ADDIS ABABA SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSTY
Civil Engineering Department
Theory of Structures I
Chapter One
Loads on Structures, Stability & Determinacy of
Structures

By Hiwotnat D. (MSc.)
Loads on Structures
Questions???
 Stability & Determinacy of Structures
Introduction
Before going into the analysis of any structure, it is necessary to
identify
• its Statically type (classification), i.e., whether it is determinate or
indeterminate,
• stable or unstable.
• An unstable arrangement of supports and structural members should
be avoided. All structures are subjected to loads from their functions
and to other unavoidable loads. Establishment of the loads that act
on a structure is one of the most difficult and yet important. Step in
the design process.
• In this chapter; Criteria for Statically classification will be established
and different structures will be checked for stability and determinacy.
Types of supports and types of structure
Supports are used to attach structures to the ground or other bodies,
thereby restricting their movements under the action of applied loads.
• The loads tend to move the structures; but supports prevent the
movements by exerting
opposing forces, or reactions, to neutralize the effects of loads, thereby
keeping the structures in equilibrium.
 The type of reaction a support exerts on a structure depends on the type of
supporting device used and the type of movement it prevents.
 A support that prevents translation of the structure in a particular direction
exerts a reaction force on the structure in that direction.
 Similarly, a support that prevents rotation of the structure about a
particular axis exerts a reaction couple on the structure about that axis.
 Cont’d
The types of supports commonly used for plane structures are
depicted in table.
These supports are grouped into three categories, depending
on the number of reactions (1, 2, or 3) they exert on the
structures. The figure also gives the types of reactions that
these supports exert, as well as the number of unknowns that
the various supports introduce in the analysis.
Table common type of support on plane structure
Cont’d
 Types of Structures
i. Frames: - often used in buildings and are composed of
• Beams and columns that are either pin or fixed connected.
The loading on a frame causes bending of its members,
and if it has rigid joint connections, this structure is generally
“indeterminate” from a standpoint of analysis. The strength of such a
frame is derived from the moment interactions between the beams and
the columns at the rigid joints.
Cont’d
ii. Trusses: - Trusses are composed of straight members connected at
their ends by hinged connections to form a stable configuration. They
consist of slender elements,
 usually arranged in triangular fashion.
 Planar trusses are composed of members that lie in the same plane
and are frequently used for bridge and roof support,
 whereas space trusses have members extending in three dimensions
and are suitable for derricks and towers.
Cont’d
iii. Cables and Arches: - Two other forms of structures used to
span long distances are the cable and the arch.
• Cables are usually flexible and carry their loads in tension.
• They are commonly used to support bridges and building
roofs. When used for these purposes, the cable has an
advantage over the beam and the truss, especially for spans
that are greater than 46 m.
• Because they are always in tension, cables will not become
unstable and suddenly collapse, as may happen with beams or
trusses.
• Furthermore, the truss will require added costs for
construction and increased depth as the span increases. Use
of cables, on the other hand, is limited only by their sag,
weight, and methods of anchorage.
Cont’d
• Arch achieves its strength in compression, since it has a reverse
curvature to that of the cable.
• The arch must be rigid, however, in order to maintain its shape, and
this result in secondary loadings involving shear and moment, which
must be considered in its design.
• Arches are frequently used in bridge structures, dome roofs, and for
openings in masonry walls.
Cont’d
iv. Surface Structures: - A surface structure is made from a material
having a very small thickness compared to its other dimensions.
Sometimes this material is very flexible and can take the form of a
tent or air-inflated structure.
• In both cases the material acts as a membrane that is subjected to
pure tension.
• Surface structures may also be made of rigid material such as
reinforced concrete. As such they may be shaped as folded plates,
cylinders, or hyperbolic paraboloids, and are referred to as thin
plates or shells.
• These structures act like cables or arches since they support loads
primarily in tension or compression, with very little bending.
• In spite of this, plate or shell structures are generally very difficult
to analyze, due to the three-dimensional geometry of their surface.
Cont’d
v. Shear Structures (shear walls): - are used in
multistory buildings to reduce lateral movements due
to wind loads and earthquake excitations.
 Stability of Structures
• To ensure the equilibrium of a structure or its members, it is not only
necessary to satisfy the equations of equilibrium, but the members
must also be properly held or, constrained by their supports.
• In structural analysis a structure is said to be stable when it can
support any possible system of applied loads. Stability can be divided
into two as external and internal.
• A structure in which there are insufficient numbers of reactions to
prevent motion from taking place is called an unstable structure. This
is external instability. Simple examples may be:
Cont’d
• What matters is not only the number of support reactions but also
their arrangement.
• Structures for which the numbers of reaction components are greater
than or equal to the number of available equilibrium equations but
that are unstable due to arrangement of these reaction components
are said to be geometrically unstable. Some examples are given
below.
Cont’d
• In Stability – Structures must be properly held or constrained by their
supports;
• Partial Constraints - a structure or one of its member with fewer
reaction forces than equations of equilibrium.
• Improper Constraints - the number of reactions equals the number of
equations of equilibrium, however, all the reactions are concurrent. In
this case, the moment equations are satisfied and only two valid
equations of equilibrium remain.
Cont’d
• When the reaction elements are three or more like supports that
are either parallel or concurrent, they are not sufficient to
maintain static equilibrium. For the case of parallel reactions,
they will offer no resistance to horizontal motion, thus making
the arrangement unstable.
• The point of intersection of the concurrent reactions becomes an
instantaneous center of rotation and the system is
instantaneously unstable. The stable fundamental element of a
plane truss is a triangular arrangement of three members.
• A truss may have internal instability if four members are used to
form an element.
In conclusion, the stability of structures depends on the number of
geometric arrangement of reactions and structural members other
than on the strength of individual member or supports.
 Determinacy of Structures
• When all forces in a structure can be determined strictly from
equilibrium equations, the structure is referred to as statically
determinate.
• Structures having more unknown forces than available equilibrium
equations are called statically indeterminate.
• A statically indeterminate structure is one that cannot be analyzed by
the equations of static equilibrium alone. Indeterminacy is introduced
in structures on account of
functional requirements,
limitations on types of framing,
need for stiffness and often by the nature of inherent continuity
introduced by the type of material used like reinforced concrete.
Cont’d
• A structure is statically indeterminate when it possesses
more members or is supported by more reactive restraints than
are strictly necessary for stability (and equilibrium). The excess
members or restraints are called redundant.
The degree of indeterminacy is the number of unknowns in
excess of the available equilibrium equations.
• In the analysis of indeterminate structures, therefore, ways of
establishing additional equations must be sought. These
additional equations may be derived from compatibility of
deformation or from conditions of symmetry.
• This additional task would make the analysis of indeterminate
structures more difficult than their determinate counterparts.
Cont’d
• Indeterminate structures have some advantages and
disadvantages over determinate ones.
One obvious disadvantage is the computational difficulty
involved when establishing the required additional equations.
indeterminate structures will be stressed due to differential
settlement of supports, temperature changes and errors in
fabrication of members.
• Advantages are indeterminate structures are stiffer and in the
case of over loads indeterminate structures can provide an
advantage of redistribution of loads within the structure.
• The indeterminacy of a structure can be external (with respect to
reactions) or internal (with respect to member forces).
 Criteria for Stability and Determinacy of Structures-
Trusses, Beams and Frames
Beams
• A beam is a structural element that is capable of
withstanding load primarily by resisting bending.
• The bending force induced into the material of the
beam as a result of the external loads, own weight and
external reactions to these loads is called a bending
moment.
• Beams generally carry vertical gravitational forces but
can also be used to carry horizontal loads (i.e., loads due
to an earthquake or wind).
Cont’d
• Stability depends on external supports
• Determinacy relates on the number of available and conditional
equations.
• ra < r; structure is statically unstable
• ra = r; structure is statically determinate
• ra > r; structure is statically indeterminate
Where
• ra is the available number of reaction components
• r is the minimum number of reaction components required for
stability, usually r= 3+n
• n is the number of special/ conditional equation
• Remark: r = 3 is not a sufficient conditions for stability, the system
may be unstable
Trusses

