Structural

analysis

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.[1]

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.

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 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 the truss element forces have to be found. The second
diagram is the loading diagram and contains the reaction forces from the
joints.
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, there is a roller joint and
hence only 1 reaction force in the y direction. Asuming these forces to be in
their respective positive directions (if they are not in the positive directions,
the value will be negative).
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,

Although the forces in each of the truss elements are found, 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 has 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 a maximum of 3 equations to find a maximum of 3 unknown truss
element forces through which this cut is made. Find the forces FAB, FBD and
FCD in the above example

Method 1: Ignore the right side

…
Method 2: Ignore the left side
…

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 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

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

1878-1972 Stephen Timoshenko father of modern Applied mechanics

including the Timoshenko–Ehrenfest beam theory

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

von Mises yield criterion

Probabilistic Assessment of Structures

References

1. "Science Direct: Structural Analysis" (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engine

ering/structural-analysis) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2021051601483
0/https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/structural-analysis) 2021-
05-16 at the Wayback Machine

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