A Beginner's Guide to the Steel Construction Manual, 13th ed. (old)

Chapter 7 - Concentrically Loaded Compression Members

© 2006, 2008 T. Bartlett Quimby

Introduction

Slenderness Limit State

Limit State of Flexural Buckling for Compact and Non-compact Sections

Limit State of Flexural Buckling for Slender Sections

Limit State of Bolt Bearing on Holes

Selecting Sections

Chapter Summary

Example Problems

Homework Problems

References

Report Errors or Make Suggestions

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Section 7.2

Slenderness Limit State

Last Revised: 11/04/2014

The slenderness limit state is found in SCM specification section E2.  In actuality, slenderness is not a firm limit state.  It is a suggestion, much like the slenderness limit state discussed in the tension member chapter.

Slender members are difficult to handle, in addition to being weak under compressive loads.  This limit state, if adhered to, will result in the selection of members that are easier to handle during fabrication and erection.

The Limit State

The limit state simply recommends at the slenderness ratio, KL/r, not exceed 200. It is implied that the KL/r is the maximum KL/r for the member.  Mathematically this is stated as:

(KL/r)max < 200

or

(KL/r)max / 200 < 1

It is good to note that members with slenderness ratios as high as 200 have little compressive strength.  This will become apparent in the following sections.

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