Lecture 3

Structural Elements of a Building

While we are all used to seeing the construction process starting from the ground level and growing day after day until the roof is
complete, from a structural point of view, the process of thinking that allows us to properly dimension each building element is exactly
the opposite.
While the architect designs the building focusing on the aesthetic, materials, function of each space, and the owner's requests, the
structural engineer's first focus is always which kind of loads the building will be affected by, and what is supporting those loads.
The idea is very simple -- it's necessary to find out how heavy the floor is before you can consider how many beams will support it, and
you will need to know where the beams are placed before you start engineering the columns, and you need to count how many floors
are loading the columns before you can decide what the foundation will look like.
Typically, in the construction of a building, you will need elements that run horizontally, supporting floors and roof, and then vertical
elements like columns or walls that support the horizontal beams. We can list the building's main elements as follows:

Horizontal:
1.

Floor slab: Supports its own weight, interior partitions, people, and furniture, etc.

2.

Joists: Support the slab

3.

Beams: Support the joists

4.

Girders: Support the beams

5.

Trusses: Used instead of beams and girders

Vertical:
1.

Columns: Support girders and trusses

2.

Walls: Support girders and trusses

3.

Lateral Systems: Additional vertical reinforcement as braces or diaphragms to ensure that the structure resists lateral loads, such
as wind and earthquake

Structural Elements of a Building (continued)

Foundations:
1.

Spread Footing: A single concrete foundation for each column

2.

Strip or Wall Footing: A concrete foundation underneath a wall

3.

Mat Foundation: A large concrete slab underneath the whole building

4.

Deep Foundations: Piles or drilled piers (if soil settles over time or liquefies during an earthquake)

The whole system is very intuitive. For gravity loads (which act vertically on the structure), you would need to apply the weight of the
structure, the superimposed dead load (SDL), which includes interior partitions and permanent loads, and the live load (LL), such as
people, cars, etc. You would also need to add the snow load and a few others to the horizontal elements where the loads occur -mainly on the floors, terraces, and roof.
Once you dimension the minimum slab required, you can transfer these loads to the elements supporting the slab, joists, beams, and
girders. Finally, you can calculate the total load each column needs to support. Do this process from the roof down to each floor,
remembering to add the loads from above at each level, and continue down to the foundation level.
Before you proceed with the foundation design, however, you will need to go back up and test your structure against lateral loads, like
wind or earthquake. We will go more in depth on this topic later in the class, but you will see that at the end, the approach is very
similar.
The wind force will push the vertical enclosure of the building, which will need to be supported by vertical mullions. They will transfer the
loads to slabs and columns, and it will be necessary to add some lateral systems to resist the deformation of the vertical and horizontal
grids.
Once you have completed all the steps, you will finally have a clear understanding of the total vertical and horizontal loads that need to
be supported. With the geotechnical engineering report of the soil where your building will sit, you can choose the foundation type and
proceed with its design.

Construction Materials: Wood

The main structural elements in the construction of a building are made out of wood, steel, concrete, and masonry. In this module, you
will be given a generic introduction to these typical construction materials, their properties, and their general applications. Let's start with
the elements built out of wood.
Wood has been used throughout history in the construction of shelters. Originally used in its natural form, wood today is mostly used in
its cut and/or processed form. It is the only construction material that we use that is from a living source. Because wood is a natural,
growing material, the properties of wood vary between types of wood, age of wood, moisture content of wood, natural
variations/imperfections in the wood, and direction of the grain in the wood.
Wood is either a hardwood or a softwood. Hardwood is from broad leaf trees, and softwood is from conifer trees. Typically in the United
States, structural wood is made up of softwood. Softwood typically grows faster than hardwood, and it is more easily worked with and
cut. In the western United States, Douglas fir is the most common type of softwood used for construction.

