A three-dimensional model of the deflected configuration of the portion of a circular rod constrained to be in contact with a circular cylinder is developed in this thesis. This work involves the development of an analytical method to determine the postbuckling behavior of tubular members in inclined holes. The analytical method introduces the concept of the critical hole inclination angle, α\sbcr, and the buckling, α\sbcr∗, to determine the configurations of the rod. For hole inclination angles less than α\sbcr, a rod is in a helical form. A formula for the wall contact force in this region is derived to explain the existence of hysteresis during a cycle of axial loading followed by a corresponding load decrease. Torque effects and gravity effects are found to affect the helical configuration of the rod slightly. When the hole inclination lies between these two angles, a rod falls into a sinusoidal configuration. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)