The material selection for such a strut is based on the lightest structure of a given length. The mass, M = rAL, and substituting this in the expression for the buckling force gives: (F_C / M² ) = (E / r² ){p / 4L² }. Selection is then based on maximizing the value of (E / r² ).

The diagram illustrates how the two failure modes, buckling and plastic deformation, depend upon the length to radius ratio of the strut. For a short strut, for which (L / r) is small, the failure is by plastic deformation in compression. For a long strut the failure mode is by Euler buckling.

For the same mass of material, the buckling stability range can be changed by altering the shape of the strut. A hollow tube of larger radius will be more stable than a solid rod of smaller diameter.