Column Supported by Side-Beams

A buckling analysis for an axially compressed column fixed at one end and supported by two equal side-by-side cantilever beams showed that if the other end of the column is free, the buckling load increases as the length, and the stiffness, or both, of the beam is increased. If the other end of the column is hinged, then there is a length limit of the beam beyond which a length increase does not make the column stiffer. For beams of the same stiffness as the column, the length of the beams need not exceed 0.388 the length of the column. The method may be extended to columns with more complicated end constraints and side supports. The numerical results given in the paper include the first and second mode buckling patterns for the free-fixed and hinged-fixed columns with different beam length and relative stiffness ratios.