Module 9

ECCENTRICALLY LOADED SHORT COLUMN

SUBJECTED TO UNIAXIAL BENDING: INTER-
ACTION DIAGRAM

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
• Analyze a short column subjected to uniaxial bending,
• Know the function of an interaction diagram,
• Construct an interaction diagram and indicate the important points in it,
• Use the interaction diagram to design a column.

COURSE MATERIALS
1.0 INTRODUCTION

All columns are subjected to some bending, as well as, axial forces and they need to be
proportioned to resist both. The equations of column capacity (axial load) take into
account some moments because it includes the effect of small eccentricities with 0.80
and 0.85 as factors. (These values are approximately equivalent to the actual
eccentricities of 0.10h for tied column and 0.05h for spiral column).
Columns will bend under the action of moments, and these moments will tend to
produce compression on one side of the column and tension on the other side. Depending
on the relative magnitudes of the moments and axial loads, there are several ways in
which the column might fail. The following are the types of failure that might occur in the
column section.

a) Large axial load with negligible moment – Failure will occur by crushing of the
concrete, with all reinforcing bars in the column have reached their yield stresses
in compression.
b) Large axial load and small moment, with the entire column section in
compression – When a column is subjected to a small bending moment (i.e. small
eccentricity), the entire column will be in compression, but with one side higher
'
than the other. The maximum compressive stress in the section is 0.85 f c . Failure
will occur by crushing of the concrete with all the bars in compression.
c) Eccentricity larger than in case (b), with tension beginning to developed on
one side of the column – If the eccentricity is increased somewhat from the
preceding case, tension will begin to develop on one side of the column and the
steel on that side will be in tension but less than the yield stress f y . On the other
side, the steel stress will be in compression. Failure will occur by crushing of the
concrete on the compressive side.

(a) (b) (c)

 d) Balance load condition – As we increase further the eccentricity, a condition will
be reached at which the reinforcing bars on the tension will reach their yield stress
at the same time that the concrete on the opposite side reaches its maximum
compressive stress of 0.85 f c . This situation is called “balanced load condition”.
'

e) Large moment with small axial load – If the eccentricity is further increased,
failure will be initiated by yielding of the bars on the tensile side of the column prior
to concrete crushing.
f) Large moment with no appreciable axial load – For this condition, failure will
occur as it does in a beam.

(d) (e) (f)

Axially loaded columns occur rarely in practice because some bending is almost
always present:
• as evidenced by the slight initial crookedness of columns;
• the manner in which the loading is applied by beams and slabs; and’
• the moments introduced by continuous construction.

section equivalent eccentrically e = M u Pu bending and axial load

loaded column elevation

Figure. Equivalent column loading

The combination of an axial load Pu and bending moment M u is equivalent to a load Pu

applied at eccentricity:
Mu
e=
Pu

For columns that were eccentrically loaded to failure, the spiral column has greater
ductility compared to columns with nominal ties. In practice, from point of view of strength,
both tied and spiral columns are designed as if the concrete is unconfined, but because
of the greater toughness of a spiral column, the ACI code assigns a slightly less stringent
capacity reduction than tied column.

2.0 ANALYSIS OF RECTANGULAR SECTIONS WITH BARS AT ONE OR TWO

FACES

A rectangular section with bars at two faces, loaded eccentrically at the ultimate load is
shown below. The neutral axis depth is considered to be less than the overall depth. As
with beams, a tension failure or a compression failure can occur in column depending on
whether the tension steel reaches the yield strength. However, unlike in beams,
compression failure in column can not be avoided by limiting the steel area, since the type
of failure is dependent on the axial load level. The compression steel in eccentrically
loaded columns at the ultimate load generally reaches the yield strength except when the
load level is low, when high strength steel is used, or when the column is small so that d ''
is relatively large. It is usual to assume that the compression steel is yielding ( f s' = f y ),
and then to check later that the yield strain has been reached.

Figure. Eccentrically loaded column section

at the ultimate load

Referring to the above figure, and assuming the stress in the compression steel f s' = f y ,
the equilibrium equation obtained from the sum of the internal forces is

F v =0: Pu = C c + C s − T
Pu = 0.85 f c' ab + As' f y − As f s

and the expression by taking moment about the tension steel

 M T =0 ( )  a
(
Pu e ' = C c  d −  + C s d − d ' )
 2

( )  a
(
Pu e ' = 0.85 f c' ab d −  + As' f y d − d ' )
 2
where:
e ' = is the eccentricity of ultimate load Pu from the centroid of the tension steel
A s = is the area of tension steel
As' = is the area of compression steel
f c' = is the concrete compressive cylinder strength
f y = is the steel yield strength
f s = is the stress intension steel

Sometimes it is more convenient to use the eccentricity of Pu from the plastic

centroid e . The plastic centroid is the centroid of resistance of the section if all the
concrete is compressed to the maximum stress (0.85 f c' ) and all the steel is compressed
to the yield stress ( f y ) , with uniform strain over the section. In other words, the plastic
centroid is the point of application of the external load Po that produces an axially
loaded condition at failure. This condition is represented in the following figure.

