Buckling of variable cross-sections columns in the braced and sway plane frames

Columns of the variable cross-sections are used in order to decrease the costs of the structure, for the purpose of easier maintenance, or for architectural reasons. Buckling of such columns is a problem that could appear in many steel structures, and could cause the loss of the structural stability. The critical buckling loading and the effective buckling lengths of such columns are analyzed in this paper for the cases of columns in the braced frame with the fixed and the sway frame with the movable nodes. Results are presented on corresponding diagrams what enables pinpointing the exact moment at which the particular column would lose its stability. The comparison of obtained results for the two types of frames are presented, as well.