Actions

Buckling

From DT Online

ElephantPillar2.png


Description

A Structural Member in Compression (i.e. a Strut) is more likely to buckle first when subjected to pressure - assuming the Strut is made of a sensible material and not something so brittle it is likely to explode under pressure(!)

EulersBucklingEquation.png

See - 'The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor' by J.E.Gordon


Features and Applications

The point at which a strut might buckle can be assessed using a simplified form of Euler's Buckling Equation as follows:


Where:

  • Pcrit = the Critical Force at which the strut will start to buckle.
  • E = the Young's Modulus of the material (obtainable from tables or by experiment).
  • Capital I = the Moment of Inertia about the Neutral Axis (for a rectangular beam this is its breadth times the depth cubed divided by 12).
  • L = the length of the Strut (this is taken as the total length if the strut is assumed to be pin-jointed at each end but would vary with other fixing methods - see Euler's Buckling Equation)


DT Online Buyers' Guide
  • Simple Frames and Linkages can be explored using Construction Kits such as those listed below.


Click top left to enlarge

Viga Wooden Construction Set Straws and Connectors Construction Engineering Blocks K'Nex Education Group Set Engino STEM Construction Set Lego Duplo Tech Machines Set Lego Education Core Set Meccano Easy Construction Box Fischertechnik Universal Building Kit
Viga Wooden Construction Set Straws and Connectors Construction Engineering Blocks K'Nex Education Group Set Engino STEM Construction Set Lego Duplo Tech Machines Set Lego Education Core Set Meccano Easy Construction Box Fischertechnik Universal Building Kit