The wide spread use of limit states design procedures in both the Canadian and American steel design codes has created a need for a better understanding of how structures behave. Current design practice, however, allows and often encourages engineers to use an approximate linear analysis to determine the member forces in a structure. This is then followed by an even more approximate amplification of forces through the use of several design equations. It is believed that this practice is no longer acceptible as more accurate second-order computer programs have become a very practical alternative. With this as motivation, this thesis will provide a comparison between a second-order computer program available at the University of British Columbia called ULA (Ultimate Load Analysis) and the Canadian and American building code designs, CAN3-S16.1-M84 and LRFD 1986 respectively. It was felt that ULA should be verified, even though the theory it is based on is well established. Thus, ULA was used to generate a load versus L/r curve for a pin ended column (with the parameters modified slightly to allow direct comparison with the curves available in the codes). ULA was then used to predict load-deflection curves for two existing test frames. The resulting curves compared well with the test data. To ensure simplicity, the building codes make several approximations in the derivation of their design equations. This results in the equations being applicable to a very narrow range of structures. Specifically, the equations apply to rigidly connected frames in which all of the columns reach their critical buckling load simmultaniously. Consequently, the results from ULA were compared to the codes for structures of this type. It was found that the codes were conservative for these structures in relation to the results from ULA, yet the amount of conservatism varied greatly between structures. That is, the codes are not consistant in how conservative they are. Results from ULA were then compared to the codes for structures that do not satisfy all of the code limitations. Alhough using the codes to design structures beyond the limit of applicability is not a recommended practice, engineers do use the codes to design all types of structures, with little appreciation for the applicability limits. Consequently, it was deemed appropriate to extend this study to such structures. Though only a few were investigated, it was found that the codes were unreliable, being highly conservative, very accurate, or in one case highly unconservative when compared to the results from ULA. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

This thesis presents the method of state diagram synthesis and the development of a computer program for designing fluidic sequential feedback • control circuits of the fundamental mode. A paper on state diagram synthesis was authored by Chen and Lee, presented in Detroit and published as ASME paper 73-WA/Flcs-2 in 1973. Hypothetical systems are illustrated by using series of events characterized by the piston positions of some double-acting pneumatic cylinders. In these systems , an action can only begin when the previous action has been completed. Every extension or retraction of a piston is memorized and manifested by a flip-flop element in the feedback circuit. If different combina- tions of control signals result from different combinations of feedback signals, the logic design is straightforward. Otherwise secondary variables are needed to differentiate between repeated appearances of some ambiguous input combinations. A secondary variable is obtained as the output of a fluidic flip-flop with set and reset inputs. When a sufficient number of secondary variables are obtained, they are combined with the feedback signals. Considerations of these variables and their associated logic complementary "don't-care" conditions leads to a set of simplified control equations. The complete process of the circuit design, using state diagram synthesis, has been programmed for a digital computer. After the control equations are obtained , one can take the signal transmission characteristics into account in order to build a hazard-free circuit.

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Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) deals with systems complexity rather than transistor size or circuit performance. VLSI design methodology is supported by Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Design Automation (DA) tools, which help VLSI designers to implement more complex and guaranteed designs. The increasing growth in VLSI complexity dictates a hierarchical design approach and the need for hardware DA tools. This paper discusses the generalized Design Procedure for CAD circuit design; the commercial CADs offered by CALMA and the Caesar System, supported by the Berkeley design tools. A complete design of a Content Addressable Memory (CAM) cell, using the Caesar system, supported by Berkeley CAD tools, is illustrated.

This paper is a report on a project to develop a computer-based technique to optimize two dimensional sail design. Overall, we consider two distinct problems. The first problem deals with an unconstrained optimization of the lift. Then, to develop the second problem, we introduce an integrated form of Stratford's separation criterion as a limiting constraint. Throughout the work, we incorporate a vortex lattice analysis to determine the lift on the sail, and in each case, we use an optimization algorithm called VMCON. In the final chapters, we present the results for a series of test cases and describe the areas of future research and development. / M.S.

Design procedures are developed that combine both the finite element method and the transfer matrix method in design. These procedures were drawn up as a result of the analysis of a large continuous mining machine to be produced by Fairchild International. Combining the methods allowed the analysis to be split into smaller jobs. Two examples are given. The first example divides the machine into a number of separate finite element analyses where the internal loads on each component are determined by the transfer matrix method. The second example analyzes the transition region between each of the separate finite element analysis. Utilizing both methods in design reduced computer usage costs. / Master of Science

The second law is still rarely used as a design decision tool. However, information obtained from second law analysis is valuable in the design process for thermodynamic systems. This investigation reviews the past development of second law analysis. A clear, operational vocabulary is established. Then two examples of microcomputer-based design procedures are presented. The first is a second law analysis of refrigeration cycles. As a part of this example, the correlation of physical property data by simple methods is demonstrated. The second example is a second law analysis of gas turbine systems. The salient point is that all of this can be done on a microcomputer, and consequently is readily available to any engineer. / M.S.

A design and implementation of a multimodule chip-level simulator whose source description language is based on the original GSP2 system is described. To enhance the simulation speed, a special addressing ("sharing single memory location") scheme is used in the implementation of pin connections. The basic data structures and algorithms for the simulator are described. The developed simulator can simulate many digital devices interconnected as a digital network. It also has the capability of modeling external buses and handling the suspension of processes in the environment of multimodule simulation. An example of a multimodule digital system simulation is presented. / M.S.

The purpose of this research was to identify the expertise of CAD graphics operators/managers in the design and marketing phases of textile/apparel product development. Additionally, the purposes were to determine the effect of CAD graphics on product development in the textile/apparel industry, and to identify future needs and uses of CAD graphics in the industry. A questionnaire was sent to 117 CAD graphics operators/managers. The results from the questionnaire were obtained through frequency and percentage distributions. The major findings of this study concluded that textile design and/or colorations and coloration of sketches were the major uses for CAD graphics systems. The shortening of response time of development of idea in design cycle was the major benefit of using a CAD graphics system. Future needs and wants were found to be mainly in the areas of better color control, matching and selection, better resolution in printing, and faster, larger printout capabilities. / Master of Science