut will
be in stable equilibrium where the displacement
caused by any lateral disturbance will be totally
recovered when the disturbance is removed.

 At the buckling load the strut is said to be in a state

of neutral equilibrium, and theoretically it should
then be possible to gently defect the strut in to a
simple sine wave provided that the amplitude of
the wave is kept small.
Example: Thin Metal strips or simply rule

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 Theoretically, it is possible for struts to achieve a
condition of unstable equilibrium with loads
exceeding the buckling load, any slight lateral
disturbance then then causing failure by Buckling;
this condition is never achieved in practice under
static load conditions.
 Buckling occurs immediately at the point where
the buckling load is reached owing to the reasons
stated earlier.

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3.2 Euler’s Theory
A. Strut with pinned ends
Consider the axially loaded strut shown in Figure 3.1
subjected to the crippling load Pe producing a
deflection y at a distance x from one end. Assume that
the ends are either pin-jointed or rounded so that there
is no moment at either end.
d2y
B.M at C  EI 2  _ Pe y
dx
d2y
EI 2  Pe y  0
dx
d 2 y Pe
 y0
dx 2 EI

Fig.3.1 Strut with axial load and pinned ends

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 Let D=d/dx,
( D + n ) y = 0, where n = P / EI
2 2 2
e

 This is a second-order differential equation which has

a solution of the form
y=A cos nx+B sin nx
P P
i.e y = A cos ( )x + B sin (
e
)x
e

EI EI
Now at x=0, y=0 A=0
And at x=L, y=0 BsinL√(Pe/EI)=0

Either B=0 or sinL√(Pe/EI)=0

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 If B=0 then y=0 and the strut has not yet Buckled.
Thus the solution required is:

P P
sin L ( ) =0 ∴ L (
e e
)=π
EI EI
π EI
2

P = .......................EQ.1
e
L 2

 It should be noted that other solutions(infinite

number of solutions) exist for the equation
P
sin L ( ) = 0 i.e sin nL = 0
e

EI
nL = π ,2 π ,3 π ,5 π , etc
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 The above selected value in equation is the so-
called Fundamental mode value and is the
lowest critical load producing the single-bow
buckling condition.

 The solution nL=2π produces in two half waves,

3π in three half-waves etc as shown in Figure
3.2.

 If the load is applied sufficiently to the strut, it is

possible to pass through the fundamental mode
and to achieve at least one of the other modes
which are theoretically possible.
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 Fig 3.2: Strut Failure Modes

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B. One end fixed, the other free
Consider now the strut of Figure 3.3 with the origin at
the fixed end.
dy 2

B.M at C = EI = +P ( a _ y )
dx 2

d y Py Pa
2

+ =
dx EI EI
2

( D + n ) y = n a................Eq.2
2 2 2

Fig. 3.3: Fixed-free strut

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 N.B: It is always convenient to arrange the diagram
and origin such that the differential equation is
achieved in the above form since the solution will
then always be of the form.
y=A cos nx+B sin nx + (Particular solution)
The particular solution is a particular value of y which
satisfies equation 2, and in this case can be shown
to be y=a.
y=A cos nx+B sin nx+a
Now when x=0, y=0
A=-a
When x=0, dy/dx=0 But when x=L, y=a
B=0 a=-acosnL+a
y=-acosnx+a 0=cosnL
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 The fundamental mode of buckling in this case
therefore is given when nL=(1/2)π.

P π
L ( )=
EI 2
π EI2

P = ...........................Eq. 3
e
4L 2

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C. Fixed Ends
Consider the strut of Figure 3.4 with the origin at the
centre.

Fig 3.4: Strut with fixed ends

In this case the B.M at C is given by
dy 2

EI = M _ Py
dx 2

dy P
2
M
+ y=
dx 2
EI EI
15 ( D + n ) y = M / EI
2 2
 Here the particular solution is
M M
y= =
n EI
2
P
y = A cos nx + B sin nx + M / P
 Now when x=0, dy/dx=0 Therefore, B=0 and when
x=1/2L, y=0
_M nL
∴ A= sec
P 2
M nL M
y=_ sec cos nx +
P 2 P
 But when x=1/2L,dy/dx is also zero,
nM nL nL
0= sec sin
P 2 2
nM nL
0= tan
16 P 2
 The fundamental buckling mode is then given when
nL/2=π.
L P
( )=π
2 EI
4 π EI
2

P = ......................Eq.4
e
L 2

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D. One end fixed, the other Pinned
In order to maintain the pin-joint on the horizontal axis
of the unloaded strut, it is necessary in this case to
introduce a vertical load F at the Pin (Figure 3.5). The
moment of F about the built-in end then balances the
fixing moment.

dy 2

EI = _ Py + F ( L _ x )
dx 2

dy P2
F
+ y= (L_x)
Fig 3.5: Strut with one end pinned, dx EI 2
EI
the other fixed F
( D + n )y =
2
(L_x)
2

EI
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 The particular solution is
F F
y= (L_x) = (L_x)
n EI
2
P
 The full solution is therefore
F
y = A cos nx + B sin nx + ( L _ x )
P
 When x=0, y=0, Therefore, A=_FL/P
 When x=0, dy/dx=0 , B=F/Np
FL F F
y=_ cos nx + sin nx + ( L _ x )
P nP P
F
= [_ nL cos nx + sin nx + n( L _ x )]
nP

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 But when x=L, y=0
nL cos nL = sin nL
tan nL = nL
 The lowest value of nL (neglecting zero) which
satisfies this condition and which therefore produces
the fundamental buckling condition is nL=4.5
radians.
P
L = 4 .5
EI
20.25EI
P = ................................Eq.5
e
L 2

or approximately
2 π EI2

P = .................................Eq.6
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e
L 2
3.3 Equivalent Strut Length
 Having derived the result for the buckling load of a
strut with pinned ends the Euler loads for other end
conditions may all be written in the same form,
i.e
 2 EI
Pe  .......... .......... .......... Eq.7
2
l

Where l is the equivalent length of the strut and can

be related to the actual length of the strut depending
on the end conditions. The equivalent length is found
to be the length of a simple bow (half sine wave) in
each of the strut deflection curves shown in the figure
below.
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 Figure 3.6: “Equivalent length” of struts with different end
conditions. In each case l is the length of a single bow.

