Column with eccentric load - can it buckle?

[FEAnalyst]

TL;DR Summary

Can column with eccentric load buckle or not?

Hi,

this question is rather simple but it makes me confused after several discussions with friends. Can columns supporting some structure and placed on its edges buckle due to weight of the structure ? Here are the particular cases I'm talking about:
1) vertical pressure vessel's legs
2) vertical legs of a simple table
3) double column car lift's posts

In all these cases load is acting with significant eccentricity/offset. So can these columns buckle or maybe it's not possible and they will only bend ?

If it can buckle, then is it possible to calculate critical load for such case (since Euler's theory assumes load acting exactly in the middle of the column)?

 

[Baluncore]

... columns buckle or maybe it's not possible and they will only bend ...

An eccentrically loaded column will fail at a lower load than a symmetrically loaded column.
You need to define the two terms you use; “buckle” and “bend”.

 

[jrmichler]

My (ancient) copy of the AISC Manual of Steel Construction, 7th Edition, has a section on allowable stresses for columns with eccentric loading. The book discusses plastic bending and local buckling, while Euler only applies to elastic buckling of the entire column. I would expect that the current 15th Edition would have more information.

 

[Dr.D]

Buckling is usually understood to mean loss of stability, so that a small change in load causes a major change in deformation. Bending usually means only small changes in deformation are associated with small load changes.