Eurocode 3 – Technical Report 102 on elastic critical buckling of members

Recently, the content of the technical report CEN/TR 1993‐1‐102 on elastic critical buckling of members was established by the Eurocode 3 committee CEN/TC250/SC3. This report contains elastic critical buckling solutions for members, frames and bridge components to be used in conjunction with the design rules of Eurocode 3 EN 1993: Design of steel structures. In the various parts of Eurocode 3 EN 1993, limited information is given on elastic critical buckling solutions, though the design rules presented in Eurocode 3 EN 1993 rely on these solutions. Users of this code therefore, in many cases, use elastic critical buckling solutions from the literature. However, using literature information may cause discussion between parties involved in the design of steel structures. Therefore, it was felt that a compilation of generally accepted, simple and correct elastic critical buckling solutions for members, frames and bridge components would be useful. This report pays attention to the determination of elastic critical buckling forces and moments and the associated buckling lengths where relevant. Also, special attention is paid to boundary conditions and the stiffness of springs and beddings. The elastic critical buckling solutions may be used also for structures made of other materials than steel. The purpose and the content of the technical report are described in this article.