THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1

Introduction;
Engineering Structures;
- the word structure has various meanings. By an engineering structure, that
means roughly something constructed or built. The principal structures of
concern to civil engineers are bridges, buildings, walls, dams towers and shell
structures. Structures as such are composed of one or more solid elements so
arranged that the whole structures as well as their components are capable of
holding themselves without appreciable geometric change during loading and
unloading.
To design a structure involves many considerations, among which are two
major objectives that must be satisfied;
- the structure must meet the performance requirement
- the structure must carry the loads safely
onsider, for e!ample, the roof trusses resting on columns shown in the
figure below. The purposes of the roof truss and of the columns are, on the one
hand, to hold in equilibrium their own weights, the load of roof covering and
the wind; and, on the other hand, to provide shelter for housing a family, for
a manufacturing plant, or for other uses.
Theory of Structures Defined;
- the complete design of a structure is outlined in the following stages;
- Developing a eneral !ayout;
- the general layout of a structure is selected from any possible alternatives.
The primary concern is the purpose for which the structure is to be built.
This stage involves the structural type, the selection of material and a
tentative estimation of cost based on a reasonable analysis of a preliminary
structural design. "t may also involve selecting the best location or
adapting the structure to a site that has not been predetermined. #roper
attention should also be given to the aesthetic value of the structure since
the requirement of good appearance can reasonably be met without much
increase in cost. There are many other considerations, including the legal,
financial, sociological, cultural, and environmental aspects. "t is clear
that this stage of design calls for an engineer with a high order of
e!perience, s$ill, general $nowledge and imagination.
- Investigating the !oads;
- before a refined structural analysis, it is necessary to determine the loads
for which a given structure should be designed. %eneral information about the
loads imposed on a structure is usually given in the specifications and
codes. &owever, it is part of the designer's responsibility to specify the
load conditions and to ta$e care of e!ceptional cases.
The weight of the structure itself together with the material
permanently attached to it is called the dead loads and is regarded as fi!ed
in magnitude and location. Since the dead load must be appro!imated before the
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THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
structure is designed, the preliminary data are only tentative. )evision must
be made if the initial estimation is not satisfactory.
*ll loads, other than the dead loads, may be called live loads. +ive
loads are generally classified as movable loads and moving loads. Movable
loads are loads that may be transported from one location to another on a
structure without dynamic impact; for e!ample, people, furniture and goods on
a building floor or rainwater on a roof. Moving loads are loads that move
continuously over the structure, such as railway trains or trac$s on a bridge,
wind on a roof or wall or hydrostatic pressure on an abutment. ,oving loads
may also be applied suddenly to the structure, for e!ample, the centrifugal
and longitudinal forces induced by the acceleration of vehicles and the
dynamic forces generated by earthqua$es.
"n an ordinary structural design, all loads are treated as static loads
in order to simplify the analysis. "n this way the impact due to a moving live
load is e!pressed as a percentage of the live load and the earthqua$e force is
commonly considered to be a hori-ontal force equal to a fraction of the weight
of a structure.
.ther load considerations may include thermal effects and resistance to
bomb blasting.
- Stress %nalysis;
- once the basic form of the structure and the e!ternal loads are defined, a
structural analysis can be made to determine the internal forces in various
members of the structure and the displacements at some controlling points.
/hen live loads are involved, it is important to determine the ma!imum
possible stresses in each member being considered. The principles governing
this phase of the design is usually discuss in the theory of structures.
- Selection of Ele&ents;
- the selection of suitable si-es and shapes of members and their connections
depends on the results of the stress analysis together with the design
provisions of the specifications or codes. * trial and error approach may be
used in the search for a proportioning of elements that will be both
economical and adequate. * sound $nowledge of strength of material and
process of fabrication is also essential.
- Dra'ing and Detailing;
- once the ma$eup of each part of the structure has been determined, the last
stage of the design can begin. This final stage includes the preparation of
contract drawing, detailing, job specification and the final cost; this
information is necessary for construction to proceed.
