Structural Analysis 1A

LECTURE 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION TO TYPES OF STRUCTURES

1.1 Definitions

A structure refers to a 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, tank and pressure vessels

Or

A structure refers to a system with connected parts used to support a load (e.g. buildings, bridges, towers,
ship, aircraft frames, tanks, pressure vessels, mechanicals systems, electrical supporting structures)

Structural Engineering is the science and art of planning, designing, and constructing safe and economical
structures that will serve their intended purposes.

Structural analysis is the prediction of the performance of a given structure under prescribed loads
and/or other external effects, such as support movements and temperature changes.

1.2 Function of a structure

The basic function of any structure is to carry loads and transmit forces. These arise in a variety of ways
and depend, generally, upon the purpose for which the structure has been built. For example, in a steel-
framed multi-story building the steel frame supports the roof and floors, the external walls or cladding
and also resists the action of wind loads. In turn, the external walls provide protection for the interior of
the building and transmit wind loads through the floor slabs to the frame while the roof carries snow and
wind loads which are also transmitted to the frame. In addition, the floor slabs carry people, furniture,
floor coverings, etc. All these loads are transmitted by the steel frame to the foundations of the building
on which the structure rests and which form a structural system in their own right.

1.3 Types of structures

It is important for a structural engineer to recognize the various types of elements composing a structure
and to be able to classify structures as to their form and function. Examples of structural elements/system
are:

a) Beams e) Arches
b) Columns f) Cables
c) Trusses g) Continuum structures (Shell,
d) Frames plate, dome etc)

a) Beams.

Beams are usually straight horizontal members that span between supports that may be of any form.
Beams are usually important in resisting transverse load and achieve so by developing mainly bending
moments and shear force. They can be made of reinforced concrete, steel or timber.

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Quite often they are classified according to the way they are supported,

b) Columns.

Members that are generally vertical and resist axial compressive loads are referred to as columns.

c) Truss

Trusses consist of slender elements, usually arranged in triangular fashion.

Due to the geometric arrangement of its members, loads that cause the entire truss to bend are converted
into tensile or compressive forces in the members.

d) Frames.

Frames are often used in buildings and are composed of beams and columns that are either pin or fixed
connected

e) Cables and Arches.

Are usually preferred when dealing with long spans.

Cables are usually flexible and carry their loads in tension.

The arch achieves its strength in compression, since it has a reverse curvature to that of the cable

f) Continuum/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.

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1.4 Support conditions

In structures, a lot of systems are available and the one that is adopted is dependent on the one that
significantly represents the actual physical behaviour when constructed. Common types are:

a) Pinned supports
b) Roller support
c) Fixed support

a) Pinned support

They appear in the form of a hinge and are Characterized by possessing vertical and horizontal reaction
components. The joints of the support are free to rotate and a result pinned support are not capable of
resisting bending moment

b) Roller support

As a single pinned is sufficient to maintain the horizontal equilibrium of the beam and hence may not
necessarily be provided at the other end. It maybe adventitious to allow horizontal movement on the
other end to avoid additional stresses due to temperature variation (contraction and expansion)

Support allow horizontal movement and rotation but prevents vertical movements. Roller support only
resist vertical loadings.

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c) Fixed support

As the name implies, when the support is fixed such that no rotation or translation occurs it is referred to
as fixed support. They resist vertical loads, horizontal load and moments.

1.5 Loads

Once the dimensional requirements for a structure have been defined, it becomes necessary to determine
the loads the structure must support. Generally, loads on civil engineering structures fall into two
categories.

a) Dead loads/Permanent: are loads that act on a structure all the time and include its self-weight,
fixtures, such as service ducts and light fittings, suspended ceilings, cladding and floor finishes,
etc.
b) Live or imposed/variable loads: are loads that acts on a structure due to its use these include
vehicles crossing a bridge, snow, people/pedestrian, temporary partitions and so on.

Other types of load are.

a) Wind loading
b) Earthquakes etc

1.5.1 Loading Configuration

The common loading configuration are:

a) Point load/Concentrated: A point load is a load that is applied at a specific, concentrated point,
b) Distributed load: the load is distributed across a region of an element such as a beam or slab.
They can be
i. Uniformly distributed load (Udl)
ii. Uniformly varying load (triangular)

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2.0 INTRODUCTION TO STATIC OF STRUCTURE

Although the most structures are not absolutely rigid because they undergo small elastic deformations
when loaded, in most situations the deflections are so small that we can

i. Treat the structure or its components as rigid bodies and

ii. Base the analysis on the initial dimensions of the structure

What is static? The determination of both internal and external forces (reactions)- based on the principles
and techniques contained in the branch of engineering mechanics.

By stability, we mean a structure that can resist load from any direction without undergoing either a
radical change in shape or large rigid-body displacements.

2.1 Force polygon

Consider forces acting as shown in figure below.

These forces can be replaced by a single force R which produces the same effects as P and Q.

The forces are vector quantities and cannot be added together directly. However, the vector components
in same axis can be added directly giving resultants

Px +Qx = Rx

Py +Qy = Ry

Since the addition is counter changeable i.e. P + Q = Q + P, a parallelogram result. Which gives rise to
parallelogram rule which states that:

The resultant vector R of two vector P and Q is the diagonal of the parallelogram in which P and Q are
the adjacent sides.

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Also considering when vector act in different plane as shown

The vector S is drawn and vector T from the end of S. This result to a triangle of forces also known as
triangle of forces rule which states that: the resultant vector R of two vectors S and T is the third side of
a triangle in which vectors S and T are the other two sides

Where the system consists of three of more forces, the triangle forces are extended to become a polygon.
Consider the system shown below

The force polygon is usually solved by working in clockwise direction to avoid any errors.

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2.2 Structural idealization

Before a structure can be analysed, the designer must develop a simplified physical model of the structure
and its supports as well as the applied loads. This model is typically represented by a simple line drawing.

To illustrate this, consider structural steel shown

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3.0 CONCEPT OF FREE-BODY

What is a free-body diagram?

A free-body diagram is a representation of an object with all the forces that act on it. The external
environment (other objects, the floor on which the object sits, etc.), as well as the forces that the object
exerts on other objects, are omitted in a free-body diagram.

How to draw a free-body diagram

Sketch what is happening

Sketch the object in its environment, and represent the main forces acting on the object (e.g. the push or
the pull exerted by somebody, the friction force, etc.) so that you can clearly see what is going on.

Determine the forces that act on the object

Carefully observe your sketch, and think about all the forces that are acting on the object

Draw the object in isolation with the forces that act on it

Finally, draw the object on its own (omitting external elements like other objects, the floor, the ceiling,
etc.) and the forces that are acting on it.

Therefore, 4 forces will be acting on a block:

a) the push, F
b) the friction force, Ff
c) the normal force, N
d) and the gravitational force mg

Examples of drawing free-body diagrams

Example 1

A box is pushed up an incline with friction which makes an angle of 20° with the horizontal. Draw the free-
body diagram of the box.

Example 2

A box is pushed along a horizontal surface with friction. Draw the free-body diagram of the box.

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TUTORIALS

Tutorial 1

A mass hangs from a rope attached to the ceiling, draw the FBD of the hanging mass.

Tutorial 2

A sphere is hanging from two ropes attached to the ceiling. The first rope makes an angle of 30° with the
ceiling, while the second rope makes an angle of 45° with the ceiling, draw the free-body diagram of the
sphere.

Tutorial 3

Suppose that you are pushing a crate of mass m over a horizontal frictionless plane. Draw an FBD of the
crate.

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