| Education of undergraduate students in first class of reinforced concrete design must include design of slender compression members since they are common components in structures such as buildings and bridges. Education must engage students to function as designers, that is, to determine the geometry of the member as well as the layout of the steel reinforcement to withstand a set of loadings. Educational software application, CU Slender Column, is developed to support the education of students in reinforced concrete design. CU Slender Column studies single slender reinforced concrete columns with circular cross section. Designs account for slenderness effects by applying the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 318 moment magnification method for both non-sway and sway frames. To help students in the design, CU Slender Column provides feedbacks relative to the accuracy of numerical values of strengths and loads as well as the satisfaction of ACI provisions. Also, it is demonstrated that CU Slender Column is an efficient tool able to deal with a wide range of design situations. The demonstration of the performance of CU Slender Column is done by developing 38 examples exploring different column designs passing or failing in strength or in ACI provisions. |