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3.4 Comparison of Euler’s theory with experimental
results
 Between L/k=40 and L/k=100 neither the Euler
results nor the yield stress are close to the
experimental values, each suggesting a critical load
which is in excess of that which is actually required for
failure-a very unsafe situation! Other formulae have
therefore been derived to attempt to obtain closer
agreement between the actual failing load and the
predicted value in this particular range of slenderness
ration.

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a) Straight-line formula
P = σ A [1 _ n( L / k )]..................................Eq.8 )
y

The value of n depending on the material used and

the end condition.
b) Johnson Parabolic formula
P = σ A [1 _ b( L / k ) ]..................................Eq.9 )
y
2

The value of b depending also on the end condition.

Neither of the above formulae proved to be very
successful, and they were replaced by:
C. Rankine-Gordon formula
1 1 1
= + ......................................Eq.10
P R
P P e C

Where Pe is the Euler buckling load and Pc is the

24 crushing(compressive yield) load= yA.
3.5 Euler “Validity limit”
 From the graph of Fig. 3.7 and the comments above,
it is evident that the Euler theory is unsafe for small
L/k ratios. It is useful, therefore, to determine the
limiting value of L/k below which the Euler theory
should not be applied; this is termed the validity
limit.
 The validity limit is taken to be the point where the
Euler e equals the yield or crushing stress y, i.e the
point where the strut load
P =σ A y

 Now the Euler load can be written in the form

π EI
2
π EAk 2 2

P =C =C
e
L 2
L 2

 Where C is a constant depending on the end condition of

25 the strut.
Fig 3.7: Comparison of experimental results with Euler curve

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 Therefore in the limiting condition
π EAk
2 2

σ A =C
y
L 2

L Cπ E
2

= ( )
k σ y

 The value of this expression will vary with the type of

end condition; as an example, low carbon steel struts
with pinned ends give L/k≈80.

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3.6 Rankine or Rankine-Gordon formula
 The Rankine formula is a combination of the Euler
and crushing loads for a strut
1 1 1
= +
PR
P P
e C

 For very short struts Pe is very large; 1/Pe can

therefore be neglected and PR=PC. For very long struts
Pe is very small and 1/Pe is very large so that 1/Pc can
be neglected. Thus PR=Pe.
 The Rankine formula is therefore valid for extreme
values of L/k. It is also found to be fairly accurate for
the intermediate values in the range under
consideration.

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 Thus, re-writing the formula in terms of stresses,
1 1 1
= +
σA σ A σ Ae y

1 1 1 σ +σ
i.e = + =
e y

σ σ σ σσ e y e y

σσ σ
σ= =
e y y

σ +σ [1 + ( σ / σ )]
 For a strut with both ends pinned
e y y e

πE 2

σ =
( L/ k )
e 2

σ
σ=
y

σ
1+ ( L/ k ) y 2

πE 2

σ
Rankine stress σ = ............Eq.11
y

1 + a( L / k ) R 2

 Where a= y/π²E, theoretically, but having a value normally found by

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experiment for various materials.
 Therefore Rankine load
σA
P = ...............................Eq.12
y
R
1 + a( L / k ) 2

 Typical values of a for use in the Rankine formula are

given in Table 3.1 below. However, since the values
of a are not exactly equal to the theoretical values, the
Rankine loads for long struts will not be identical to
those estimated by the Euler theory as suggested
earlier.

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 Table 3.1

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 3.7 Struts with Initial Curvature
 Perry-Robertson equation was derived on the assumption that strut
imperfections could be allowed for by giving the strut an initial
curvature.
 This proof applies equally well, of course, for struts which have
genuine initial curvatures and, provided the curvature is small, the
precise shape of the curve has little effect on the end result.
 Thus for an initial curvature with a central deflection Co

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 3.8 Struts with Eccentric Load

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34
35
b. One end fixed the other free
Consider the strut shown

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Smith-Southwell formula
This is the same form of the Smith-Southwell formula will apply in
this case provided that the equivalent length of the strut ( I = 2L) is
used in place of L.
Thus the Smith-Southwell formula can be written in the form

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 3.9 Laterally Loaded Struts
(a) Central concentrated load
With the origin at the centre of the strut as shown figure below

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 (b) Uniformly distributed load
Consider now the uniformly loaded strut of Fig below with the
origin again selected at the centre but y measured from the
maximum deflected position

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In the case of a member carrying a tensile load (i.e. a tie) together with a
uniformly distributed load, the above procedure applies with the sign for P
reversed. The relevant differential expression then becomes

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Summary
The allowable stresses and end loads given by Euler's theory for struts
with varying end
conditions are given in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2.

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43
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 Example 3.1
 Determine the maximum compressive stress set up in a 200 mm x 60
mm I-section girder carrying a load of 100 kN with an eccentricity of
6 mm from the critical axis. Assume that the ends of the strut are pin-
jointed and that the overall length is 4 m.

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 Example 3.2

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