Scenario

You are working as a structural technician and have been charged with a range of jobs   involving analysis and design of a number of structural members.

Task 1

a) Investigate and describe the significance of the following:

i. Slenderness ratio and buckling in columns

ii. Effective length of columns

b) Explain Euler's critical buckling formula and its application

Task 2

a) Compare the load carrying capacities of a timber and a reinforced concrete column both 3m effective length and 300 mm square. The timber is SC4 Class and the reinforced concrete column contains eight 25 mm diameter bars. (permissible stress in concrete = 6 N/mm² while permissible stress in steel = 125 N/mm²).                                                                                      

b) A short steel post consisting of a 203 x 203 x UC60 carries three loads, as shown in Figure below. Calculate stress at each of the corners A, B, C and D.