New Jersey Institute of Technology 1
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Stability of Structures / Faculty: Rima Taher, PhD, PE
CE 636 / Fall 2016 Senior University Lecturer
Type of Course:
Graduate course - Lecture format – 3 credits – Online Instruction.
Course Overview:
An understanding of structural stability is a special branch of engineering mechanics of
importance to structural engineers whose job is to design safe structures. In a structure, a
small change in load could cause a large change in displacement. If the change in
displacement is large enough, or is in a critical member of the structure, a local or
member instability could lead to a total collapse of the entire structure. Instability failures
are often catastrophic.
This course examines how and under what loading condition, a structure passes from a
stable state to an unstable one. The stability of different structural members and systems
is analyzed. The course also includes a practical look at how theory translates into design
methods implemented in design specifications. All major international design
specifications include provisions based on stability theory. Attention is especially focused
on steel structures. Compared to structures designed using other construction materials,
steel structures rely to a greater extent on stability limit states.
Prerequisites/ Required Skills:
Knowledge of the basics and principles of engineering mechanics and structural analysis
& design is required. Some mathematical skills in calculus and differential equations are
also expected.
Required Text:
Structural Stability of Steel – Concepts and Applications for Structural Engineers, by
Theodore V. Galambos and Andrea E. Surovek, John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
(ISBN # 978-0-470-03778-2)
References:
o Structural Stability – Theory and Implementation by W. F. Chen and E. M. Lui
Prentice Hall, 1987.
o Theory of Elastic Stability, 2nd Edition, by S. P. Timoshenko and J. M. Gere,
McGraw Hill, 1961.
o Stability of Structures under Static and Dynamic Loads, ASCE 1977.
o Principle of Structural Stability Theory, by A. Chajes, Prentice Hall, 1974.
o Strength of Metal Structures, by F. Bleich, McGraw Hill, 1952.
Course Requirements:
Students are required to take two tests and a final exam in addition to a few homework
assignments. Moodle will be used to deliver the online course and to submit tests and
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Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
assignments. The Moodle site is http://moodle.njit.edu . Students can login with their
UCID and password.
Homework assignments will be posted on Moodle at the end of each major subject. A
PDF file outlining the assignment will be posted, and a link will be created on Moodle for
the students to upload the assignment file by the due date and time. Students must have
access to a scanner to scan their homework solution pages. All pages must be combined
into a single PDF and uploaded to Moodle. Students are not to post files in formats other
than PDF. The instructor must be able to open and read the files. If the file is corrupt or
illegible, and the instructor is unable to read the file for some reason, the student will
receive an F grade for that assignment. Students are not to email the assignments directly
to the instructor.
In addition to the formal assignments, some informal homework problems and test
review problems will be posted by the instructor. It is important that students attempt to
solve those problems before the solution is posted. Students do not have to upload any
informal homework problems and test review problems. However, it is necessary for the
students to solve these problems on their own first, because these informal problems are
an integral part of the course material and are needed for a proper learning of the covered
topics.
The two tests and the final exam will be given on Moodle. Tentative test dates are given
below. Students need to login a few minutes before the test time (6:30 pm). The test sheet
containing the problems to solve will be posted in PDF format. Students have 1.5 hours
to solve the problems (2.5 hours for the final exam), an additional 30- minute time will be
given to the students in order to scan their solution sheets and upload their test to Moodle
as a single PDF. It is known that the general test time for traditional courses on campus is
one full period or 1 hour and 25 minutes. The additional 30-minute time for scanning and
uploading is rather generous, as scanning and uploading do not normally take more than
10 to 15 minutes.
Due to the nature of the material in this course which is not suited for multiple-choice test
questions, and after discussing this matter with the program director at the civil
engineering department, it was determined that the most logical and most suitable format
for the tests in this course is to set a window of a couple of hours for the students to take
the tests online, all students at the same time. The tests will consist of a few problems to
solve. Students are supposed to show the work done in order to solve the problems.
Again, due to the nature of the test format and course material, and also for test security
reasons, it is important that all students login at the same time to take the test online.
Solution files must be uploaded within 2 hours for the two scheduled tests and within 3
hours for the final exam. Considering that some online students have a day job, the
faculty was instructed by the department to schedule the tests in the evening hours. For
this reason, both tests and the final exam are scheduled to start at 6 pm on the scheduled
test dates.
Students who have a conflict with another course scheduled at the same time must
contact the instructor to get a different test date and time. All excuses must be
substantiated and only students with legitimate excuses can have a make- up test. Please
note that business and vacation trips are not considered as legitimate excuses. Illnesses
and other issues must be dealt with by the Office of the Dean of Students who will
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Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
determine whether those excuses are legitimate or not. Students who do not show up
online as scheduled for a test will simply receive an F on that test.
