STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING FOR THE 80s AND BEYOND.

Abstract

In this paper, the author has tried to establish the point that research and the intelligent use of the best technology can lead to progress by continuing to narrow the gap between analysis and test. For the past years the author has been involved in research at Cornell on the application of interactive computer graphics to problems in structural engineering. The aim is to find ways to use this medium to advance the analysis and design of steel-framed structures. The work covers the full scope of design, but the research emphasis has been on nonlinear and three-dimensional problems of both a static and a dynamic nature. With the computer, a number of different types of frame analysis become practicable. The results of five are shown: (1) a linear elastic analysis; (2) an elastic critical load analysis; (3) an elastic analysis that includes the effects of displacements (geometric nonlinearity); (4) an elastic-plastic analysis that includes the effects of yielding (material nonlinearity); and (5) an analysis that includes both geometric and material nonlinearity.