Skip to main content

PurdueX: Stability and Design of Structural Members

Learn fundamental concepts of buckling analysis and design of structural members for stability concerns for beam and column elements.

5 weeks
5–6 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
This course is archived
Stability and Design of Structural Members

About this course

Skip About this course

Buckling can be a controlling limit state for many structural elements.

This course will cover the intersection of buckling and member design – specifically the behavior of columns and beam elements.

Students will leave this course with an in-depth knowledge of governing differential equations for stability analysis of column and beam elements. 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:Structural Engineering, Research, Civil Engineering, Teaching, Differential Equations, Structural Analysis, Buckling

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • Theoretical behavior of beam and column elements
  • Origin of code equations for beam and column design
  • Application of theory and code equations for beam and column design

Syllabus

Skip Syllabus

Week 1: Inelastic Buckling of Columns

Introduction to inelastic buckling of columns including the effects of residual stresses and geometric imperfections and the tangent modulus theory.

Week 2: Column Inelastic Buckling Continued

Discuss the history of inelastic column buckling and the implications of the tangent modulus theory.

Week 3: Column Design

Detail column design using the tangent modulus theory and current US and international column bucking curves.

Week 4: Beam Buckling

Introduce beam buckling including solutions using the finite difference and inverse iteration methods. Discuss the effect of uniform moment distribution for different end conditions.

Week 5: Beam Design

Discuss the effect of non-uniform moment and beam design.

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.

Ways to take this course

Choose your path when you enroll.

Certificate

Free

Price

$750 USD

-

Access to course materials

Unlimited

Limited

World-class institutions and universities

edX support

Shareable certificate upon completion

Graded assignments and exams

Read our FAQsin a new tab about frequently asked questions on these tracks.

Interested in this course for your business or team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX For Business.
Purchase nowRequest information