Mechanics of Materials - Part 57 (Secant formula - Columns) | BME301

Column is a structural member mainly designed to take axial compressive loads. A short column when subjected to axial load fails when the direct normal compressive stress exceeds the permissible stress of the material. A long column may fail due to buckling, and this leads to failure of a column at a very low value of load compared to the load usually found to fail a short columns.
Euler's formula gives the buckling load at which a slender long column fails for different end conditions.
When a column is loaded with an eccentricity, additional stresses will be induced in the column. Secant formula gives the maximum stress induced when a column is subjected to eccentric loading.