1981 History :: Research Committees, Task Groups, and Task Reporters

Projects originating within the Council were initially planned by the research committees, which, through the questionnaire surveys, established research priorities. The appropriate committee then solicited proposals and financial support, awarded the project, guided its course reviewed the resulting reports and approved their release for publication by CRC or other appropriate medium. The first four research committees were initially subcommittees of the overall Research Committee. Three more were added in 1948 and in the 1951 reorganization they all became independent committees, continuing to be active until 1960, when the task group designations took over. The seven research committees were: (1) Mechanical Properties of Materials; (2) Initial Eccentricities of Compression Elements; (3) Local Buckling of Compression Elements; (4) Columns in Structural Frames; (5) Torsional Instability of Structural Elements; (6) Stability of Structural Elements under Dynamic Loading; (7) Stability of Laterally Unsupported Bridge Chords.

The Task Groups that replaced the research committees continued to act in the same capacity, but additional Task Groups took on the responsibility of preparing chapters of the second and later, the third editions of the Council Guide. Other prepared technical memoranda, special reports, or carried on liaison with other groups.

  1. Centrally Loaded Columns (1960). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  2. Ultimate Strength of Laterally Loaded Columns (1960-1963).
  3. Ultimate Strength of Columns with Biaxially Eccentric Load (1960). Columns with Biaxial Bending (1975 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  4. "K" Values for Typical Building Construction and Evaluation of the Factors Affecting Strength of Columns in Actual Structures (1960-1963). Frame Stability and Effective Column Length (Reinstated, 1967). Frame Stability and Columns as Framed Members (1980 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  5. Higher Strength Steels (1960). Classification of Steels for Structures (1964 change). (1969 termination.)
  6. Testing Techniques for Lateral Stability Testing (1960). Test Methods for Compression Members (1963 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  7. Tapered Members (Joint with WRC, 1966). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  8. Dynamic Instability of Compression Elements (1967). Dynamic Instability (1968 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  9. Curved Compression Members (1967). (1973 Replaced by Task Reporter 15.)
  10. Design of Laterally Unsupported Columns (1967). Design of Laterally Unsupported Restrained Beam-Columns (1968 change). (1974 termination)
  11. European Column Studies (1967). International Cooperation on Stability Studies (1975 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  12. Mechanical Properties of Steel in the Inelastic Range (1967). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  13. Thin-Walled Metal Construction (1967). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  14. Horizontally Curved Girders (1968). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  15. Laterally Unsupported Beams (1969). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  16. Plate Girders (1969). Plate and Box Girders (1971 change). Plate Girders (1975 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  17. Stability of Shell-Like Structures (1969). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  18. Tubular Members (1970). Unstiffened Tubular Members (1975 change). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  19. Stiffened Plate Structures (1970). (1973 replaced by Task Reporter 16.)
  20. Composite Members (1971). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  21. Box Girders (1975). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  22. Stiffened Tubular Members (1975). (Currently (1981) active task group.)
  23. Effect of End Restraint on Initially Crooked Columns (1978). (Currently (1981) active task group.)

Task reporters have also been appointed to present annual meeting reports as to the progress of particular research projects or areas of research interest. In many instances the task reporter has been the forerunner of a task group--while in other cases, the task group has given way to a task reporter. The following chronology of task reporters uses the same format as that of the Task Groups:

  1. Welded Plate Girders (1963-1968).
  2. Strength of Longitudinally Stiffened Plates (1963-1969).
  3. Columns in Continuous Frames (1963-1966).
  4. Inelastic Lateral-Torsional Buckling of Wide-Flange Beam-Columns (1963-1966).
  5. Frame Stability (1963-1968).
  6. Stability of Plate and Shell Structures (1963-1968).
  7. Truss Bridge Research Project (1963 only).
  8. Buckling Strength of Tapered Beams and Columns (1963-1966).
  9. Stub Column Test Procedure (1963-1964).
  10. Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Metal Construction (1964-1965).
  11. Stability of Aluminum Structural Members (1967). (Currently active (1981).)
  12. Stability of Box Girders (1968-1970).
  13. Local Inelastic Buckling (1970). (Currently active (1981).)
  14. Fire Effects on Structural Stability (1971). (Currently active (1981).)
  15. Curved Compression Members (1973). (Currently active (1981).)
  16. Stiffened Plate Structures (1973). (Currently active (1981).)
  17. Laterally Unsupported Restrained Beam-Columns (1974). (Currently active (1981).)
  18. Application of Finite Element Methods to Stability Problems (1980). (Currently active(1981).)


Return to outline