- these five stages are interrelated and may be subdivided and modified. "n many
cases, they must be carried out more or less simultaneously. The subject matter
of the theory of structures is stress analysis with occasional reference to
loading. The emphasis of structural theory is usually on the fundamentals rather
than on the details of design.
Theory of Structures Classified;
- structural theory may be classified from various points of view. 0or
convenience, structural theory is characteri-e by the following aspects;
- Statics versus Dyna&ics;
- ordinary structures are usually designed under static loads. 1ead loads are
static loads that cause no dynamic effect on structures. Some live loads,
such as, truc$s and locomotives moving on bridges, are also assumed as
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concentrated static load systems. They do cause impact on structures;
however, the dynamic effects are treated as a fraction of the moving loads to
simplify the design.
The particular, speciali-ed branch that deals with the dynamic effects
of structures of accelerated moving loads, earthqua$e loads, wind gusts or
bomb blasts is structural dynamics.
- (lane versus Space;
- no structure is really planar. &owever, structural analysis for beams,
trussed bridges or rigid frame buildings are usually treated as plane
problems, although they are never two-dimensional in themselves. .n the other
hand, in some structures, such as towers and framing for domes, the stresses
are interrelated between the members not lying in a plane in such a way that
the analysis cannot be simplified on the basis of component planar
structures. Such structures must be considered as space framewor$s under non-
coplanar force system.
- !inear versus )onlinear Structures;
- linear structures mean that a linear relationship is assumed to e!ist between
the applied loads and the resulting displacements in a structure. This
assumption is based on the following conditions;
the material of the structure is elastic and obey the &oo$e's +aw at all
points and throughout the range of loading considered
the changes in the geometry of the structure are so small that they can be
neglected when the stresses are calculated
3ote that if the principle of superposition is to apply, a linear
relationship must e!ist, or be assumed to e!ist, between loads and
displacements. The principle of superposition states that the total effect at
some point in a structure due to a number of causes 4forces or displacements5
acting simultaneously is equal to the sum of the effects for the causes
acting separately.
* nonlinear relationship between the applied actions and the resulting
displacements e!ists under of two conditions;
the material of the structure is inelastic
the material is within elastic range, but the geometry of the structure
changes significantly during the application of the loads
The study of nonlinear behaviour of structures includes plastic
analysis of structures and buckling of structures.
- Statically Deter&inate versus Statically Indeter&inate Structures;
- the term statically determinate structure means that the structural analysis
can be carried out by statics alone. "f this is not so, the structure is
statically indeterminate.
* statically indeterminate structure is solved by the equations of
statics together with the equations furnished by the geometry of the elastic
curve of the structure in linear analysis. "t can be noted that the elastic
deformations of the structure are not only associated with the applied loads
on the structure but are also affected by the material properties 4e.g., the
modulus of elasticity5 and by the geometric properties of the member section
4e.g., the cross-sectional area or the moment of inertia5. Thus, loads,
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material properties and geometric properties are all involved in solving a
statically indeterminate structure, while load factor alone dominates in a
statically determinate problem.
- *orce versus Displace&ent;
- the force and displacement are two categories of event occurring to a
structure. The objective of a structural analysis is to determine forces and
displacements pertaining to the structure and their relationships specified
by the geometric and material properties of structural elements. Structural
analysis can be divided into two categories; the force and the displacement
methods. "n the force method, the forces are treated as the basic un$nowns
and the displacements are e!pressed in terms of forces; whereas, in the
displacement method, it is the displacements that are regarded as the
fundamental un$nowns and the forces are e!pressed in terms of displacements.
"n matri! analysis of linear structures, the force method is often regarded
to as the flexibility method, and the displacement method is called the
stiffness method.
%ctual and Ideal Structures;
- all analyses are based on some assumptions not quite in accordance with the
facts. "t is impossible for an actual structure to correspond fully to the
ideali-ed structure on which the analysis is based. The materials of which the
structure is built do not follow e!actly the assumed properties and the
dimensions of the actual structure do not coincide with their theoretical
values.