Figure. Stresses in column section when load is

applied at plastic centroid

Taking moments of the internal forces about the centroid of the left-hand steel and
equating this to the moment of the resultant forces gives

 h
( )
0.85 f c' b h  d −  + As' f y d − d ' = P0 d ''
 2

but: ( )
P0 = 0.85 f c ' b h + As + As' f y
 ( )  
0.85 f c' b h  d −  + As' f y d − d ' = 0.85 f c' b h + (As + As' ) f y d ''
 h
 2

 h
(
0.85 f c' b h  d −  + As' f y d − d ' )
d '' =  2
therefore
( )
0.85 f c b h + As + As' f y
'

"
where: d = is the distance from the plastic centroid to the centroid of the tension steel
of the column when eccentrically loaded. (For symmetrically reinforced columns, the
plastic centroid corresponds to the center of the cross section).

Going back to the figure of eccentrically loaded column at the ultimate load, and taking
moments about the plastic centroid gives

 a
( )
Pu (e ) = Cc  d − d '' −  + C s d − d ' − d '' + As f y d ''
 2

or
 a
( )
Pu (e ) = 0.85 f c' a b  d − d '' −  + As f y d − d ' − d '' + As f y d ''
 2

3.0 INTERACTION DIAGRAM

Interaction Diagram in a column is a graph which shows a plot for the axial load Pn
that a column could carry versus its moment capacity, Mn. This diagram is very
useful in analyzing the strength of column which varies according to its loads and
moments
The Column Strength Interaction Diagram is a curve plot of points corresponding
to a series of strain distribution, where each point has two ordinates. The first ordinate is
bending moment strength plotted horizontally and the second is the corresponding axial
force plotted vertically. Both ordinates are linked with eccentricity. Several points on the
interaction diagram govern the selection of strength-reduction factors, factors, for column
and beam design. The shape of the curve can be defined by finding the ordinate of
significant points.

Figure. ACI Code design categories for strength of section under

combined axial compression and bending moment.
3.1 Significant Points on the Column Interaction Diagram

1. Point A—Pure Axial Load. Point A in the Figure 5. and the corresponding strain
distribution represent uniform axial compression without moment, sometimes
referred to as pure axial load. This is the largest axial load the column can support.
The maximum usable axial load will be limited to 0.80 to 0.85 times the pure axial
load capacity
2. Point B—Zero Tension, Onset of Cracking. The strain distribution at B in Figure
5 corresponds to the load and moment at the onset of crushing of the concrete just
as the strains in the concrete on the opposite face of the column reach zero. Case
B represents the onset of cracking of the least compressed side of the column.
Because tensile stresses in the concrete are ignored in the strength calculations,
failure loads below point B in the interaction diagram represent cases where the
section is partially cracked.
3. Region A–C—Compression-Controlled Failures. Columns with axial loads and
moments that fall on the upper branch of the interaction diagram between points
A and C initially fail due to crushing of the compression face before the extreme
tensile layer of reinforcement yields. Hence, they are called compression-
controlled columns.
4. Point C—Balanced Failure, Compression-Controlled Limit Strain. Point C in
Figure 5 corresponds to a strain distribution with a maximum compressive strain
of 0.003 on one face of the section, and a tensile strain equal to the yield strain, in
the layer of reinforcement farthest from the compression face of the column. The
extreme tensile strain occurs in the extreme tensile layer of steel located at below
the extreme compression fiber. ACI Code defines this as a balanced failure in
which both crushing of the concrete on the compressive face and yielding of the
reinforcement nearest to the opposite face of the column (tensile face) develop
simultaneously. Traditionally, the ACI Code defined a balanced failure as one in
which the steel strain at the centroid of the tensile reinforcement reached yield in
tension when the concrete reached its crushing strain. In the 2002 ACI Code the
definition of balanced failure was changed to correspond to the yield of the extreme
tensile layer of reinforcement rather than the yield at the centroid of the tension
reinforcement.
The two definitions are the same if the tensile reinforcement is all in one layer.
5. Point D—Tensile-Controlled Limit. Point D in Figure 5 corresponds to a strain
distribution with 0.003 compressive strain on the top face and a tensile strain of
0.005 in the extreme layer of tension steel (the layer closest to the tensile face of
the section.) The failure of such a column will be ductile, with steel strains at failure
that are about two and a half times the yield strain (for Grade-60 steel). ACI Code
calls this the tension-controlled strain limit. The strain of 0.005 was chosen to be
significantly higher than the yield strain to ensure ductile behaviour.
6. Region C–D—Transition Region. Flexural members and columns with loads and
moments which would plot between points C and D in Figure 5 are called transition
failures because the mode of failure is transitioning from a brittle failure at point C
to a ductile failure at point D, corresponding respectively to steel strains of 0.002
and 0.005 in the extreme layer of tension steel. This is reflected in the transition of
the ∅-factor, which equals 0.65 (tied column) or 0.75 (spiral column) at point C and
equals 0.9 at point D (Table).
7. Strain Limit for Beams—ACI Code Section 10.3.5 limits the maximum amount of
reinforcement in a beam by placing a lower limit on the extreme steel strain in
beams, to not less than 0.004 in tension. This is smaller than the tension-controlled
limit strain of 0.005. The corresponding strength-reduction factor for ∈𝑡 = 0.005 is
given in ACI Code Section 9.3.2.1 as 0.90. For ∈𝑡 = 0.004 in a tied column, the
 equations in Table give ∅ = 0.812. Because the extreme strain of ∈𝑡 = 0.004 has no
significance in a column, we will ignore this point.

Figure 5. Strain distributions corresponding to points on the interaction diagram.

Shown below is a typical column interaction diagram used in designing a column