Slenderness Ratio Calculator

Your details

The effective (buckling) length of the column = K × actual length.
mm
r = sqrt(I / A), the smallest radius of gyration of the cross-section.
mm
Select a preset material to auto-fill E and yield strength, or choose Custom.
Young's modulus of the column material.
MPa
Yield (or compressive design) strength, used to compute the transition slenderness ratio.
MPa
Slenderness ratio (KL/r)Intermediate column
100

Dimensionless ratio of effective length to radius of gyration

Effective length (KL)3,000mm
Radius of gyration (r)30mm
Critical stress (sigma_cr)197.39MPa
Transition slenderness ratio88.9
Column classificationIntermediate column
100
Short<40Intermediate40-120Long120+

Slenderness ratio = 100.0 - intermediate column, inelastic buckling controls.

  • The critical buckling stress is 197.39 MPa. Design the column so applied compressive stress stays well below this value with a suitable factor of safety.
  • The transition slenderness ratio for the chosen material is 88.9. Values above this indicate elastic (Euler) buckling; values below indicate inelastic or material failure.
  • Slenderness ratios above 200 are generally not permitted by most structural codes because geometric imperfections dominate.

Next stepYour slenderness ratio of 100.0 is intermediate column. Apply a safety factor of 2.0-3.0 on the critical load before finalising the design, and check lateral torsional buckling if using an open section.

 = Powered by OnlyCalculators