Technology & Engineering
Column and Strut
Column and strut are structural elements used in construction and engineering to support vertical loads. A column is a vertical member that primarily resists compression, while a strut is a diagonal or inclined member that resists both compression and tension. Both components are essential for providing stability and strength to various structures, such as buildings and bridges.
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eBook - PDFStrength of Materials & Structures N5
TVET FIRST
- P du Toit, A Knott(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Macmillan(Publisher)
Module 210 TVET FIRST 6 Columns and struts Overview of Module 6 When you have completed this module, you should be able to: Unit 6.1: Introduction to columns and struts • Differentiate between columns and struts. • Define effective length. Unit 6.2: Fixing of ends and calculations on struts and columns • Calculate effective length for both ends pinned, both ends fixed, one end pinned and one end fixed, as well as one end fixed and the other end free. • Calculate effective length. • Calculate the slenderness ratio. • Calculate buckling loads using Euler’s theory as well as Rankine’s theory. A column is a vertical structure designed to carry a compressive load. How a member may fail depends on its length. A short member may fail by crushing and a long, slender member may fail by buckling. A column is slender if its cross-sectional dimensions are small compared to its length. Figure 6.1: A steel pillar buckling under the load of the bridge it is supporting Starter activity Discuss the following in class: 1. Based on your knowledge of centroids, around which axis would you expect a strut or column to fail? 2. What factors determine the load that a column or strut can carry? Module 6 211 Columns and struts TVET FIRST Unit 6.1: Introduction to columns and struts 6.1.1 Difference between a column and a strut A strut is a bar placed at an angle under a longitudinal compressive load in a truss structure. For vertical struts in frame structures, we use the terms column, pillar or stanchion (see Figure 6.2). Figure 6.2: Frame structure with columns and truss structure with struts Table 6.1 summarises the differences between struts and columns. Table 6.1: Differences between struts and columns Strut Column Struts are used in truss structures. Columns are used in frame structures. A strut is placed at an angle and is subjected to the axial load. A column is a a vertical member that is subjected to the axial compressive load.
eBook - PDFStrength of Materials & Structures N5 SB
TVET FIRST
- L Maraschin, VH Dookhi A Knott(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Macmillan(Publisher)
Module 240 TVET FIRST 10 Columns and struts Overview of Module 10 When you have completed this module, you should be able to: • Unit 10.1: Understand the basic concepts of columns and struts. • Unit 10.2: Calculate the loads and sizes of columns using the Euler formula. • Unit 10.3: Calculate the loads and sizes of columns using the Rankine-Gordon formula. • Unit 10.4: Calculate the loads and sizes of columns using the straight-line formula. A column is a vertical structure designed to carry a compressive load. How a member may fail, depends on its length. A short member may fail by crushing and a long and slender member may fail by buckling. A column is slender if its cross sectional dimensions are small compared to its length. Figure 10.1: A steel pillar buckling under the load of the bridge it is supporting Starter activity Discuss the following in groups: Based on your knowledge of centroids, around which axis would you expect a strut or column to fail? 241 Columns and struts TVET FIRST Unit 10.1: Basic concepts of columns and struts When loading a slender member in compression, it will first bow or buckle . If the load is made even more, the member will fail by bending. The maximum buckling load is less than the maximum allowable load due to direct stress only. A strut is a bar placed under a longitudinal compressive load. For vertical struts we use the terms ‘column’, ‘pillar’ or ‘stanchion’. With a tensile force, the stress is simply F _ A . 10.1.1 Area of the cross section In most cases with columns, the bigger the area of the cross section, the more loading it can withstand. 10.1.2 Shape or geometry of the cross section As with beams, the shape of the cross section plays an important role in determining how a column can resist a compressive load. Figure 10.2 shows how the way a material is shaped can make it more efficient. In I-sections, for example, there are two axes. The X -X axis is very strong and the Y -Y is weaker.
eBook - PDF- Roger T. Fenner, J.N. Reddy(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
In fact the rod is now bending as a beam subjected to axial loading. Had the same two cylinders been subjected to tensile loading, both would have extended uniformly, with no tendency to bend. The possibility of a structural member displaying unstable behavior well before the internal stresses reach their maximum allowable levels is of considerable prac-tical importance, and must be anticipated if the member is to perform its function satisfactorily. In addition to the buckling of long slender members under axial com-pression, further examples of instability include the crushing and torsional buckling of thin cylinders, illustrated in Figure 8.2. While these two phenomena are rela-tively difficult to analyze theoretically, we can predict with reasonable accuracy the buckling of struts and columns . Figure 8.2 The terms strut and column (sometimes pillar) are widely used, often inter-changeably, in the context of buckling of slender members. While the term strut is applied particularly to the members of pin-jointed structures which are in compres-sion, the term column is used especially to describe a member in compression which has at least one end fixed. Although in the context of buildings a column is usually thought of as being a vertical member, this is not essential. Before we attempt to analyze the buckling behavior of struts and columns, it is useful to review the types of equilibrium a system may experience, and to consider the stability of rather simpler mechanical systems. 8.1. STABLE, NEUTRAL, AND UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM 423 8.1 Stable, neutral, and unstable equilibrium In order to illustrate types of equilibrium, let us first consider some situations en-countered in the mechanics of rigid bodies which are shown in Figure 8.3. In each case a sphere rests on a surface, which may be either concave, flat, or convex.
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