Column stability criteria in theory and practice

Among the key chapters of any structural design code, the criteria for stability and strength of columns have evolved over 250 years. Prompted by computational facilities, the most significant advances have been made over the past two decades. Although technical and semantic formulations differ significantly around the world, the primary philosophical concepts now appear to have reached a steady state. To that effect, limit states design criteria are the norm, and the interface with the provisions for the overall structure continues to improve. The paper provides an evaluation of current procedures and what future criteria may entail, in particular as regards frame design, beam-to-column connections, two- versus three-dimensional analysis, and utilization of inelastic characteristics.