To illustrate, let us ta$e a simple e!ample. "n designing a reinforced
concrete beam of rectangular section, the values of the modulus of elasticity
and the moment of inertia are usually assumed to be constant. &owever, the
amount of reinforcing steel placed in the beam varies with the stresses;
therefore, the values of the modulus of elasticity and the moment of inertia are
not constant throughout the span. Besides, there is a great uncertainty involved
even in choosing a constant value of the modulus of elasticity and the moment of
inertia. 7ven without considering other factors, such as the supports, the
connections and the wor$ing dimensions of the structure, it can be noted that
the behaviour of an actual structure often deviates from that of an ideali-ed
structure by a considerable amount. &owever, it does not follow from this that
the results of analysis are not useful for practical purposes. Therefore, the
process of structural solution is setting an ideali-ed model in order to carry
out practical analysis and from the practical analyses, the ideali-ation can be
made more and more consistent with actuality.
Scope of Theory of Structures;
- three major types of basic structures are thoroughly considered in structural
theory;
- Rigid *ra&e;
- composed of members connected by rigid joints capable of resisting moments.
,embers of a rigid frame, in general, are subjected to bending moment, shear
and a!ial forces.
- Truss;
- composed of members connected by frictionless hinges or pins. The loads on a
truss are assumed to be concentrated at the joints. 7ach member of a truss is
considered as a two-force member subjected to a!ial force only.
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- #ea&;
- a straight member subjected only to transverse loads. * beam is completely
analy-ed when the values of bending moment and shear are determined.
Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of Structures;
E,uations of E,uili+riu& for a Coplanar *orce Syste&;
- the first and major function of a structure is to carry loads without showing
appreciable distortions. "n structural statics, all force systems are assumed to
act on rigid bodies. *ctually, there are always some small deformations that may
cause some small change of dimension in structure and a shifting of the action
lines of the forces. &owever, such deviations are neglected in stress analysis.
* structure is said to be in equilibrium if, under the action of e!ternal
forces, it remains at rest relative to the earth. *lso, each part of the
structure, if ta$en, as a free body isolated from the whole, must be at rest
relative to the earth under the action of the internal forces at the cut
sections and of the e!ternal forces thereabout. "f such is the case, the force
system is balanced, or in equilibrium, which implies that the resultant of the
force system 4either a resultant force or a resultant couple5 imposed on the
structure, or segment thereof, must be -ero.
The generally balanced coplanar force system must then satisfy the
following three simultaneous equations;
!
0 9 :
y
0 9 :
a
, 9 :
where;
!
0 - summation of x component of each force in the system
y
0 - summation of y component of each force in the system
a
, - summation of moment about any point a in the plane due to
each force
The subscripts x and y indicate two mutually perpendicular directions in
the artesian coordinate system.
- Special Cases of the Coplanar *orce Syste& in E,uili+riu&;
- Concurrent *orces;
if a system of coplanar, concurrent forces is in equilibrium, then the
forces of the system must satisfy the following equations;
!
0 9 :
y
0 9 :
*nother set of independent equations necessary and sufficient for the
equilibrium of the forces of a coplanar, concurrent force system, provided
that point a is not on the line through the concurrent point of forces and
perpendicular to y a!is, is;
y
0 9 :
a
, 9 :
* third set of equations of equilibrium for a coplanar, concurrent
force system, provided that line through a and b does not pass through the
concurrent point of the forces, is;
a
, 9 :
b
, 9 :
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THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
- (arallel *orces;
if a coplanar, parallel force system is in equilibrium, the forces of the
system must satisfy the equations;
y
0 9 :
a
, 9 :
*nother set of independent equations of equilibrium for a system of a
coplanar, parallel forces, provided that line through a and b is not
parallel to the forces of the system, may be given as;
a
, 9 :
b
, 9 :
- Si&ple- Special Cases of E,uili+riu&;
- T'o.*orce /e&+er;
in the figure shown below, a body is subjected to two e!ternal forces
applied at a and b. "f the body is in equilibrium, then the two forces
cannot be in random orientation, but must be directed along ab.
