Undergraduate Course: Thin-Walled Members and Stability 4 (CIVE10002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Engineering | 
College | College of Science and Engineering | 
 
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) | 
Availability | Available to all students | 
 
| SCQF Credits | 10 | 
ECTS Credits | 5 | 
 
 
| Summary | The two segments of this course introduce advanced elements of the theory of structures. The first provides an introduction to the behaviour and algebraic analysis of thin-walled structural members; the second covers the stability of structural elements and their analysis. | 
 
| Course description | 
    
    LECTURES 
 
Segment 1	Thin-walled structures 
 
L1	Introduction 
Structure and aims of the course; uses and advantages of thin-walled members; section properties of thin-walled members; principal axes and rotation of axes; examples on the evaluation of section properties.  
 
L2	Flexure of Beams and Biaxial Bending 
Flexural stresses in elastic beams due to bending in the principal plane and due to biaxial bending; examples. 
 
L3	Shear Stresses in Beams with Solid or Open Cross-Sections 
Shear stresses in elastic beams with solid cross-sections; Shear stresses in elastic beams with thin walled open cross-sections; shear flow; example on the evaluation of shear flow distribution in an I-section.  
 
L4	The Shear Centre 
Shear centre; example on the evaluation of shear centre for a channel section; comparison of centroid and shear centre positions for some sections. 
 
L5	Shear Stresses in Beams with Closed Cross-Sections 
Shear stresses in elastic beams with thin-walled closed cross-sections; box section example.  
 
L6	Torsion in Structural Members 
Introduction to uniform; warping and non-uniform torsion; Prandtl's membrane analogy for uniform torsion; evaluation of stresses under uniform torsion for general solid and rectangular cross-sections. 
 
L7	Uniform Torsion in Open and Closed Sections 
Uniform torsion in thin-walled open cross-sections; uniform torsion in thin-walled closed cross-sections; elastic analysis of statically determinate and statically indeterminate members under uniform torsion; examples. 
 
L8	Warping Torsion in Open Sections 
Warping deflections and stresses; warping constant; example to demonstrate the evaluation of warping displacements, shear and longitudinal stresses due to warping torsion; warping torsion analysis of statically determinate and statically indeterminate members with examples; introduction to non-uniform torsion.  
 
L9	Revision 
 
 
SEGMENT 2	STABILITY OF STRUCTURES 
 
L1	Introduction & elastic bifurcation buckling 
Structure and aims of the course, linear buckling as an eigenvalue problem, bifurcation of equilibrium paths, stability of equilibrium. 
 
L2	Imperfections and geometric nonlinearities in elastic structures 
Effect of imperfections and nonlinearities; imperfection sensitivity; snap-through buckling. 
 
L3	Buckling in more complex systems 
Bilinear elastic columns, testing machines. 
 
L4	Inelastic buckling 
Tangent and reduced modulus formulae; Shanley's explanation; Perry treatment. 
 
L5	Local buckling: 1 
Introduction to local buckling; derivation of plate buckling loads for various support conditions and directions of load; examination of buckling modes; critical width to thickness ratios. 
 
L6	Local buckling: 2 
Postbuckling strength of thin plates in compression and in shear; effect of initial imperfections and residual stresses; design rules. 
 
L7	Torsional and flexural-torsional buckling 
Simple torsional buckling; example of a cruciform section; effect of non-uniform twisting; combined mode of twisting and flexure. 
 
L8	Lateral torsional buckling of beams 
Lateral torsional buckling of a deep rectangular section (various load cases) and an I-section; effect of level of application of load; overview of buckling phenomena. 
 
L9	Revision 
 
TUTORIALS 
 
Bending of Beams  
Evaluation of thin-walled section properties; evaluation of the shear centre position; evaluation of bending stress distribution. 
 
Torsion 
Evaluation of twist under uniform torsion and warping torsion; evaluation of torsion and warping constants; uniform and warping torsion analysis of structures. 
 
Theory of elastic stability  
Derivation of nonlinear law; derivation of equilibrium expressions for a single degree of freedom system, accounting for the effects of nonlinearities and imperfections; determination of the stability of equilibrium for this system and plotting of all equilibrium paths; explaining imperfection sensitivity. 
 
Applied stability problems 
Calculation of the critical stress using tangent and reduced modulus theories and the Perry-Robertson equation; derivation of the critical load for a thin plate from energy equations; calculation of elastic critical stresses due to flexural, torsional, lateral torsional, and local buckling. 
 
    
    
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Information for Visiting Students 
| Pre-requisites | None | 
 
		| High Demand Course? | 
		Yes | 
     
 
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |   
Learning Outcomes 
    On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
    
        - demonstrate the ability to evaluate and explain the behaviour of thin-walled members under bending and torsional loads;
 - demonstrate the ability to evaluate and explain the behaviour of structural elements undergoing buckling.
 
     
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Reading List 
- Trahair, N.S. and Bradford, M.A., The Behaviour and Design of Steel Structures, London: Chapman & Hall, 1995 
 
- Calladine, C.R., Theory of Shell Structures, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983 
 
- Timoshenko, S.P. & Gere, J.M., Theory of Elastic Stability, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961 
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills | 
Not entered | 
 
| Keywords | Not entered | 
 
 
Contacts 
| Course organiser | Dr Yuner Huang 
Tel: (0131 6)50 5736 
Email:  | 
Course secretary | Miss Margaret Robertson 
Tel: (0131 6)50 5565 
Email:  | 
   
 
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