Here is a table showing standard wood sizes and corresponding section properties, such as section modulus, moment
of inertia, and area:

Section Properties of Standard Dressed (S4S) Sawn Lumber

When trees are cut down, the properties of the wood change as the moisture in the living wood equilibrates with the atmosphere. In
general, green wood has more moisture content than the final state of the wood. When wood loses moisture, it shrinks mostly in the
direction perpendicular to the grain. Parallel to the grain, not much shrinkage occurs. The amount of shrinking depends on the type of
wood, but in general, it shrinks about 1/64" per inch of width in green wood with normal atmosphere moisture content. This amount of
shrinkage can be significant, and must be accounted for in the detailing of the wood.
Wood, compared to other structural materials, is susceptible to insects, mold, and rot. Care must be taken to properly detail the wood in
order to help minimize insect and mold issues. For example, wood must be elevated from the earth to protect from cycles of moisture
and dryness, which tends to rot the wood. Termite guards can be placed to protect wood when it is near the foundation of a building.
Wood rots when it is exposed to changes in moisture content. In general, wood that is permanently under water lasts a very long time,
and wood that is in a very dry climate lasts a long time. Wood piers in the water rot at the surface of the water where the wood is
constantly being exposed to changing moisture, and do not rot under water.
As discussed above, the properties of wood vary between species of wood as well as between individual trees and locations within the
tree. A system of grading the wood has been developed that sorts the wood according to the inherent condition of the individual pieces
of wood. Once the wood has been graded, tables can be used to determine the design properties of the wood. The properties of wood
vary according to the direction of the grain. The grain can either run parallel or perpendicular to the direction of force. Wood is strongest
when the load is applied in the parallel direction to the grain. Allowable stresses that account for these different factors, as well as the
modulus of elasticity, are listed in tables for engineers to use.

View the following PDF:

Base Design Values for Visually Graded Dimension Lumber

One of the ways that the construction industry has dealt with the shrinking and warping of wood is to use structural composite lumber
(or SCL). Structural composite lumber is typically made up of layers of wood, or smaller pieces of wood that are glued together to form
a larger piece of wood. There are a couple of advantages to using SCL. For example, because many smaller pieces of wood are glued
together, the properties of the wood tend to be much more consistent. This results in stronger, stiffer members with few defects. In
addition, SCL tends to expand and shrink less due to changing moisture content. Finally, an advantage to SCL is that it is straighter and
doesn't warp like traditional lumber. These advantages have made SCL the norm in construction practice today. Some examples of
parallam and glulam beams used in buildings are shown in these images:

Construction Materials: Wood (continued)

Wood Properties:
The Young's Module (E) for wood is:
E = 1,900,000 psi

Typical yield strength (Fb) for wood is:

Fb = 1000 psi

Joist sizes:
From 2"x4" to 2"x12" or TJIs, the spacing between joists can typically go
from 12" O.C. up to 24" O.C.

See the TJI section here.

View the following PDF:

TJI tables

Beam sizes:
From 2"x12" to 4"x12" or engineered lumber (glulams).
See the glulam examples here:

View the following PDF:

Glulam tables

Girder sizes:
Typically they are engineered lumber (glulams).

Post sizes:
From 4"x4" up to 6"x6".

Truss sizes:
They are usually prefabricated by specialized companies such as Trus
Joist.

For an overview of properties of wood members, please view the following PDF:

Wood Section Properties

Construction Materials: Steel

Steel is a very light and strong material commonly used in construction. Steel is mostly made of iron, with small amounts of other
elements. Over time, the composition of steel has changed to make it stronger and less brittle (small amounts of carbon are added into
steel). Cast iron was first used in Britain in the late 1700s, and was quite brittle. Because of uncertainties in material and structural
analysis, early steel structures were highly redundant. This is evident in the many small repeated members in the Eiffel Tower and other
bridges designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Further developments in the process of making steel resulted in wrought iron being developed in the mid-1800s. It was used until the
late 1800s, with the Eiffel Tower being one of the last structures built out of wrought iron. In the late 1800s, further processing
improvements became more standard, which were used to purify the steel and make it stronger and less brittle. Also, the rolling of steel
to form various sections became a standard practice that is still used today.
Steel typically comes in three forms: rolled structural sections, sheets of steel, or castings of steel. One of the most common rolled
sections is the I-shaped section. Shaped like an "I", it is typically used for columns and beams. Depending on depth, spans can range
from just a couple of feet to over 100'. As the span increases, the depth of the section increases. Sections for bridges with spans of 100'
are 3' to 5' deep. 3' is the deepest rolled section available. Deeper custom sections can be made, which can span over 300'. These
sections can be easily 8' to 10' deep. The limitation for these spans is that the beam can't support the self-weight of the structure. A
typical general rule in design is that the depth of the beam is about 1/20 of the span of the beam (for a simply supported beam). So, if
you have a 20' span, the depth is approximately 1'-0". This is a quick approximation that will put you in the ballpark, but of course there
are exceptions and beams must be checked. A cantilever beam is approximately 1/10 of the span. This approximation can be used for
any steel, concrete, and wood.
Folded sheets of steel are often used as a substitute for wood framing members. Bent into channel sections, they are folded into the
same dimensions as typical wood studs and joists. They are usually referred to as "light gauge framing." Because of the various
possibilities to fold the steel, there are many design opportunities with sheet steel to create different structural sections that are
extremely light and efficient.
Steel castings are made by pouring molten steel into a form. Castings are typically smaller and used as connections between larger
members.

Steel Properties:
The Young's Module (E) for steel is:

E = 29,000,000 psi = 29,000 ksi

Typical yield strengths (Fb) for steel are:

Fb = 36,000 psi = 36 ksi and Fb = 50,000 psi = 50 ksi

Typical Steel Sizes:

For an overview of steel section properties, please view the following PDF:

Steel Section Properties

Construction Materials: Concrete

Concrete as a material has been around for thousands of years. The Romans were the first to widely use concrete in construction. The
advances that they made in concrete enabled them to experiment with new forms, in particular the dome. These new forms created
from concrete enabled them for the first time to enclose larger open spaces. The technology developed by the Romans was lost for
many years, and was only improved upon in the 1800s with the addition of steel reinforcing in concrete.
Concrete is a material that, in its most basic form, consists of aggregate, sand, cement, and water. The aggregate is rocks that typically
range in size from 1/4" to 3/4". Cement is the binder that holds together the aggregate and sand. When water is added to cement, a
chemical reaction occurs that causes the cement to become hard. The process of concrete hardening is called curing. Concrete will
continue to cure over the lifetime of the concrete, but typically concrete specifications call for concrete to reach its design strength in
about 28 days. During the process of curing, concrete will shrink, which causes cracks in concrete to form. In order to minimize the
amount of shrinking during curing, the concrete should be kept moist so that there is sufficient water to react with the cement. In
addition to aggregate, sand, cement, and water, there are many admixtures that are added to concrete. These admixtures have various
effects on the concrete, such as making the mixture more workable (plasticizers), making the concrete more resistant to freezing (airentraining agents), and making the concrete cure more slowly (retardants).
Concrete is a strong, brittle material that performs well in compression, but has basically no resistance to tension. Because of that, steel
is added into the concrete to take the tension force. The steel in concrete is called reinforcing steel.
Reinforcing bars come in various widths in 1/8" increments. The smallest typical bar is a 3/8" diameter bar; the largest bar can be up to
2 1/2" in diameter. The naming convention of reinforcing bars is the number of 1/8" increments in the diameter of the bar. For example,
a 3/8" bar is called a #3 bar because the diameter is 3*1/8". A #8 bar is 1" diameter.
The purpose of reinforcing steel is to resist the tension in a concrete structural member. The steel is placed where the tension occurs in
the member.