• A simple truss can be made by combining three bars to form

a triangle.
• Stability depends partly on external supports and partly on
the arrangement of members or bars. Three reaction
components are required for external stability and
determinacy of a plane truss without condition equations.
 External classification
The external Statically classification of the structure depends on the
total number of reaction components, ra and their arrangement.
Therefore, the following criteria hold true:
• ra < r; structure is statically unstable externally
• ra = r; structure is statically determinate externally
• ra > r; structure is statically indeterminate externally
Where
• ra is the available number of reaction components
• r is the minimum number of reaction components required for
external stability, usually r= 3+n
• n is the number of special/ conditional equation
• The condition for ra ≥ r is necessary but not sufficient conditions for
Statically classification because the arrangement of the reaction
components may render the truss unstable.
 Internal classification
For internal classification, in addition to the above definition for r; let m
be the total number of bars and j the total number of joints. Then
2j = m + r
• The above equation can be rewritten as: m = 2j – r
• In this form, m is the number of members required to form an
internally statically determinate truss that connects j joints and has r
reaction components required for external stability.
• If ma is the actual number of bar forces in the truss, then the
following criteria hold true for internal classification
• ma < m; truss is statically unstable internally
• ma =m; truss is statically determinate internally
• ma > m; truss is statically indeterminate internally
Consider the trusses shown below. The truss shown in fig (a) is stable
whereas the truss shown in fig (b) is unstable since the geometric
arrangement of the members is not maintained.
Frames

• Frames are composed of continuous members and rigidly

connected joints, the degree of indeterminacy (DI) is determined
as the difference of the total number of unknown reaction
components and the number of static equilibrium equations
available.
• Note that the frame with the hinge has a fourth condition
equation, since the bending moment at the hinge must be zero.
• Stability depends partly on external supports and partly on
moment resisting joints.
External classification
• The external Statically classification of the structure depends on the
total number of reaction components, ra and their arrangement.
Therefore, the following criteria hold true:
• ra < r; structure is statically unstable externally
• ra = r; structure is statically determinate externally
• ra > r; structure is statically indeterminate externally
Where
• ra is the available number of reaction components
• r is the minimum number of reaction components required for
external stability, usually 3+n
• n is the number of special/ conditional equation
• ra ≥ r is necessary but not sufficient conditions for Statically
classification because the arrangement of the reaction components
may render the frame unstable.
Internal classification
• (3ma + r) < (3j + n);
• Let ma =the actual number of members
• r = the minimum number of independent reaction components
required for external stability
• j= the total number joints
• n= number of special/condition equations
• Therefore, (3 ma + r) =the number of unknowns, (3j+n)=the
number of available equations
• Then the following criteria hold true for internal classification of
frames
• (3ma + r) < (3j + n); structure is statically unstable
• (3ma + r) = (3j + n); structure is statically determinate
• (3ma + r) > (3j + n); structure is statically indeterminate
Overall classification
The criterion already established for both trusses and frames hold also
for investigation of overall effect. To determine the overall classification
of a frame, in the above expressions replace r by ra.
• Note. The number of conditional equation introduced by a hinge joint
is equal to the number of members at the joint minus one.
Questions???