Moodle will be set up to get locked at 8:30 pm (9:30 pm for the final exam) therefore it is
important to upload the test solution by 8 pm. For the sake of fairness to students who
respect the test time rules, and in order to preserve some discipline, nobody will be
permitted to email the test or any part thereof directly to the instructor, especially past the
end time of a test. The student work, tests and assignments, must be stored on Moodle
and any emailed test files will be declined and deleted.
Students enrolled in this course are not to schedule vacation and holiday trips while the
course is ongoing and on dates that coincide with test dates. The course will end after the
final exam is given. Airline tickets must not be booked before the final exam date. The
final exam week is from December 16 to December 22.
Grading Criteria:
Test 1: 25% - Tentative Date: Monday, October 10th – 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Test 2: 25% - Tentative Date: Monday, November 21st – 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Final examination: 30% - During the final exam week. To be determined based on the
final exam schedule of other courses.
Assignments: 20% - Due dates will be announced and posted.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity and honesty are of paramount importance. Cheating and plagiarism
will not be tolerated. The NJIT Honor Code will be upheld, and any violations will be
brought to the immediate attention of the Dean of Students. All students are responsible
for upholding the integrity of NJIT by reporting any violation of academic integrity to the
Office of the Dean of Students (www.njit.edu/doss). The identity of the student filing the
report will remain anonymous. The “University Code on Academic Integrity” can be
found at: (www.njit.edu/academics/pdf/acadmic-integrity-code.pdf).
Instructor/ Contact Information & Office Hours:
Rima Taher, PhD, PE, Senior University Lecturer
Office Number: Weston 521.
Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday from 12:00 to 1:00 pm
E-mail: [email protected]
Website : http://moodle.njit.edu
Course Content and Weekly Schedule
Week 1: 9/5 to 9/9
Introduction, Course Requirements, Grading Criteria
Introduction to Stability Theory
New Jersey Institute of Technology 4
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Review: External Work & Strain Energy – Principle of Virtual Work – Principle of
Stationary Total Potential Energy
Brief Math Review: Differentiation and Integration
Week 2:9/12 to 9/16
External Work and Strain Energy (Continued)
Fundamentals of Stability Theory: Spring-Bar System, Post-Buckling Behavior,
Softening Spring-Bar Structure, Equilibrium Solutions, Virtual Work Method
Week 3: 9/19 to 9/23
Fundamentals of Stability Theory Continued: Spring-Bar System, Post-Buckling
Behavior, Softening Spring-Bar Structure, Equilibrium Solutions, Virtual Work Method
Week 4: 9/26 to 9/30
Fundamentals of Stability Theory Continued
Snap-Through Buckling
Week 5: 10/3 to 10/7
Fundamentals of Stability Theory Continued:
Multi-Degree of Freedom Systems
Week 6: 10/10 to 10/14
Test 1: Monday, October 10 – 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Brief Math Review: Differential Equations
Elastic Buckling of Planar Columns: Large Deflection Solution of an Elastic Column
Week 7: 10/17 to 10/21
Elastic Buckling of Planar Columns (Continued): Differential Equation of Planar Flexure,
Pin-Ended Columns, Fundamental Column Cases – Examples
Elastic Buckling of Planar Columns (Continued): Differential Equation of Planar Flexure,
Week 8: 10/24 to 10/28
Elastic Buckling of Planar Columns (Continued)
Pin-Ended Columns, Fundamental Column Cases – Examples
Inelastic Column Buckling
Week 9: 10/31 to 11/4
Stability of a Rigid Frame – End Restrained Columns - Boundary Conditions for Bracing
Structures – Examples
Week 10: 11/7 to 11/11
Stability of a Rigid Frame (Continued) – End Restrained Columns - Boundary Conditions
for Bracing Structures – Examples
Week 11: 11/14 to 11/18
Stability of a Rigid Frame – End Restrained Columns - Boundary Conditions for Bracing
Structures – Examples
Week 12: 11/21 to 11/25
Test 1: Monday, November 21st – 6:30 to 8:30 pm
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Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Beam- Column Stability : Behavior of Beam-Columns, Elastic Limit Interaction
Relationships, Amplification Factors – Examples
Tuesday, November 22nd: Thursday Schedule
Wednesday, November 23rd: Friday Schedule
11/24 and 11/25: Thanksgiving Recess – No class
Week 13: 11/28 to 12/2
Beam- Column Stability (Continued): Behavior of Beam-Columns, Elastic Limit
Interaction Relationships, Amplification Factors – Examples
Week 14: 12/5 to 12/9
Beam- Column Stability (Continued): Behavior of Beam-Columns, Elastic Limit
Interaction Relationships, Amplification Factors – Examples
Week 15: 12/12 to 12/16
Lateral / Torsional Buckling - Specification-Based Applications of Stability in Steel
Design
Review for the Final Exam
Last Day of Class at NJIT: Wednesday, December 14
Reading Day: Thursday December 15
Final Exam Week: December 16 to 22nd.
