ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the requirements of BS8110 relating to the interior and exterior columns of buildings that have beam-and-slab floors, and the bending moments in columns supporting flat slabs. When the ratio of effective height to overall thickness about either axis is equal to or more than the limiting value of 15 for braced columns of normal-weight concrete, or 10 for unbraced and lightweight concrete columns, the member must be considered as a long or ‘slender’ column. If the arrangement of, or the load on, beams supported by interior columns is unsymmetrical, it is necessary to consider the effect of the bending moments on the columns. The stiffness of a structural member is defined by the bending moment which, if applied at one end of the member, produces unit rotation at that end, assuming that end to be supported and the other end to be fixed.