0urthermore, they must be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
- Three.*orce /e&+er;
in the figure shown below, a body is subjected to the action of three
e!ternal forces applied at a, b, and c. "f the body is in equilibrium, then
the three forces cannot be in random orientation, but must be concurrent at
a common point O; otherwise the total moment about the intersection of any
two forces would not vanish. * limiting case occurs when point O moves off
at an infinite distance from a, b, and c in which case the three forces
will be parallel.
Support Reactions;
- structures are either partially or completely restrained so that they cannot
move freely in space. Such restraints are provided by supports that connect the
structure to some stationary body, such as the ground or another structure. The
first step in structural analysis is to ta$e the structure without the supports
and calculate the forces, $nown as reactions, e!erted on the structure by the
supports. The reactions are considered part of the e!ternal forces other than
the loads on the structure and are to balance the other e!ternal loads in a
state of equilibrium.
The distribution of the reactive forces of a support may be represented by
a single force completely specified by three elements-the point of application,
the direction and the magnitude.
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THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
- Hinge Support;
- a hinge can resist a general force, #, in any direction but cannot resist the
moment of the force about the connecting point. The reaction of a hinge
support is assumed to be through the center of the connecting pin; its
magnitude and slope of action line is yet to be determined. "t is therefore a
reaction with two un$nown elements, which could equivalently represented by
un$nown magnitudes of its hori-ontal and vertical components both acting
through the center of the hinge pin.
- Roller Support;
- the support mechanism used is such that the reaction acts normal to the
supporting surface through the center of the connecting pin. The reaction may
be either away from or toward the supporting surface. *s such, the roller
support is incapable of resisting moment and lateral force along the surface
of the support. * roller support supplies a reactive force, fi!ed at a $nown
point and in a $nown direction, the magnitude of which is un$nown. "t is
therefore a reaction with one un$nown element.
- *i0ed Support;
- a fi!ed support is capable of resisting force in any direction and the moment
of force about the connecting end, thus preventing the end of the member from
both translation and rotation. The reaction supplied by a fi!ed support may
be represented by the un$nown magnitudes of a moment, a hori-ontal force and
a vertical force acting through the centroid of the end cross section O.
Internal *orces at a Cut Section of a Structure;
- a truss structure is composed of pin-connected members and is assumed to be
pin-loaded. "f any one of the members is ta$en from its connecting pins as a
free body, the forces e!erted on the member must be concentrated at the two ends
of the member through the center of the pins. 0urthermore, these two systems of
concurrent forces can be combined into two resultant forces that must be equal,
opposite and collinear. "n other words, each member of a truss is a two-force
member. &ence, the internal forces e!isting in any cut section of a truss member
4assumed straight and uniform5 must be a pair of equal and opposite a!ial forces
to balance the a!ial forces e!erted on the ends.
,embers of structures, such as beams and rigid frames, are acted on by
more than two forces. "t is obvious that forces of internal constraint must
e!ist between these two portions in order to hold them together. Such internal
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)
y
)
hinge
!
)
y
)
,
fi!ed
)
)
roller
THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
forces, of course, always occur in pairs of equal and opposite directions. To
maintain equilibrium of the free body, however, the internal forces must be
statically equal and opposite to the system of forces acting e!ternally on the
portion considered and the internal forces can always be represented by a force
applied at the centroid of the cross section together with a couple of moment.
E,uations of Condition or Construction;
- structures such as truss, beam and rigid frame may sometimes be considered to
be one rigid body sustained in space by a number of supports. .ut of several
such rigid bodies, a compound form of structure may be built by means of
connecting devices, such as hinges, lin$s or rollers and mounted on a number of
supports. "n either the simple or the compound type of structure, the e!ternal
force system of the entire structure, consisting of the loads on the structure
and the support reactions, must satisfy the equations of equilibrium if the
structure is to remain at rest. &owever, in the compound type of structure, the
connecting devices enforce further restrictions on the force system acting on
the structure, thus providing additional equations of statics to supplement the
equations of equilibrium. 7quations supplied by the method of special
construction 4other than e!ternal supports5 are called equations of condition or
construction.
Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of a Structure 'ith Respect to Supports 'hen the
Structure is considered a /onolithic Rigid #ody;
- when one considers the design of a structure, careful thought must be given to
the number and arrangement of the supports directly related to the statical
stability and determinacy of the structure. "f a structure is treated as one
monolithic rigid body mounted on a number of supports, there will be no internal
condition involved and the stability and determinacy of the structure will be
judged solely by the stability and determinacy of supports.
- two elements of reaction supplied by supports, such as two forces each with a
definite point of application and direction, are not sufficient to ensure the
stability of a rigid body, because the two are either collinear, parallel or
concurrent. "n this case, the condition of equilibrium is violated, not
because of the lac$ of strength of supports, but because of the insufficient
number of support elements. This is referred to as statical instability.
- at least three elements of reaction are necessary to restrain a body in
stable equilibrium. "n a stable equilibrium condition, the rigid body is
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subjected to restraints by three elements of reactions and the restraints can
be solved by the three available equilibrium equations. The satisfaction of
all the three equilibrium equations, for loads and reactions acting on a body
guarantees, respectively, that the body will neither move hori-ontally or
vertically nor rotate. The system is said to be statically stable and
determinate.
- if there are more than three elements of reaction the body is necessarily
more stable because of the additional restraints. Since the number of un$nown
elements of reaction is more than the number of equations for static
equilibrium, the system is said to be statically indeterminate with regard to
the reactions of support.
- the number of elements of reaction should be at least three is a necessity
but not a sufficient condition for an e!ternally stable structure. There are
many cases that are obviously not stable with respect to the support system
even though three or more than three elements of reaction are supplied. /hen,
for e!ample, the lines of reaction are all parallel, the body is unstable
because it is vulnerable to lateral sliding. *nother case is when the lines
of three reaction elements are originally concurrent at a point. The system
is also unstable because, even though complete collapse probably will not
result, a small initial rotation about the point because of the moment caused
by any force not passing through the point will certainly occur until the
three reaction lines form the triangle. This instability, which results from
the inadequacy of arrangement of supports, is referred to as external
geometric instability.
- a monolithic rigid body is rigid by definition; hence, it will have no
problem of internal instability. 0urthermore, at any cut section of a
monolithic rigid body, the elements of the internal force, which are no more
than three in number, can always be determined by the equations of
equilibrium, once the reactions are completely defined. Therefore, the
stability and determinacy of the entire system are solely determined by the
stability and determinacy of supports and reactions.
- summing up the above-mentioned discussion, the following conclusions can be
derived;
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- if the number of un$nown elements of reaction is fewer than three, the
equations of equilibrium are generally not satisfied and the system is said
to be unstable
- if the number of un$nown elements of reaction is equal to three and if no
e!ternal geometric instability is involved, then the system is statically
stable and determinate
- if the number of un$nown elements of reaction is more than three, then the
system is statically indeterminate; it is stable provided no e!ternal
geometric instability is involved. The e!cess number, n, of un$nown elements
designates the nth degree of indeterminacy.
eneral Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of Structures;
- structural stability and determinacy must be judged by the number and
arrangement of the supports as well as the number and arrangement of the members
and the connections of the structure. They are determined by inspection or by
formula.
- eneral Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of #ea&s;
- if a beam is built up without any internal connections 4internal hinge,
roller or lin$5, the entire beam may be considered as one piece of monolithic
rigid body placed on a number of supports and the question of the stability
and of the determinacy of the beam is settled solely by the number and
arrangement of supports.
%eometric instability is most li$ely to occur whenever internal
connections are inserted into an originally stable structure. The beam will
obviously become unstable under general loading as the result of a relative
rotation on both sides of the beam because the hinge has no capacity to
resist moment and this will constitute a restriction on the e!ternal forces
acting on the structure.
*lso by investigation, there are three elements of reaction supplied by
the supports, whereas, there are four conditions of statics to resist the
e!ternal forces-three from equilibrium plus one from construction. This means
that the number of un$nown elements of reaction is one fewer than the
independent equations of statics available for their solution. Therefore, the
equations of statics for the force system are generally not satisfied. The
beam is unstable unless at least one additional element of reaction, such as
a roller support, is provided which ma$es the total number of un$nown
elements of reaction equal to the total number of independent equations of
statics needed to determine the elements. "f this is done, the beam will be
restored to a statically stable and determinate state.
