Slenderness bounds for reinforced concrete columns

Abstract

A rational proposal of slenderness bounds for r.c. columns is presented. This proposal takes into account the main parameters which are known in column design: the relative normal force, the relative eccentricity of the load and the ratio between the load eccentricities at column ends. The equivalent limit slenderness (ELS) λ_{e is defined as a function of the above-mentioned parameters. This ELS allows the calibration of the importance of the second-order effects in the column design.}