Buckling analysis of steel H beam-columns using Finite Elements, British Standards and Eurocodes

Steel is undoubtedly the most common material in construction. Most of the structures in the world are built with steel and all of them comprise of small and slender elements which are used for the framing of the structure. The elements are classified based on the forces that are expected on them. So, these elements form an integral part of the structure and have to be designed against all the forces that may act on them in their lifetime so that the structure serves its intended purpose without causing any architectural damages while keeping the safety and convenience of the people using the structure as the priority. Since structures play a key role in everyday life and involve a lot of money and safety of people, a structural designer must follow the regulations adopted and accepted by the country which confirms the quality of the structures where the structure is going to be built. To ensure the safety of the structure Each country follows regulations which are formulated depending on a spectrum of local conditions prevailing in that country. After the standardization of Structural design in Europe, UK shifted from their traditional British Standards to Eurocodes. In most of the cases, Eurocodes is more sophisticated than British Standard since it is meant to be improvement of the latter. In British Standards, BS5950 deals with the Steel design while in its counterpart Eurocodes, the design of steel is discussed in EC3. But, many have concerns with the method discussed in the Eurocode for the Buckling problem of the Beam-Columns because it is so complicated and is hectic to perform, while the method mentioned in the British Standard is simple and direct. Since there is not much research published in this area, the aim of this Project is to compare both the codes with the FEA results of the Beam-Columns of various cross-sections and lengths subjected to a range of load-moment combinations to check if the complexity offered by the Eurocode is justified.