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STEEL CONSTRUCTION:
ELEMENTS

Lecture 7.10.2: Beam Columns II

OBJECTIVE/SCOPE
To extend the introductory coverage of beam columns given in Lecture 7.10.1 to cover
the full three-dimensional case.
PREREQUISITES
Simple bending and torsion theory
Lecture 7.2: Cross-Section Classification
Lectures 7.5: Columns
Lectures 7.8: Restrained Beams
Lectures 7.9: Unrestrained Beams
Lecture 7.10.1: Beam columns I
RELATED LECTURES
Lecture 7.11: Frames
RELATED WORKED EXAMPLES
Worked Example 7.10: Beam Columns
SUMMARY
This lecture expands on the treatment of beam-columns given in Lectures 7.10.1 to
include the cases of out-of-plane buckling and biaxial bending. The basis for the
Eurocode 3 interaction formulae is discussed and related to physical behaviour [1].

1. INTRODUCTION
Lecture 7.10.1 introduced all the main aspects of beam-column behaviour and design
within the context of the uniaxial in-plane case. More general forms of response are,
however, possible. This lecture broadens the coverage to include all of the main cases.

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2. FORMS OF BEHAVIOUR
Three separate forms of beam-column behaviour are illustrated in Figure 1.

If the member is bent about its weaker principal axis, or is prevented from deflecting
laterally when bent about its stronger principal axis as shown in Figure 1a, then its
response will be confined to the plane of bending. This case has been covered in Lecture
7.10.1.
When a laterally unbraced beam-column of open cross-section is bent about its stronger
principal axis as shown in Figure 1b, then it may buckle prematurely out of the plane of
loading by deflecting laterally and twisting. Such behaviour is conceptually and
mathematically very similar to the lateral-torsional buckling of beams described in
Lectures 7.9.1 and 7.9.2.

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The most general situation is illustrated in Figure 1c. When bending is applied about both
principal axes the member's response will be 3-dimensional in nature, involving biaxial
bending and twisting.
In Figure 1 the nature of the interaction in each case is listed in the caption. Clearly the
behaviour shown as Figure 1c is the most general, with that of Figures 1a and 1b being
simpler and more limited cases. For a full treatment of the in-plane case of Figure 1a refer
back to Lectures 7.10.1.

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3. FLEXURAL-TORSIONAL BUCKLING
When a laterally unrestrained I-section beam-column is bent about its major axis, it may
buckle by deflecting laterally and twisting at a load which is significantly less than the
maximum load predicted by an in-plane analysis. Assuming elastic behaviour and the
arrangement of applied loading and support conditions given in Figure 2, the critical
combinations of N and M may be obtained from the solution of:

(1)

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in which

io = [(Iy + Iz)/A]1/2 - is the polar radius of gyration

Nz = 2 EIz/L2 - is the minor axis critical load
No = (GJ/io2) (1 + 2 EIw/GItL2) - is the torsional buckling load

Equation (1) reduces to the buckling of a beam when N 0 and to the buckling of a
column in either flexure (Nz) or torsion (No) as M 0. In the first case the critical value
of M will be given by:

Mcr =
in which EIz - is the minor axis flexural rigidity
GIt - is the torsional rigidity
EIw - is the warping rigidity

(2)

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In deriving Equation (1) no allowance was made for the amplification of the in-plane
moments M by the axial load acting through the in-plane deflections. As explained in
Lecture 7.10.1 this may be approximated as M/(1-N/Ny). Equation (1) can, therefore, be
modified to:

(3)
Noting the relative magnitudes of Ny, Nz and No and re-arranging gives the following
approximation:
N/Nz + {1/(1-N/Ny)}{M/i(NzNo)1/2} = 1

(4)

N/ Nz + {1/(1-N/ Ny)}M/Mcr = 1

(5)

or

4. DESIGN
For design purposes it is necessary to make suitable allowances for effects such as initial
lack of straightness, partial yielding, residual stresses, etc., as has been fully discussed in
earlier lectures in the context of columns and beams. Thus some modification to Equation
(5) is necessary to make it suitable for design. In particular, the end points (corresponding
to the cases of M = 0 and N = 0) must conform to the established procedures for columns
(Lectures 7.5.1 and 7.5.2) and beams (Lectures 7.9.1 and 7.9.2).
Eurocode 3 [1] uses the interaction equation:

(6)

In which kLT - is a coefficient whose value depends upon:

and

the level of axial load as measured by the ratio Nsd / z A fy.

the member slenderness z.

the pattern of primary moments.
LT - is the reduction factor for lateral-torsional beam buckling.