Construction Materials: Concrete (continued)

For a simply supported beam, the tension occurs in the bottom of the beam, which is where the reinforcing is placed. In a cantilever
beam, the tension occurs at the top of the beam. In this case, the rebar is placed at the top of the beam. The most efficient placement
of reinforcing steel depends on the location and orientation of the stress and how it flows through the structure.

Prestressed concrete is permanently loaded so as to cause stresses opposite in direction from those caused by dead and live loads.
Steel wires are placed in a concrete beam, and cause compression and negative moment. The dead and live loads on the beam
produce positive moment. The combined effect of the prestress and the dead and live loads usually results in compression over the
entire cross section of the beam, in contrast to the smaller compression area of conventional reinforced concrete beams. Prestressing
thus results in more efficient and economical use of material, especially in repetitive long span applications. Since prestressed
members are completely in compression, tension cracks are prevented, which is advantageous, particularly in structures exposed to the
weather.
There are two procedures used: pre-tensioning and post-tensioning. In pre-tensioning, a tensile force is put into high strength wires by
stretching them between anchorages, usually at a casting yard away from the building site. Then the concrete is placed, the wires bond
to the concrete, and the concrete is cured. The prestress wires are then cut, and therefore the tensile force in the wires is applied
through the bond as a compressive force to the concrete.
In a post-tensioned beam, the concrete is cast on the site with a hollow duct (plastic tube) to encase the steel wire. After the concrete is
cured, the steel tendons are stressed by jacking against anchorages at each end of the member. The tendons are permanently locked
under stress by special end anchors and then grouted. Here are two images of prestressed concrete.

Concrete Properties:
The Young's Module (E) for concrete is not a constant or an exact number, but varies with the 28-day compressive strength (f'c). For a
normal weight concrete it is approximately:
E = 57,000 f'c.

The compressive strength (f'c) for concrete varies between:

f'c = 2000 psi and f'c = 5000 psi

Typical Sizes of Concrete Members:

Concrete slab thickness: from 8" to 12"
Concrete beams: from 12"x12" to 30"x30" with a width to depth ratio ranging from 1:1 to 1:2
Concrete columns: from 18"x18" to 30"x30", they could be square, rectangular, or round
Concrete wall thickness: from 8" to 12"

Construction Materials: Masonry

The specifics of masonry constructions are out of the scope of this class, and therefore we will only introduce them briefly.
In a masonry building, the walls are made of masonry units, but the floors will either be wood framed or steel members with metal deck
and concrete.

The masonry unit can be of various types. Historically, we find many variations, mostly depending on geographical reason (such as the
climate) or the availability of certain materials in the region (dry-mud bricks, clay bricks, various types of stone, etc...).
Today, the most available and common masonry technology is the CMU (concrete masonry unit). The standard unit is 8"x8"x16" and
represents the most practical way to build a wall. This is not only because its weight is light enough to be easily manageable by one
person, but the interlocking of different elements creates hollow spaces that can later be reinforced with steel and filled with concrete to
create a real column.

Typical CMU Walls:

CMU wall thickness is typically 8"; however, when necessary, 10" and 12" walls can be used, even if in those cases a solid concrete
wall becomes more economical.
Also remember that the actual thickness of all CMU walls is always 3/8" less than the called-out thickness. So, if you use an 8" CMU
wall, you must remember that it is really a 7-5/8" wall.

Typical Loads
In greater detail, let's discuss the typical loads we need to consider when engineering the structural system of our buildings. We can list
the typical loads as follows:

Vertical Forces or Gravity Loads:

Dead Loads: Building's total mass (floors, walls, columns, permanent equipment attached, etc.)

Live Loads: People, cars, furniture, bookcases, temporary weights, etc.

Snow Loads

Soil Pressures (weights of soil)

Hydrostatic Pressures (weights of liquids)

Common weights of materials are usually given as weight per unit area. This is usually expressed as pounds per square foot (psf) or in
some cases as pounds per cubic foot (pcf); in this case you can always obtain the correspondent weight in terms of psf by simply
multiplying by the material's thickness.
Examples:

The normal weight of concrete is about 150 pcf; therefore a 6" (0.5 ft) thick slab will weigh 150 pcf x 0.5 ft = 75 psf.

