Buckling of Columns with Movable Boundaries∗

The Euler buckling problem of a slender tubular column subject to its own weight, tension or compression exerted at its top, and internal and external variable static fluid pressure is studied. This problem finds many applications in drilling and production risers, mining risers, hydraulic columns, and legs of Tension Leg Platforms. The supports at the upper end of the column are considered movable to properly simulate drill ships or platforms that support such columns. The corresponding eigenvalue problem is comprised of a fourth-order differential equation with variable coefficients and four homogeneous boundary conditions. Two methods of solution derived in previous work are implemented numerically. The first solution is expressed in terms of Airy functions of the first and second kind and the second in terms of power series. The combined results of the two methods yield the critical buckling curves over the entire domain of practical interest. The critical curves are plotted in the plane of the two loading variables for the first six buckling modes for four different sets of boundary conditions. The results reveal the dependence of the asymptotic behavior of the critical curves for long columns on the boundary conditions.