COURSE PROFILE

Course Number : CE304

Course Title : Elastic Stability

Required / Elective : Elective

Pre-requisite : CE202, CE204

Catalog Description:. Elastic stability.

Methods. Buckling of elastic bars. Euler
cases. Frames. Conservative systems. Energy
methods, Ritz Method. Transversal buckling.
Plate buckling, Approximate methods.

Textbook / Required Material :

S.P.Timoshenko and J.M. Gere, Theory
of Elastic Stability , Dover, New York,
2009.

Course Structure / Schedule : (3+0+0) 3 / 5 ECTS

Extended Description: Introduction to stability analysis. Discrete Models (rigid bars and
springs); Concept of multiple equilibrium configurations for a given load level, geometric
nonlinearities. Concept of pre-buckling conditions, pre-buckling configuration. Linear buckling
analysis. Concepts of bifurcation, bifurcation point, symmetric bifurcation, asymmetric
bifurcation. Use of energy principles to study stability, change in total potential energy. Concept
of post-buckling. Use of dynamics to study stability. Use of dynamics to move from one
equilibrium solution to another. Introduction to Variational Methods. Stability of Beams:
Derivation of the governing differential equations and boundary conditions. Influence of boundary
conditions. Pre-buckling conditions. Linear buckling analysis. Variational methods for continuum
structural models. Approximate analyses by the Rayleigh-Ritz and Galerkin methods. Lateral
Buckling of Beams, Applications to rigid discrete systems, beam-column, frames and plate
buckling.
Design content: Lectures

Computer usage: ---

Course Outcomes: [relevant program outcomes in brackets]:

After the completion of this course, students should be able to:
1- understand the concept of stability, [1]
2- describe the elastic and plastic buckling behavior of beam and frames; [1,2,8]
3- determine the buckling loads for simple columns and frames [1,10]
4- understand the physical interpretation of buckling phenomena [1,10]
5- have an understanding of the concept of effective length and its use in design [2]
Recommended reading :
1- Z.P. Bazant and L. Cedolin , Stability of Structures: Elastic, Inelastic, Failure & Damage
Theories, World Scientific, 2010.

2- M. Ciarletta, D. Iean, Non-classical Elastic Solids, Longman, 1993.

3- Alfutov, N. A., Stability of Elastic Structures, Springer Verlag, 2000.
4- Allen, H. G., and Bulson, P.S., Background to Buckling, McGraw Hill Book
Company, 1980.
5- Chen, W. F., and Lui, E. M., Structural Stability: Theory and
Implementation, Elsevier Science Publishing Co, Inc, 1987.
6- Brush, D. O., and Almroth, B. O., Buckling of Bars, Plates and Shells, Mc
Graw Hill Co., 1975.
7- Structural Stability in Engineering Practice, Edited by Aljos Kollr, Taylor
and Francis Group, 1999.
8- George J. Simitses and Dewey H. Hodges, Fundamentals of Structural
Stability, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006.
Teaching Methods : Lectures, homework
Assessment Methods: [Related to course outcomes]
2 Midterm Exams [1, 2] (Average) 40%
Homework [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (Average) 10%
3 Quiz (1,2,3) (Average) 10%
Final Exam [1] 40%
Student workload:
Preparatory study 40 hrs
Lectures, discussions 40 hrs
Homeworks 20 hrs
Take-home exams, final, 25 hrs
TOTAL 125 hrs = 25 x 5 ECTS
Prepared by : Esin Inan

Revision Date : 15/6/2012