Ultimate Strength of Laterally Loaded Columns

Analytical procedures are developed for computing the maximum carrying capacity of steel columns subjected to combined axial thrust and lateral load. It is assumed that the columns are permitted to deflect only in the plane of the applied load and that failure is always caused by excessive bending in the same plane. Numerical results are obtained for four types of columns with different loading and support conditions and are presented in the form of interaction curves relating axial thrust, lateral load, and slenderness ratio. The analytically obtained results are compared with the predictions based on an empirical interaction formula and good agreement is observed.