CE215

Structural Analysis
Dr. Muhammad Fahim
drfahimuet@gmail.com
 Week 01
Introduction to Structural Analysis
 Contents
1. Definition of structure.
2. Types of structural elements/members.
3. Types of beams.
4. Types of loads.
5. Types of supports
6. Purpose and types of various structures: pin jointed and rigid jointed.
7. Codes.
8. Equilibrium conditions.
 Contents
9. Determinate and indeterminate structures.
10. Degree of Indeterminacy of various structures.
11. Redundancy.
12. Stability of structures.
13. Idealization for structural analysis.
1. Definition of Structure
 1. Definition of structure
• In structural engineering, a structure refers to a system of connected parts
used to support a load.
• The discipline of “Structural Engineering” deals with the ways to arrange and
size a system of components for construction according to a plan and serving
the intended purpose.
• The primary purpose of any structure is to provide a stable, safe, and
durable system that supports the desired function within the physical
environment, of which the structure is a part of.
• The role of the structural engineer, therefore, is to “conceive, analyze, and
design” the structure to serve its purpose.
 1. Definition of structure
• Structure: Combination of members and supports to support loads
• Members: Truss elements, Beams and columns in case of framed structures
• Analysis:
• To find axial forces, shear forces, and bending moments in different members of a
structure
• To find displacements (deflections and rotations) of members
2. Types of Structural Members
 2. Types of structural Members
1. Tie Rods
• Structural members subjected to a tensile force are often referred to as tie
rods or bracing struts.
 2. Types of structural Members
2. Beams
• Beams are usually straight horizontal members used primarily to carry
vertical loads.
• Beams are primarily designed to resist bending moment.
• However, if they are short and carry large loads, the internal shear force may
become quite large and this force may govern their design.
 2. Types of structural Members
3. Columns
• Members that are generally vertical and resist axial compressive loads.
• Tubes and wide-flange cross sections are often used for metal columns, and
circular and square cross sections with reinforcing rods are used for those
made of concrete.
 2. Types of structural Members
4. Beam-Columns
• Occasionally, columns are subjected to both an axial load and a bending
moment as shown in the figure.
• These members are referred to as beam-columns.
 2. Types of structural Members
3. Beam-Columns
• A beam-column is a member where both bending moment and compression
are important.
• A beam-column is a general structural element containing beam and column
as its special cases.
3. Types of Beams
 3. Types of Beams
2. Beams
• Quite often they are classified according to the way they are supported.
 3. Types of Beams
2. Beams
• For metal beams such as steel or aluminum, the cross section is most
efficient when it is shaped as shown.
• Here the forces developed in the top and bottom flanges of the beam form
the necessary couple used to resist the applied moment M, whereas the
web is effective in resisting the applied shear V.
 3. Types of Beams
2. Beams
• Concrete beams generally have rectangular cross sections, since it is easy to
construct this form directly in the field.
• Because concrete is rather weak in resisting tension, steel “reinforcing rods”
are cast into the beam within regions of the cross section subjected to
tension.
• Precast concrete beams or girders are fabricated at a shop or yard in the
same manner and then transported to the job site.
 3. Types of Beams
2. Beams
• Beams made from timber may be sawn from a solid piece of wood or
laminated.
• Laminated beams are constructed from solid sections of wood, which are
fastened together using high-strength glues.
4. Types of Loads
 4. Types of Loads
1. Dead Loads
• Dead loads consist of the weights of the various structural members and the
weights of any objects that are permanently attached to the structure.
• Hence, for a building, the dead loads include the weights of the columns,
beams, and girders, the floor slab, roofing, walls, windows, plumbing,
electrical fixtures, and other miscellaneous attachments.
• In some cases, a structural dead load can be estimated satisfactorily from
simple formulas based on the weights and sizes of similar structures.
• Dead loads can be calculated from the density of material used and sizes of
members.
