Introduction
It is very rare for a column to fail due to crushing of the material that it is formed
from. Buckling however, is the most common method of failure and it is for
this reason that columns should always be designed to guard against it.
With this in mind, the designer must do their utmost to accurately model the
actions being applied to columns. If any actions that could increase the risk of
buckling are ignored, then the column will likely be under-designed.
This Technical Guidance Note describes the concept of biaxial bending
of columns, as well as the eff ect direct bending has on column design. The
guidance given here can be applied to columns made from any material, be it
steel, concrete, timber or even glass. The principles remain the same.