0rom the above discussion, a criterion can be established for stability
and determinacy of beams.
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if r A 4c B 65, the beam is unstable
if r 9 4c B 65, the beam is statically determinate provided that no
geometric instability 4e!ternal or internal5 is involved
if r C 4c B 65, the beam is statically indeterminate
where; r - the number of reaction elements
c - the number of equations of conditions
9 (.: - for hinge
9 2.: - for roller
9 : - for beam without internal connection
- eneral Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of Truss;
- a truss is composed of a number of bars connected at their ends by a number
of pinned joints so as to form a networ$, usually a series of triangles, and
mounted on a number of supports. 7ach bar of a truss is a two-force member;
hence, each represents one un$nown element of internal force. The total
number of un$nown elements of the entire system is counted by the number of
bars 4internal5 plus the number of independent reaction elements 4e!ternal5.
"f the truss is in equilibrium, every isolated portion of the truss must
li$ewise be in equilibrium. 0or a truss having a certain number of joints,
the entire system may be separated into free bodies, the number of which is
the same as the number of joints, in which each joint yields two equilibrium
equations. Therefore, a criterion can be established for the stability and
determinacy of trusses.
if 4b B r5 A 2j, system is unstable
if 4b B r5 9 2j, system is statically determinate provided that it is
also stable
if 4b B r5 C 2j, system is statically indeterminate
where; b - the number of bars
r - the number of reaction components
j - the number of joints
- eneral Sta+ility and Deter&inacy of Rigid *ra&es;
- a rigid frame is built of beams and columns connected rigidly. The stability
and determinacy of a rigid frame may also be investigated by comparing the
number of un$nowns 4internal un$nowns and reaction un$nowns5 with the number
of equations of statics available for their solution. +i$e a truss, a rigid
frame may be separated into a number of free bodies of joints, which requires
that every member of the frame be ta$en apart. There are usually three
un$nown magnitudes e!isting in a cut section of a member. &owever, if these
quantities are $nown at one section of a member, similar quantities for any
other section of the same member can be determined. &ence, there are only
three independent, internal, un$nown elements for each member in a frame. The
criteria for the stability and determinacy of a rigid frame are established
by comparing the number of un$nowns with the number of independent equations.
if 46b B r5 A 46j B c5, the frame is unstable
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if 46b B r5 9 46j B c5, the frame is statically determinate provided
that it is also stable
if 46b B r5 C 46j B c5, the frame is statically indeterminate
where; b - the number of members
r - the number of reaction components
j - the number of joints
c - the number of equations of conditions
7D. lassify each of the beam shown.
r c c B 6 ondition
* 6 : 6 statically determinate
B 8 : 6
statically indeterminate
4first degree5
= ( 8
statically indeterminate
4second degree5
1 8 2 < statically unstable
7 2 : 6 statically unstable
0 = : 6
statically indeterminate
4third degree5
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45 415
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THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
7D. lassify each of the trusses shown.
r b j b B r 2j condition
* 6 (> (: 2: 2: statically determinate
B 2 (> (: (@ 2: unstable
6 2( (: 28 2:
statically indeterminate
4fourth degree5
1 6 (= (: (@ 2: unstable
7 8 2= (< 2: 6: statically determinate
0 6 (: > (6 (8 unstable
% 6 (( > (8 (8 statically determinate
& 8 (: > (8 (8 statically determinate
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415 45
475
4&5 405 4%5
THEORY1 Structural Theory 1 Chapter 1
7D. lassify each of the plane frame shown.
r b j c 6b B r 6j B c condition
* ? < = : 26 (?
statically indeterminate
4fifth degree5
B 6 8 8 : (< (2
statically indeterminate
4third degree5
@ (: @ : 6@ 2>
statically indeterminate
4twelfth degree5
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4B5 4*5 45