 4. Types of Loads
1. Dead Loads
• Due to various uncertainties involved, estimates of dead loadings can be in
error by 15% to 20% or more.
• Normally, the dead load is not large compared to the design load for simple
structures such as a beam or a single-story frame
• However, for multistory buildings it is important to have an accurate
accounting of all the dead loads in order to properly design the columns,
especially for the lower floors.
 4. Types of Loads
2. Live Loads
• Live loads may be caused by the weights of objects temporarily placed on a
structure, moving vehicles, or natural forces.
• The live floor loading in a classroom consists of students, desks, chairs and
laboratory equipment.
• Live Loads can vary both in their magnitude and location.
• The minimum live loads specified in codes are determined from studying the
history of their effects on existing structures.
• Usually, these loads include additional protection against excessive
deflection or sudden overload.
 4. Types of Loads
2. Live Loads
• The floors of buildings are assumed to be subjected to uniform live loads,
which depend on the purpose for which the building is designed.
• They include some protection against the possibility of overload due to
emergency situations, construction loads, and serviceability requirements
due to vibration.
• In addition to uniform loads, some codes specify minimum concentrated live
loads, caused by hand carts, automobiles, etc., which must also be applied
anywhere to the floor system.
• For example, both uniform and concentrated live loads must be considered
in the design of an automobile parking deck.
5. Types of Supports
 5. Types of Supports
1. Pin Support
A pin-connected joint and a roller support allow some freedom for slight
rotation.
 5. Types of Supports
2. Fixed Support
• A fixed joint allows no relative rotation between the connected members
and is consequently more expensive to fabricate.
 5. Types of Supports
Idealized Supports
• Idealized models used in structural analysis that represent pinned and fixed
supports and pin-connected and fixed-connected joints are shown.
 5. Types of Supports
Idealized Supports
• In reality, however, all connections exhibit some stiffness toward joint
rotations, owing to friction and material behavior.
• In this case a more appropriate model for a support or joint might be that
shown.
• If the torsional spring constant k = 0, the joint is a pin, and if k → infinity, the
joint is fixed.
 5. Types of Supports
Supports
 5. Types of Supports
Supports
6. Types of Structures
 6. Types of Structures
• The combination of structural elements and the materials from which they
are composed is referred to as a structural system.
• Each system is constructed of one or more of four basic types of structures.
• Ranked in order of complexity of their force analysis, they are as follows.
1. Trusses: Pin Jointed
2. Cables and Arches
3. Frames: Rigid Jointed
4. Surface Structures
 6. Types of Structures
Trusses
• When the span of a structure is required to be large and its depth is not an
important criterion for design, a truss may be selected.
• Trusses 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
• Space trusses have members extending in three dimensions and are suitable
for derricks and towers
 6. Types of Structures
Trusses
• Loading causes bending of truss, which develops compression in top
members, tension in bottom members.
 6. Types of Structures
Cables and Arches
• 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 150 ft.
• 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.
 6. Types of Structures
Cables and Arches
• The 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
results 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.
 6. Types of Structures
Cables and Arches
 6. Types of Structures
Frames
• Frames are often used in buildings and are
composed of beams and columns that are either
pin or fixed connected.
• The strength of such a frame is derived from the
moment interactions between the beams and the
columns at the rigid joints.
• Frame members are subjected to internal axial,
shear, and moment loadings.
 6. Types of Structures
Surface Structures
• 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.
 6. Types of Structures

40
7. Codes
 7. Codes
• In general, the structural engineer works with two types of codes: general
building codes and design codes.
• General building codes specify the requirements of governmental bodies for
minimum design loads on structures and minimum standards for
construction. e.g. International Building Code
• Design codes provide detailed technical standards and are used to establish
the requirements for the actual structural design. e.g. ACI 318
• It should be realized, however, that codes provide only a general guide for
design.
• The ultimate responsibility for the design lies with the structural engineer.
