Columns & Buckling

Sudden sideways failure

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Slender columns fail by buckling sideways, well below their crushing strength.
• Euler: $P_{\text{cr}} = \pi^2 EI/L^2$, so doubling the length quarters the load.
• Thicker or hollow cross-sections resist buckling far better.

Steps

1. Failing sideways
2. How long can it be?
3. Thicker columns
4. Thin-walled tubes
5. Half the length
6. Bamboo