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Structural Analysis

1. Structural analysis involves computation of forces like shear, bending moments, and torsion in structures depending on parameters like span and applied loads. 2. Common analysis methods include moment distribution, Kani's method, and Castigliano's theorem. 3. A solid foundation in strength of materials concepts and an understanding of load paths, structural behavior, and analysis software are essential for structural analysis.

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956 views7 pages

Structural Analysis

1. Structural analysis involves computation of forces like shear, bending moments, and torsion in structures depending on parameters like span and applied loads. 2. Common analysis methods include moment distribution, Kani's method, and Castigliano's theorem. 3. A solid foundation in strength of materials concepts and an understanding of load paths, structural behavior, and analysis software are essential for structural analysis.

Uploaded by

dhanya1995
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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It includes study of the applied mechanics

Basics principle of the forces like shear force, bending moments, tortious, torque etc
associated with the structure

The structural analysis further involves computation of shear force, bending moments, torsion
etc depending upon other parameter like span of structure, load applied.

The various methods like

1. Moment distribution method

2. Kanis method

3. Castiglano's theorum etc used.

But you cannot learn the entire field in 2 weeks, only the basics.

As a working structural analyst, plus instructor in Strength of Materials and Statics, I would
sort the material you must learn as follows, up until you run out of time.

1. learn basic understanding of materials (Stress is load/area, bending stress is MC/I, moment of
inertia, affect of shapes of parts, etc. Concept of ductile vs brittle, energy absorption, etc.)
2. Learn how to be expert at Free Body Diagrams..(load paths, how do things get supported,
etc.)
3. Basic vector math (2D, 3D, cross and dot product, moments, etc.)
4. Trusses
5. Beams/machines/pulleys/etc.
6. Dynamics is likely beyond scope, as is fracture toughness, crack growth, composites, etc.
I have seen so many bad FEAs (finite element models) as folks didnt understand what they
wanted to solve, or how to load it, constrain part, etc. in suitable way. Garbage in, Garbage
out. Always do some rough numbers on paper to match FEA, sanity check.

1. Understand strength of materials. It is extremely important to understand shear stress, shear


strains, bending stresses, torsional stresses, moment of inertia, axial stiffness. This is the core
of structural analysis. Understand different concepts. EG:
Tensile Stiffness > Compressive Stiffness > Bending Stiffness.
2. Understand different methods of analysis from basics to advances. Basic methods like
method of joints and method of section for trusses, analyzing a determinate beam for bending
moment and shear force, relationship between load versus deflection and advanced analysis
like portal frame method, sway and non-sway frames, analysis of arches, slope deflection
method, matrix method.
3. Understand load paths. Load is just like a potential energy. It flows from point of high
potential to low potential. Understand how this flow occurs and how you can play with it to
dump more load into one element as compared to another.
4. Study stability of structures. One of the most important concept. Studying like buckling of
columns, lateral torsional buckling of beams, buckling of shells was very interesting to study.
It will help you to understand member behavior after a critical stage. You have Eulers
formula to calculate buckling load and you dont know why you cannot go beyond buckling
load. To be a good engineer you should know why it cannot go beyond that point.
5. Excel in MATLAB, Excel, C++ programming tools. If you want to develop in house
analysis tool, you can do it with these programs. It will help you to generate plots and
understand and interpret results.
6. Study different software so that you can select one as per the type of design and
complexity of analysis to be carried out. You are not always going to solve the structure by
hand. It will take tremendous amount of time. So knowing how to model appropriately in
software with right stiffness factor, end conditions and support conditions will help you. But
in order to know whether your output is right, you should know fundamentals of structural
analysis.
7. Learn how to communicate with drawings. Reading drawing and learning how to draw
drawings will take you long ways. Every single bar of building is present in drawings along
with building geometry. Connection details and element details are all present in drawings.
So understanding a drawing is lot more important to analyze a building.
8. Practice. As many problems as you can. As complex as you can. It is like a bodybuilding
for your brain. Your brain will start thinking smart.

1. A firm foundation in basics of strength of materials, types of loads, stresses and strains and
material properties like elasticity, ductility etc.
2. Thorough familiarity with Drawings (must be able to oversee the preparation, give
necessary inputs to the draughtsman, and check drawings)
3. Graduate level Mathematics (not necessarily advanced but it should include matrix
methods, series, calculus, and numerical techniques)
4. Sound knowledge of basic and advanced theory of structures and how they behave under
the various types of loads. This includes knowledge of Matrix methods in structural analysis
and Finite element method concepts.
5. Complete familiarity with handling computers and software.
6. Thorough knowledge and proficiency in the use of at least one Industry standard software
package for Structural Analysis.
7. Excellent spread sheet skills (power user)
8. Knowledge of at least one high level programming language
9. Basic proficiency in 3D modelling and automated generation of general arrangement
drawings
10. Enough knowledge of 2D drafting using AutoCAD or equivalent package
11. A flair for numbers, formulae, calculations and not being unnerved by them when dealing
with them in huge volumes and for long hours.
12. Using of industry standard Office automation software, being internet savvy.
13. A good command of the English language both spoken and written

After all this expertise, I found that Structural Analysis constituted barely 5 percent of the
time that I devoted to my profession as a structural engineer.