8. Equilibrium Conditions
 8. Equilibrium Conditions

• The principal load-carrying portions of most structures, however, lie in a

single plane, and since the loads are also coplanar, the above requirements
for equilibrium reduce to
9. Determinate and Indeterminate
Structures
 9. Determinate and Indeterminate Structures
• Determinate Structures: The unknown member forces and reactions can be
determined by using equilibrium conditions only.
• Indeterminate Structures: The number of unknown member forces or
reactions are more than available equilibrium conditions.
 9. Determinate and Indeterminate Structures
• Only two forces can be found by principles of statics for a coplanar parallel-
force system. (which is the system for beam loadings)
• Determinate Beams: Simple, Overhanging, Cantilever, and beams with
internal hinges equal to redundants.
• Indeterminate Beams: Continuous (More than two supports), Propped (One
fixed support), and Fixed (Both supports are fixed).
 9. Determinate and Indeterminate Structures
• Three equilibrium equations for general coplanar force system.
• Single Story Frames are determinate if only three reactions are present.
10. Degree of Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
• The number of unknowns, in excess of the available equations of
equilibrium, is the degree of indeterminacy, and the unknown forces and
reactions are the redundants.
• External:
• Internal:
• For a coplanar structure there are at most three equilibrium equations for
each part, so that if there is a total of n parts and r force and moment
reaction components, we have
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Beams: External Indeterminacy
• No. of Equilibrium equations = 3
• Any reactions more than 3 are redundants.
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Beams: Internal Indeterminacy
• If we cut the beam at any point, we have two forces and one moment acting
at the section.
• Since we have three equilibrium equations, a beam is always internally
determinate.
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Beam: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Compound Beams: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Pin Connected Structures: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Pin Connected Structures: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Frames: Total Indeterminacy
• Frame structures consist of members that are connected together by rigid
joints.
• In order to classify these structures, it is necessary to use the method of
sections and “cut” the loop apart.
• The free-body diagrams of the sectioned parts are drawn and the frame can
then be classified.
• Notice that only one section through the loop is required, since once the
unknowns at the section are determined, the internal forces at any point in
the members can then be found using the method of sections and the
equations of equilibrium.
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Frames: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Frames: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Frames: Total Indeterminacy
 10. Degree of Indeterminacy
Truss
• The total number of unknowns includes the forces in b number of bars of the truss and
the total number of external support reactions r.
• Since the truss members are all straight axial force members lying in the same plane, the
force system acting at each joint is coplanar and concurrent.
• Consequently, rotational or moment equilibrium is automatically satisfied at the joint (or
pin), and it is only necessary to satisfy ∑Fx = 0 and ∑Fy = 0 to ensure translational or force
equilibrium.
• Therefore, only two equations of equilibrium can be written for each joint, and if there
are j number of joints, the total number of equations available for solution is 2j.
11. Redundancy
 11. Redundancy
• An indeterminate structure is also known as redundant structure.
• The reactions or member forces in addition to the ones that can be found
using equilibrium equations are know as redundants.
• A redundant structure has the ability to redistribute loads/stresses.
12. Stability of Structures
 12. 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.
• Two situations may occur where the conditions for proper constraint have
not been met.
1. Partial Constraints
2. Improper Constraints
 12. Stability of Structures
Partial Constraint
• In some cases a structure or one of its members may have fewer reactive
forces than equations of equilibrium that must be satisfied.
• The structure then becomes only partially constrained.
• Here the equation ∑Fx = 0 will not be satisfied for the loading conditions and
therefore the member will be unstable.
 12. Stability of Structures
Improper Constraint
• In some cases there may be as many unknown forces as there are equations
of equilibrium; however, instability or movement of a structure or its
members can develop because of improper constraining by the supports.
This can occur if all the support reactions are concurrent at a point.
