Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

First Advisor

Christopher Eamon

Abstract

The elastic lateral torsional stability of flexural members is studied. The effects of moment distribution between supports and load height with respect to shear center are examined using numerical and analytical methods. From these methods, independent moment and shear factors are developed for a range of load types and load heights. A code comparison is performed comparing numeric results with those produced by AISC 360 to illustrate situations where issues occur in terms of strength prediction. A reliability analysis is performed from this data to quantify the difference in terms of the reliability index using a Monte Carlo Simulation. The results of the analysis show large discrepancies between the results produced by the code and those produced by the numerical analysis in circumstance where reverse curvature bending is apparent. Further, large discrepancies result when the load is positioned above the shear center of the member. This difference indicates a need for the code to change to have special provisions that handle the circumstances surrounding the load types studied and the load height effect. A method is proposed to adjust for these effects by the introduction of independent moment and load height factors with a design example to illustrate the method.

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Engineering Commons

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