For 2-D trusses,


1. Determine the Degree of static indeterminacy (DSI).
2. If DSI < 4, then the reduced flexibility method (or force method) is feasible for manual
calculation since the flexibility matrix (f) obtained will be 4x4 and fxx will be 3x3, hence
while calculating the restrained forces one has to only find the inverse of 3x3 matrix which
can easily be computed in a regular scientific calculator.
3. If DSI 4, then the reduced stiffness method (or displacement method) is more feasible
since fxx becomes 4x4 and manual calculation of the inverse becomes rigorous.

Note-DO NOT CONFUSE THE REDUCED METHODS FROM THE CONVENTIONAL


ONES. THEY ARE DIFFERENT.
For 2-D frames,
1. In case of preliminary design and for mere comparison between 2 alternatives,
approximate methods like Portal method, Cantilever method, etc. are suitable.
2. In order to obtain accurate answers, Kanis method (iterative method) is most feasible.
Although it is rigorous and time consuming, it is self-corrective in nature and chances of
committing a mistake during manual calculation is far lesser when compared to matrix
methods like flexibility & stiffness methods.
For inclined 2-D frames,
1. Slope deflection method is the most feasible method when it comes to solving inclined 2-D
frames since Kanis method cannot be applied to inclined frames.
This is my opinion regarding methods feasible for manual calculation in various conditions.
Obviously this might vary from person to person.

How can I know if the link member acts as a tension or a compression in structures
without calculations?

Drawing the deflected shape (and having a good knowledge of structures) should help.

For instance, a truss acts like a beam. So it deflects like a beam and the top chord would be in
compression and the bottom would be in tension, just like a beam.

A suspension bridge has cables that are in pure tension. Again, drawing the deformed shape
should show you the function of the cables and hence whether they are in compression or
tension.

Finally, there are members which are likely to work in pure compression or tension. For
instance, a cable cannot carry compression and an angle is likely to carry very little
compression. Meanwhile a stone column is unlikely to carry tension.

If you still can't find your answer, it's worth drawing the structure and adding arrows to show
internal and external loads and reactions.

Finally, if all fails, add some arbitrary numbers (for instance a unit load) and follow the
forces through quantitatively.

Theoretically, the slope of the shear force diagram is the negative of the applied distributed
load.

dVdx dVdx =-q

This result is directly obtained from the beam theory. But what if there is a concentrated load
somewhere along there? Can we still say that the slope of the shear force diagram is the
applied load? The answer is no. This is because the shear force diagram is not defined at the
point where the concentrated load is applied. Mathematically, it is just like finding what the
result is when a number is divided by zero (just an analogy). But, does that stop us civil
engineers to make things work? Of course, not. Let us look at some cases.

In all the cases, keep in mind that the slope at any point is defined as the tangent to the curve
at the that point.

Slope=tan() Slope=tan()

The figure below shows a uniformly distributed load acting on a simply supported beam. Its
shear force diagram follows.
The shear force diagram is linear and hence has a constant slope. If you were to find this
slope, you would get the value of the uniformly distributed load.

slope=6kN6kN4m slope=6kN6kN4m

slope=12kN4m slope=12kN4m

slope=3kN/m slope=3kN/m

Which is the same as the uniformly distributed load. This is easy because we have a shear
force diagram with constant slope. This can also be applied to any shear force diagram with a
defined slope. Just to illustrate this, the following figure accompanies.
Here, although the slope of the shear force diagram varies, you can define a slope at any
point. Rest assured, this value will be equal to the value of the distributed load at that point.
Notice how the slope increases from left to right exactly like the load itself.

Let us look at a concentrated load now.


Notice, how at the point of loading, the shear force diagram jumps. A slope cannot be defined
at this point because tan (90) tan (90) is undefined. But, if something like this occurs, we
know that a point load is being applied at that point. What is the value of this load you ask? It
is exactly equal to the change (or jump) in the shear force diagram. In this case,

P=15kN15kN=30kN P=15kN15kN=30kN

Also notice how the slope is zero elsewhere in the diagram. This means that no distributed
load is acting anywhere. Next, let us have a look at a combination of point loads.

We observe the same thing. Zero slope elsewhere and undefined slope at the application of
the load. The value of the load is equal to the jump. Also remember, if there is a concentrated
load, asking what the shear force under that point is meaningless is. The best way to ask is to
ask for the shear force just to the left or right of that point. The values will be different.

So, the answer to the question is, the slope of the shear force diagram gives you an idea of
how the loads are being applied to the structure.

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