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Structural analysis
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Structural analysis is the determination of the effects of loads on physical structures and their
components. Structures subject to this type of analysis include all that must withstand loads,
such as buildings, bridges, aircraft and ships. Structural analysis employs the fields of applied
mechanics, materials science and applied mathematics to compute a structure's deformations,
internal forces, stresses, support reactions, accelerations, and stability. The results of the analysis
are used to verify a structure's fitness for use, often precluding physical tests. Structural analysis
is thus a key part of the engineering design of structures.

Structures and loads

A structure refers to a body or system of connected parts used to support a load. Important
examples related to Civil Engineering include buildings, bridges, and towers; and in other
branches of engineering, ship and aircraft frames, tanks, pressure vessels, mechanical systems,
and electrical supporting structures are important. To design a structure, an engineer must
account for its safety, aesthetics, and serviceability, while considering economic and
environmental constraints. Other branches of engineering work on a wide variety of non-building
structures.

Classification of structures
…
A structural system is the combination of structural elements and their materials. It is important
for a structural engineer to be able to classify a structure by either its form or its function, by
recognizing the various elements composing that structure. The structural elements guiding the
systemic forces through the materials are not only such as a connecting rod, a truss, a beam, or a
column, but also a cable, an arch, a cavity or channel, and even an angle, a surface structure, or a
frame.

Loads
…
Once the dimensional requirement for a structure have been defined, it becomes necessary to
determine the loads the structure must support. Structural design, therefore begins with
specifying loads that act on the structure. The design loading for a structure is often specified in
building codes. There are two types of codes: general building codes and design codes,
engineers must satisfy all of the code's requirements in order for the structure to remain reliable.

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There are two types of loads that structure engineering must encounter in the design. The first
type of loads are dead loads that consist of the weights of the various structural members and
the weights of any objects that are permanently attached to the structure. For example, columns,
beams, girders, the floor slab, roofing, walls, windows, plumbing, electrical fixtures, and other
miscellaneous attachments. The second type of loads are live loads which vary in their magnitude
and location. There are many different types of live loads like building loads, highway bridge
loads, railroad bridge loads, impact loads, wind loads, snow loads, earthquake loads, and other
natural loads.

Analytical methods

To perform an accurate analysis a structural engineer must determine information such as

structural loads, geometry, support conditions, and material properties. The results of such an
analysis typically include support reactions, stresses and displacements. This information is then
compared to criteria that indicate the conditions of failure. Advanced structural analysis may
examine dynamic response, stability and non-linear behavior. There are three approaches to the
analysis: the mechanics of materials approach (also known as strength of materials), the elasticity
theory approach (which is actually a special case of the more general field of continuum
mechanics), and the finite element approach. The first two make use of analytical formulations
which apply mostly simple linear elastic models, leading to closed-form solutions, and can often
be solved by hand. The finite element approach is actually a numerical method for solving
differential equations generated by theories of mechanics such as elasticity theory and strength
of materials. However, the finite-element method depends heavily on the processing power of
computers and is more applicable to structures of arbitrary size and complexity.

Regardless of approach, the formulation is based on the same three fundamental relations:
equilibrium, constitutive, and compatibility. The solutions are approximate when any of these
relations are only approximately satisfied, or only an approximation of reality.

Limitations
…
Each method has noteworthy limitations. The method of mechanics of materials is limited to very
simple structural elements under relatively simple loading conditions. The structural elements
and loading conditions allowed, however, are sufficient to solve many useful engineering
problems. The theory of elasticity allows the solution of structural elements of general geometry
under general loading conditions, in principle. Analytical solution, however, is limited to relatively
simple cases. The solution of elasticity problems also requires the solution of a system of partial
differential equations, which is considerably more mathematically demanding than the solution
of mechanics of materials problems, which require at most the solution of an ordinary differential
equation. The finite element method is perhaps the most restrictive and most useful at the same
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time. This method itself relies upon other structural theories (such as the other two discussed
here) for equations to solve. It does, however, make it generally possible to solve these
equations, even with highly complex geometry and loading conditions, with the restriction that
there is always some numerical error. Effective and reliable use of this method requires a solid
understanding of its limitations.

Strength of materials methods (classical methods)

The simplest of the three methods here discussed, the mechanics of materials method is
available for simple structural members subject to specific loadings such as axially loaded bars,
prismatic beams in a state of pure bending, and circular shafts subject to torsion. The solutions
can under certain conditions be superimposed using the superposition principle to analyze a
member undergoing combined loading. Solutions for special cases exist for common structures
such as thin-walled pressure vessels.

For the analysis of entire systems, this approach can be used in conjunction with statics, giving
rise to the method of sections and method of joints for truss analysis, moment distribution
method for small rigid frames, and portal frame and cantilever method for large rigid frames.
Except for moment distribution, which came into use in the 1930s, these methods were
developed in their current forms in the second half of the nineteenth century. They are still used
for small structures and for preliminary design of large structures.

The solutions are based on linear isotropic infinitesimal elasticity and Euler–Bernoulli beam
theory. In other words, they contain the assumptions (among others) that the materials in
question are elastic, that stress is related linearly to strain, that the material (but not the
structure) behaves identically regardless of direction of the applied load, that all deformations
are small, and that beams are long relative to their depth. As with any simplifying assumption in
engineering, the more the model strays from reality, the less useful (and more dangerous) the
result.

