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PurdueX: Elastic Stability and Behavior of Members

Learn elastic stability concepts including methods to evaluate stability including bifurcation method and energy methods. Learn the differential equations governing behavior of structural members, and use them for column buckling analysis

5 weeks
6–7 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
This course is archived

About this course

Skip About this course

Stability is a critical design limit state for structural members and systems.

This course will cover basic concepts in stability including methods to evaluate structural stability including bifurcation method and energy methods. Both small and large deformations will be assumed, and the effects of geometric imperfections will be investigated.

The differential equations governing the behavior of structural members will be discussed along with the design of steel rolled sections to torsional moment. The differential equations governing the stability behavior of structural members will be derived, and used to evaluate the buckling of columns with asymmetric, singly symmetric, and doubly symmetric cross-sections.

Students will leave this course with an in-depth knowledge of bifurcation buckling, stability, and methods of analysis. Students will also learn about governing differential equations for stability analysis and the buckling of different types of columns. This course is best suited for students with an undergraduate civil engineering background including a structural analysis course and will build on these concepts.

Students will learn from an awarded structural engineering researcher with over 20 years of experience in the field. Professor Varma focuses on teaching through exploring example problems and applications of fundamental concepts, encouraging his students to both understand the principles of structural stability and be able to apply these concepts in realistic design scenarios.

At a glance

  • Institution: PurdueX
  • Subject: Engineering
  • Level: Advanced
  • Prerequisites:

    Recommend completing an undergraduate structural analysis course.

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Buckling, Structural Analysis, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Differential Equations

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • Define stability, instability, and buckling of structural members
  • Analyze stability problems using energy and bifurcation buckling analysis approaches
  • Differential between first and second order differential equations used to define structural member behavior.
  • Calculate stresses induced in structural members due to bending, shear, and torsion
  • Differentiate between column buckling for doubly symmetric, singly symmetric and asymmetric columns.

Week 1: Introduction to Stability and Bifurcation Analysis

Introduce key stability concepts including stability, instability and buckling. Discuss different buckling analysis methods and introduce bifurcation analysis.

Week 2: Energy Methods and First Order Differential Equations (DE)

Introduce energy methods for buckling analysis including the effects of large deformations and imperfects. Begin discussing first order differential equations governing buckling behavior.

Week 3: First Order Differential Equations and Stress Calculations

Continue discussing first order differential equations with special attention to torsion differential equations. Discuss calculating the stress associated with bending, shear, and torsion.

Week 4: Second Order Differential Equations

Detail second order differential equations governing structural stability including axial, flexural, and torsion.

Week 5: Elastic Buckling of Columns

Simplify differential equations previously discussed to look at elastic buckling of columns. Derive governing equations for elastic buckling of doubly symmetric, singly symmetric, and asymmetric column buckling.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

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