Plastic Design Of Steel Frames

Plastic Design of Steel Frames assesses the current status and future direction of computer-based analyses of inelastic strength and stability for direct frame design. It shows how design rules are used in practical frame design and provides an introduction to the second-order theory of inelastic frame design. The book includes two computer programs on a diskette: one for the first-order analyses and the other for the second-order plastic hinge analysis of planar frame design. The second-order program can be used to predict realistic strengths and stabilities of planar frames, thereby eliminating the tedious task of estimating factors for individual member capacity checks. Both programs include clear input instructions. The diskette also contains the Fortran source-code listing for the second-order plastic-hinge analysis, enabling the user to customize the program. The programs will run on an IBM PC-AT or equivalent machine with 640 kB of memory and 30 MB hard drive.

The plastic analysis method has been used extensively by engineers for designing steel structures. Simpler structures can be analyzed using the basic virtual work formulation, but more complex frames are evaluated with specialist computer software. This new book sets out a method for carrying out plastic analysis of complex structures without the need for specialist tools. The book provides an introduction to the use of linear programming techniques for plastic analysis. This powerful and advanced method for plastic analysis is important in an automated computational environment, in particular for non-linear structural analysis. A detailed comparison between the design codes for the United States and Australia and the emerging European Eurocodes enables practising engineers to understand the issues involved in plastic design procedures and the limitations imposed by this design method. * Covers latest research in plastic analysis and analytical tools * Introduces new successive approximation method for calculating collapse loads * Programming guide for using spreadsheet tools for plastic analysis

Plastic Design of Steel Frames assesses the current status and future direction of computer-based analyses of inelastic strength and stability for direct frame design. It shows how design rules are used in practical frame design and provides an introduction to the second-order theory of inelastic frame design. The book includes two computer programs on a diskette: one for the first-order analyses and the other for the second-order plastic hinge analysis of planar frame design. The second-order program can be used to predict realistic strengths and stabilities of planar frames, thereby eliminating the tedious task of estimating factors for individual member capacity checks. Both programs include clear input instructions. The diskette also contains the Fortran source-code listing for the second-order plastic-hinge analysis, enabling the user to customize the program. The programs will run on an IBM PC-AT or equivalent machine with 640 kB of memory and 30 MB hard drive.

When this volume was first published, plastic theory was the most modern method of structural analysis, and it made possible the direct design of steel frames in a way not available with only elastic methods. It is now recognized that this theory is also fundamental to structural design in materials such as reinforced concrete and aluminium. This is the first volume of a two-volume work by Professors Baker and Heyman that expounds and illustrates the methods of plastic design. Volume 1 gives the elements of the theory and covers the needs of most undergraduates and designers. A special feature of this work is the large number of exercises (140 in all) with answers. Volume 2 deals with advanced topics of theoretical analysis and practical design. The examples and the methods presented herein are extremely valuable to the engineer. The quality of the writing makes Professors Baker and Heyman's book a pleasure to read. Lord Baker (Sir John Fleetwood Baker, 1901-1985) was Professor of Mechanical Sciences and Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1943 to 1968. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society. Baker's pioneering research led to the development of the plastic theory of design, originally used for steel frames but now recognized as being valid for many structural materials, such as aluminium and reinforced concrete. Additionally, Baker was responsible for many curriculum innovations at the university and was the author of The Steel Skeleton, a two-volume work. Jacques Heyman is the former Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and the author of ten books, including The Stone Skeleton, Elements of the Theory of Structures, Structural Analysis: A Historical Approach, Elements of Stress Analysis, and the two-volume set Plastic Design of Frames: Volume 1. Fundamentals with Lord Baker and Volume 2. Applications. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He acted as a consulting engineer for a number of English cathedrals and as a member of the Architectural Advisory Panel for Westminster Abbey and of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, and he has served on many British standards committees. The Stone Skeleton won the Choice Outstanding Academic Books Award in 1996.