Buckling in structural design refers to which phenomenon?

Buckling in structural design refers to which phenomenon?

• A. Plastic hinge formation under bending moments.
• B. Torsional buckling of continuous frames without compression.
• C. Lateral-torsional or Euler instability of slender members under axial compression.
• D. Local shear failure of bolts in connections.

Answer: (C)

Buckling is the instability that slender structural members experience under axial compression, causing them to deflect laterally or twist rather than simply shorten. In practice, this shows up as Euler buckling in columns (lateral deflection under compression) and lateral-torsional buckling in beams (twist with lateral displacement under bending when the member is not adequately braced). The statement that buckling includes lateral-torsional or Euler instability of slender members under axial compression captures this idea: the concern is the sudden loss of stability due to compressive load, not yielding or connection failures. The other options describe different failure modes—plastic hinge formation is a bending-related ductile mechanism, local shear of bolts is a connection issue, and torsional buckling without compression isn’t the typical buckling scenario.

Buckling is the instability that slender structural members experience under axial compression, causing them to deflect laterally or twist rather than simply shorten. In practice, this shows up as Euler buckling in columns (lateral deflection under compression) and lateral-torsional buckling in beams (twist with lateral displacement under bending when the member is not adequately braced). The statement that buckling includes lateral-torsional or Euler instability of slender members under axial compression captures this idea: the concern is the sudden loss of stability due to compressive load, not yielding or connection failures. The other options describe different failure modes—plastic hinge formation is a bending-related ductile mechanism, local shear of bolts is a connection issue, and torsional buckling without compression isn’t the typical buckling scenario.