Example
…
There are 2 commonly used methods to find the truss element forces, namely the Method of
Joints and the Method of Sections. Below is an example that is solved using both of these
methods. The first diagram below is the presented problem for which we need to find the truss
element forces. The second diagram is the loading diagram and contains the reaction forces
from the joints.

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Since there is a pin joint at A, it will have 2 reaction forces. One in the x direction and the other in
the y direction. At point B, we have a roller joint and hence we only have 1 reaction force in the y
direction. Let us assume these forces to be in their respective positive directions (if they are not
in the positive directions like we have assumed, then we will get a negative value for them).

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Since the system is in static equilibrium, the sum of forces in any direction is zero and the sum of
moments about any point is zero. Therefore, the magnitude and direction of the reaction forces
can be calculated.

Method of joints
…
This type of method uses the force balance in the x and y directions at each of the joints in the
truss structure.

At A,

At D,

At C,

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Although we have found the forces in each of the truss elements, it is a good practice to verify
the results by completing the remaining force balances.

At B,

Method of sections
…
This method can be used when the truss element forces of only a few members are to be found.
This method is used by introducing a single straight line cutting through the member whose
force wants to be calculated. However this method has a limit in that the cutting line can pass
through a maximum of only 3 members of the truss structure. This restriction is because this
method uses the force balances in the x and y direction and the moment balance, which gives us
a maximum of 3 equations to find a maximum of 3 unknown truss element forces through which
this cut is made. Let us try to find the forces FAB, FBD and FCD in the above example

Method 1: Ignore the right side

E…

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Method 2: Ignore the left side

E…

The truss elements forces in the remaining members can be found by using the above method
with a section passing through the remaining members.

Elasticity methods

Elasticity methods are available generally for an elastic solid of any shape. Individual members
such as beams, columns, shafts, plates and shells may be modeled. The solutions are derived
from the equations of linear elasticity. The equations of elasticity are a system of 15 partial
differential equations. Due to the nature of the mathematics involved, analytical solutions may

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only be produced for relatively simple geometries. For complex geometries, a numerical solution
method such as the finite element method is necessary.

Methods using numerical approximation

It is common practice to use approximate solutions of differential equations as the basis for
structural analysis. This is usually done using numerical approximation techniques. The most
commonly used numerical approximation in structural analysis is the Finite Element Method.

The finite element method approximates a structure as an assembly of elements or components

with various forms of connection between them and each element of which has an associated
stiffness. Thus, a continuous system such as a plate or shell is modeled as a discrete system with
a finite number of elements interconnected at finite number of nodes and the overall stiffness is
the result of the addition of the stiffness of the various elements. The behaviour of individual
elements is characterized by the element's stiffness (or flexibility) relation. The assemblage of the
various stiffness's into a master stiffness matrix that represents the entire structure leads to the
system's stiffness or flexibility relation. To establish the stiffness (or flexibility) of a particular
element, we can use the mechanics of materials approach for simple one-dimensional bar
elements, and the elasticity approach for more complex two- and three-dimensional elements.
The analytical and computational development are best effected throughout by means of matrix
algebra, solving partial differential equations.

Early applications of matrix methods were applied to articulated frameworks with truss, beam
and column elements; later and more advanced matrix methods, referred to as "finite element
analysis", model an entire structure with one-, two-, and three-dimensional elements and can be
used for articulated systems together with continuous systems such as a pressure vessel, plates,
shells, and three-dimensional solids. Commercial computer software for structural analysis
typically uses matrix finite-element analysis, which can be further classified into two main
approaches: the displacement or stiffness method and the force or flexibility method. The
stiffness method is the most popular by far thanks to its ease of implementation as well as of
formulation for advanced applications. The finite-element technology is now sophisticated
enough to handle just about any system as long as sufficient computing power is available. Its
applicability includes, but is not limited to, linear and non-linear analysis, solid and fluid
interactions, materials that are isotropic, orthotropic, or anisotropic, and external effects that are
static, dynamic, and environmental factors. This, however, does not imply that the computed
solution will automatically be reliable because much depends on the model and the reliability of
the data input.

Timeline

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1452–1519 Leonardo da Vinci made many contributions

1638: Galileo Galilei published the book "Two New Sciences" in which he examined the failure
of simple structures

1660: Hooke's law by Robert Hooke

1687: Isaac Newton published "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" which contains
the Newton's laws of motion

1750: Euler–Bernoulli beam equation

1700–1782: Daniel Bernoulli introduced the principle of virtual work

1707–1783: Leonhard Euler developed the theory of buckling of columns

1826: Claude-Louis Navier published a treatise on the elastic behaviors of structures

1873: Carlo Alberto Castigliano presented his dissertation "Intorno ai sistemi elastici", which
contains his theorem for computing displacement as partial derivative of the strain energy.
This theorem includes the method of 'least work' as a special case

1936: Hardy Cross' publication of the moment distribution method which was later recognized
as a form of the relaxation method applicable to the problem of flow in pipe-network

1941: Alexander Hrennikoff submitted his D.Sc thesis in MIT on the discretization of plane
elasticity problems using a lattice framework

1942: R. Courant divided a domain into finite subregions

1956: J. Turner, R. W. Clough, H. C. Martin, and L. J. Topp's paper on the "Stiffness and
Deflection of Complex Structures" introduces the name "finite-element method" and is widely
recognized as the first comprehensive treatment of the method as it is known today

See also

Limit state design

Structural engineering theory

Structural integrity and failure

Stress–strain analysis

Probabilistic Assessment of Structures

References

Wikibooks has more on the topic of: Structural analysis

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