Over the past century, many authors from diverse backgrounds have proposed a wide selection of what at first sight appear completely independent systems of structural stability functions. This paper examines in a historical review the merits of the various systems that have been proposed. It is then shown that, all systems set out to achieve the same basic result, they are interrelated. The paper then discusses which is the most appropriate set of functions for use with a matrix structural analysis format coupled with computation on a digital computer. Finally, some remarks are made on efficient methods for the computer generation of the numerical values of the various
stability functions.
R.J. Meagher