Thesis (MEng)--University of South Australia, 1998

Thesis (MEng) -- University of South Australia, 1994

Thesis (M.S. in Civil Engineering)--Washington State University. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1963. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 24).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 1995. / Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Unversity of Glasgow, 1995. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2006. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 675-691).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (p. v-viii).

The strongest column problem is defined, for this thesis, as the determination of the column shape which gives the maximum Euler buckling load for a given length, volume of material, type of cross-section and type of tapering. This thesis presents a new method - the matrix method - for solving some strongest column problems. In the matrix method a member is approximated by a number of uniform sub-members. A structure stiffness matrix, with the effect of axial force on deflections included, is generated from the sub-members. By setting the determinant of this matrix equal to zero the critical buckling load and the buckled shape of the member in the first mode are found. The section properties of the sub-members are then altered, according to the constant stress criterion, so that the extreme fibre bending stress, determined from the first mode, is the same in each sub-member. The process is repeated until the stresses are sufficiently close to being equal so that no further alterations are required. The optimum shape is taken from the last iteration. The constant stress criterion is based on the fact that, when certain conditions are satisfied, the extreme fibre bending stress at any section is constant along the length of the strongest column when it is buckled in the first mode. The matrix method gives results in very close agreement with those found by previous authors for cases where the constant stress criterion is valid. For the one example presented where the constant stress criterion was not valid, the column buckling under its own weight, the matrix method gave poor results. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The effects of the variability in strength and loading on the reliability of slender, reinforced concrete columns are investigated using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The columns are considered to be axially loaded with equal end eccentricities and no lateral load. Variabilities in strength, axial load and eccentricity of axial loads are considered. A new procedure called the Implicit Uncorrelation Procedure has been developed to find the values of the failure function from the values of the basic variables named above. The allowable axial load at various eccentricity levels corresponding to a probability of failure of one in one hundred thousand has been found for three different cross sections. Seven different slenderness ratios are considered for each cross section. The results are compared with those obtained by following the code procedures outlined in CAN3-A23.3-M77 and CSA-A23.3 (1984). A change in the performance factor for moment magnification, ⌀m , (as given in CSA-A23.3 (1984)) is recommended in order to obtain a more accurate and consistent level of reliability in the design of slender reinforced concrete columns. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

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