Efficient computation of buckling loads for plane steel frames with tapered members

✍ Scribed by Nikitas Bazeos; Dimitris L. Karabalis

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 618 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0141-0296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2005.10.004

✦ Synopsis

An approximate method for quick calculation of the critical load of tapered columns is proposed. The method is based on a series of dimensionless design-oriented charts relating the critical load of linearly tapered columns of I-section to the taper ratio and boundary conditions. These charts are derived from extensive parametric studies on the basis of an "exact", within the limits of the Bernoulli-Euler theory, stability analysis, using a wide array of geometric characteristics of practical interest. As is demonstrated in the Numerical Examples section, these approximate calculations can yield, in a very efficient way, accurate results for single tapered columns or frames consisting of tapered elements.