ANALYSIS OF LARGE STRUCTURES WITH SMALL COMPUTERS

A PRACTICAL STUDY IS CONDUCTED OF THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS NEEDED BY COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR COMPUTERS WITH A SMALL MAIN MEMORY TO FACILITATE THE DESIGN OF STRUCTURES GIVING RISE TO MANY EQUATION SYSTEMS; DETAILS ARE ALSO GIVEN OF AN ALGORITHM OF HIGH-POWER RESOLUTION, WHICH IS FLEXIBLE AND REQUIRES A MINIMUM MAIN MEMORY, ELIMINATING THE LIMITATION IMPOSED BY THE RESOLUTION OF THESE EQUATION SYSTEMS. THE STUDY IS DIVIDED INTO 4 PARTS: (1) CURRENT TENDENCIES IN STRUCTURES AND COMPUTERS; (2) TYPICAL ORGANIZATION OF A STRUCTURAL DESIGN PROGRAM FOR MINICOMPUTERS; (3) DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ALGORITHM; (4) USE OF SUB-ROUTINES. APPENDIX A COMPRISES A LIST OF SUB-ROUTINES WRITTEN IN FORTRAN, TOGETHER WITH FLOW CHARTS AND VARIABLES USED. APPENDIX B BRIEFLY DESCRIBES THE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT USED.