For the most severe combination kLT adopts the value unity, corresponding to a linear
combination of the compressive and bending terms. This reflects the reduced scope for
amplification effects in this case, since the value of Nsd cannot exceed z A fy, which will,
in turn, be significantly less than the elastic critical load for in-plane bucking Ny.
It is, of course, also necessary to ensure against the possibility of in-plane failure by
excessive deflection in the plane of the web at a lower load than that given by Equation

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(6). This might occur, for example, in situations where different bracing and/or support
conditions are provided in the xy and xz planes as illustrated in Figure 3.

Such cases should be treated by checking, in addition to Equation (6), an in-plane

equation of the form:

(7)

in which min depends on the in-plane conditions. Usually, however, Equation (6) will
govern.

5. BIAXIAL BENDING
Analysis for the full 3-dimensional case, even for the simple elastic version, is extremely
complex and closed-form solutions are not available. Rather than starting analytically it is
more convenient to approach the question of a suitable design approach from
considerations of behaviour and the use of the methods already derived for the simpler
cases of Figures 1a and 1b.

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Figure 4 presents a diagrammatic version of the design requirement. The N-Mz and N-My
axes correspond to the two uniaxial cases already examined. Interaction between the two
moments Mz and My corresponds to the horizontal plane. When all three load components
N, Mz and My are present the resulting interaction plots somewhere in the 3-dimensional
space represented by the diagram. Any point falling within the boundary corresponds to a
safe combination of loads.

Assuming proportional loading any load combination may be regarded as a straight line
starting at the origin, the orientation of which depends upon the relative sizes of the three
load components. Increasing the loads extends this line from the origin until it just
reaches and then exceeds the boundary. Non-proportional loading would correspond to a
series of lines.
In each case the axes have been taken as the ratio of the applied component to the
member's resistance under the load component alone, e.g. Nsd / min Afy in the case of the
compressive loading. Thus Figure 4 actually represents the situation for one particular
example with particular values of cross-sectional properties, slenderness and load
arrangement. Changing some or all of these will alter the shape of the interaction surface
shown, but not the general principle involved.

6. DESIGN FOR BIAXIAL BENDING AND

COMPRESSION
For design purposes, it is necessary to have a convenient representation of the situation
described in Section 5 by using an interaction equation containing the three load

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components N, Mz and My. Parts of this equation, corresponding to the two 2-dimensional
cases represented by the N, Mz and N, My planes, have already been discussed. The full
equation must clearly reduce to these in the absence of the third load component.
Eurocode 3 [1] uses the pair of formulae:

(8)

(9)

Two checks are necessary because, under the action of compression plus major axis
moment on an I-section with different support conditions in the zx and yx planes, it is not
known whether the in-plane or out-of-plane interaction will be the more critical; that is to
say whether, in the absence of Mz, failure would occur as shown in Figure 1a or Figure
1b. For the same conditions in both planes and z > y, min will correspond to z and
Equation (9) will govern since LT, the reduction factor for lateral-torsional buckling
under pure bending, will be less than or (if

LT

is small) equal to unity.

For cross-sections not susceptible to lateral-torsional buckling, e.g. tubes, only Equation
(8) is required since LT = 1.

7. TREATMENT OF OTHER THAN CLASS 1 OR 2

SECTIONS
The design formulae given as Equations (6) - (9) relate specifically to the case of Class 1
or 2 sections, i.e. those for which the proportions of the plate elements meet the
limitations necessary to ensure the development of full cross-sectional plasticity, as
explained in Lecture 7.2. When using either Class 3 or Class 4 sections some
modifications are necessary.
For Class 3 cross-sections the quantities Wpl.y and Wpl.z should be replaced by the
equivalent elastic quantities Wel.y and Wel.z.
When Class 4 sections are being employed the section properties A and W must relate to
the effective cross-section; the shift of the neutral axis of the effective cross-section from
its original position due to loss of effectiveness of some parts of the cross-section must
also be allowed for. Thus Equations (8) and (9) become:

(10)

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(11)

in which Aeff, Weff.y and Weff.z are the effective properties in the presence of only uniform
compression or moment about the y and z axes respectively and eN is the shift of the
neutral axis when the cross-section is subject to uniform compression.
An important point to note from the definition of Aeff and Weff above is that the
calculation of cross-sectional properties, and thus also cross-sectional classification,
should be undertaken on a separate basis for each of the three load components N, My and
Mz. This does, of course, mean that the same member may be classified as (say) Class 1
for major-axis bending, Class 2 for minor-axis bending and Class 3 for compression. In
such cases the safe design approach is to conduct all beam-column checks using the
procedures for the least favourable class.

