Define the buckling lengths of a column

You can define buckling lengths for columns and column segments. Column segments represent the building levels. Tekla Structures automatically divides columns into segments at the point where a support in the buckling direction exists, or where the column profile changes.

Effective buckling length is K*L, where K is the length factor and L is the buckling length.

A column can have different buckling lengths in different analysis models.

Before you start, in the Analysis & Design Models dialog, select the analysis model in which you want to define the buckling lengths.

Select a column.
Right-click and select Analysis Properties.
In the column’s analysis properties dialog:
1. Go to the Design tab and the Value column.
2. Select an option for Kmode.
3. Enter one or more values for K - Length factor for buckling in the y and/or z direction.
  
  The number of values you can enter depends on the option you selected for Kmode.
  
  To enter multiple values, enter a value for each column segment starting from the lowest segment, and use spaces to separate the values. You can also use multiplication to repeat factors, for example, 3*2.00.
4. Enter one or more values for L - Buckling length in the y and/or z direction.
  - To automatically calculate length values, leave the fields blank.
  - To override one or more length values, enter values in the relevant buckling length fields. The number of values you need to enter depends on the option you selected for Kmode. You can use multiplication to repeat buckling lengths, for example, 3*4000.
5. Click Modify.