 12. Stability of Structures
Improper Constraint
• Another way in which improper constraining leads to instability occurs when
the reactive forces are all parallel. An example of this case is shown in Fig. 2–
24. Here when an inclined force P is applied, the summation of forces in the
horizontal direction will not equal zero.
 12. Stability of Structures
• We will now formalize these statements for a coplanar structure having n
members or components with r unknown reactions. Since three equilibrium
equations are available for each member or component, we have
 12. Stability of Structures
Truss
• If b + r < 2j a truss will be unstable, that is, it will collapse, since there will be
an insufficient number of bars or reactions to constrain all the joints.
• Also, a truss can be unstable if it is statically determinate or statically
indeterminate.
• In this case the stability will have to be determined either by inspection or by
a force analysis.
 12. Stability of Structures
Trusses: External Stability
 12. Stability of Structures
Trusses: Internal Stability
• A simple truss will always be internally stable, since by the nature of its
construction it requires starting from a basic triangular element and adding
successive “rigid elements,” each containing two additional members and a
joint.
 12. Stability of Structures
Trusses: Internal Stability
• If a truss is constructed so that it does not hold its joints in a fixed position, it
will be unstable or have a “critical form.”
• An obvious example of this is shown in Fig. 3–15, where it can be seen that
no restraint or fixity is provided between joints C and F or B and E, and so
the truss will collapse under load.
 12. Stability of Structures
Truss: Stability
13. Idealization for Structural
Analysis
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• The angle connection at support A can be idealized as a typical pin
support.
• Furthermore, the support at B provides an approximate point of
smooth contact and so it can be idealized as a roller.
• The beam’s thickness can be neglected since it is small in comparison
to the beam’s length.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• Consider a specific case of a steel beam with P = 8k and L = 20 ft.
• Design of the beam using standard code procedures indicates that a
W10x 19 would be adequate for supporting the load.
• Using one of the deflection methods, the rotation at the “pin” support
can be calculated as theta = 0.0103 rad = 0.59°.
• Such a rotation only moves the top or bottom flange a distance of
delta = theta* r = 0.0103 rad*5.12 in. = 0.0528 in.
• This small amount would certainly be accommodated by the
connection fabricated as shown in Fig., and therefore the pin serves
as an appropriate model.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• For the structural analysis we can neglect the thickness of the two main
members and will assume that the joint at B is fabricated to be rigid.
Furthermore, the support connection at A can be modeled as a fixed support
and the details of the trolley excluded.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• For analysis it is reasonable to assume that the joints are pin and/or roller
connected to the girders and that the girders are pin and/or roller connected
to the columns.
• In this “graphic” scheme, notice that the “lines” representing the joists do
not touch the girders and the lines for the girders do not touch the columns.
This symbolizes pin- and/ or roller-supported connections.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• On the other hand, if the framing plan is intended to represent fixed-
connected members, such as those that are welded instead of simple bolted
connections, then the lines for the beams or girders would touch the
columns as in Fig. 2–7. Similarly, a fixed connected overhanging beam would
be represented in top view as shown in Fig. 2–8.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• If reinforced concrete construction is used, the beams and girders are
represented by double lines. These systems are generally all fixed connected
and therefore the members are drawn to the supports. For example, the
structural graphic for the cast-in-place reinforced concrete system in Fig. 2–
9a is shown in top view in Fig. 2–9b. The lines for the beams are dashed
because they are below the slab.
 13. Idealization for Structural Analysis
• Structural graphics and idealizations for timber structures are similar to
those made of metal. For example, the structural system shown in Fig. 2–
10a represents beam-wall construction, whereby the roof deck is supported
by wood joists, which deliver the load to a masonry wall. The joists can be
assumed to be simply supported on the wall, so that the idealized framing
plan would be like that shown in Fig. 2–10b.
References
1. Structural Analysis by R.C. Hibbeler
2. Structural Cross Sections: Analysis and Design by Naveed
Anwar and Fawad Ahmed Najam