8. DETERMINATION OF k-FACTORS
The value of kLT for use in Equation (6) is actually given by:

(but kLT 1)
in which
and

LT = 0,15

M.LT - 0,15

(12)

(but LT 0,90)

(13)

M.LT - is the equivalent uniform moment factor for lateral-torsional buckling

determined from Table 2.

In Equations (7) - (11) the values of ky and kz should be obtained from:

k=
=

but k 1,15
(2M- 4) + (Wpl - Wel)/Wel

(14)
but 0,9

(15)

in which , , , M, Wpl and Wel all relate to the axis under consideration, i.e. y or z, and
M is determined from Table 2.
For Class 3 or 4 cross-sections the second term in Equation (15) should be omitted.

9. CROSS-SECTION CHECKS
If allowance has been made when determining the k-factors (through the use of M) for
the less severe effect of patterns of moment other than uniform single curvature bending,
it is necessary further to check that the cross-section is everywhere capable of locally

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resisting the combination of compression and primary moment(s) present at any point.
This location will usually be one or other of the ends as explained in Lecture 7.10.1.
Expressions for checking several types of cross-section under compression plus uniaxial
bending were given in Lecture 7.10.1. For biaxial bending Eurocode 3 [1] uses:

(16)

in which the values of and depend upon the type of cross-section as indicated in Table
1.
A simpler but conservative alternative is:

(17)

10. CONCLUDING SUMMARY

Depending on the form of the applied loading, 3 types of beam-column problem

may be identified.
The biaxial bending case is the most general and includes the 2 others as simpler
and more restricted component cases.
Interaction equations are used for design purposes.
These make use (as end points) of the design procedures for beams (N = 0) and
columns (M = 0).
The class of cross-section will affect some of the values used in the interaction
equations.

11. REFERENCES
[1] Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures": ENV 1993-1-1: Part 1.1: General rules and
rules for buildings, CEN, 1992.

12. ADDITIONAL READING

1. Chen, W. F. and Atsuta, T., "Theory of Beam-Columns" Vol. 2, McGraw-Hill,
1977.
Comprehensive treatment of the beam-column problem for the cases of flexuraltorsional bucking and biaxial bending.
2. Trahair, N. S. and Bradford, M. A., "Behaviour and Design of Steel Structures",
2nd edition, Chapman and Hall, 1988.

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Chapter 7 refers to beam-columns, including a comparison of the subject's
treatment in three design codes (not including Eurocode 3).
3. Ballio, G. and Mazzolani, F. M., "Theory and Design of Steel Structures",
Chapman and Hall, 1983.
Gives basis of original European approaches to the use of interaction formulae,
including derivations.
4. Galambos, T. V., "Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures", 4th
edition, Wiley Interscience.
Chapter 8 presents a comprehensive review of theoretical, experimental and
design-oriented contributions to the topic of beam-column behaviour.
5. Dowling, P. J., Owens, G. W. and Knowles, P., "Structural Steel Design",
Butterworths, 1988.
Chapter 24 deals with beam-column behaviour and design, including explanations
of the physical significance of the concepts of interaction and slenderness.
6. Nethercot, D. A., "Limit State Design of Structural Steelwork", 2nd edition,
Chapman and Hall, 1991.
Chapter 6 deals with beam-column behaviour and design.

Table 1 Values of and for use in Equation (16)

Type of cross-section

I and H - sections

5n but 1

Circular tubes

Rectangular hollow sections

Solid rectangles and plates
n = Nsd / Npl.Rd

but 6
1,73 + 1,8n3

but 6
1,73 + 1,8n3

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Table 2 Equivalent uniform moment factors M
Moment diagram

Equivalent uniform moment factor M

End moments
M1

M, = 1,8 - 0,7

M1
1 1

Moments due to in-plane

lateral loads
M,Q = 1,3
M,Q = 1,4
Moments due to in-plane
lateral loads plus end
moments
M = m, +
MQ

M1

(M,Q - M, )

MQ = Max M due to lateral load only

MQ

M1

M1

M
MQ

M = Max M for moment diagram

without change of sign
M = Max M + Min M where sign of
moment diagram changes