The typical weight of soil is 100 pcf; therefore a roof garden 2' deep will load a roof structure with an additional 100 pcf x 2 ft =
200 psf.

The weights of typical building materials are available in table-charts for architects and engineers to simply look up. See the tables
here:

View the following PDFs:

Weights of Materials

Weights of Building Elements

Live loads are typically obtained from codes -- in our case, we will use the CBC (California Building Code).

View the following PDF:

Live Loads

Snow load is another type of gravity load that primarily affects roof structures. In addition, balconies and decks may be affected. As the
magnitude of snow loads can vary greatly over a relatively small geographical area, the Uniform Building Code (UBC) simply refers the
designer to the local building official for the snow load to be considered in the calculation. Snow loads can be extremely large (240 psf
near Lake Tahoe!) and are applied on a horizontal plane, similar to roof live loads. The UBC provides a method by which the basic
snow load, obtained by the building official, may be reduced, depending on the slope of the roof.
Soil and hydrostatic loads will be addressed later in the class, when we approach the topic of foundation design.

Horizontal Forces or Lateral Loads:

Wind Loads

Seismic Forces

Soil Pressures (weights of soil)

Hydrostatic Pressures (weights of liquids)

The CBC gives us a way to calculate wind loads and seismic forces, depending on the site's geography and the building's geometry
and orientation. We will see more of that when introducing the specifics for wind load design and earthquake design later on.

Internal Stresses Diagrams

Before proceeding with the design of a structural member and properly sizing it based on the loads it needs to support -- all topics
which you will study in the next module -- we need to discuss how the building elements we have introduced so far are able to support
loads. What exactly happens, for example, when you load a beam? Thus far we have been discussing external applied and resistive
loads within systems. These loads are vectors that have a direction and magnitude.
Structures also have internal forces that resist these external applied loads. These internal forces are called stresses. The most
common types of stress are tension stresses, compression stresses, shear stresses, and flexural stresses. A stress is expressed as a
force per cross-sectional area. Units are typically lbs/in2 (psi) or kips/in2(ksi).

Normal Stress
Compressive or tensile stress occurs along the axis of a structural member. This axial stress can be computed from the equation f =
P/A, where P is the axial load (lbs), A is the cross-sectional area of the member (square inches), and f is the axial stress (psi).

Example 1

The cable shown has a diameter of 3/4" and supports a load of 10,000 lbs. What is the
unit tensile stress in the cable?

Solution:
From the stress equation f = P/A, solve for P (compression load), P = f x A
Area = 5.5" x 5.5" = 30.25 in2
P = f x A = 650 psi x 30.25 in2 = 19,663 lbs = 19.7 kips

Note: Actual dimensions of common lumber sizes vary. Make sure you use the actual dimensions of the wood in your
calculations. In this case, a 6"x6" block of wood is actually 5.5"x5.5".

Internal Stresses Diagrams (continued)

Shear Stress
A shear stress is when two members slide with respect to each other. This can be illustrated by thinking of two members that are
connected with bolts. When the two members slide past each other, the bolts resist the sliding motion, and they are in shear.

Example 3

Determine the shear stress in the bolts in the connection shown here. Assume P = 6000
lbs and that the bolts are 5/8" diameter.

Solution:
The area subjected to shear stress is the cross-sectional area of the bolts.
Area A per bolt = r2 = x (0.3125in)2 = 0.306 sq. in
Total A = 2 x 0.306 = 0.612 sq. in
f = P/A = 6000 lbs / 0.612 sq. in = 9804 psi

Shear Diagrams
Now that you have learned how external loads and reactions affect beams, we will introduce shear and moment diagrams. Internal
forces in beams are graphically represented with the use of these diagrams. The shear diagram represents the sum of the vertical
shear in the beam to the left or right of the section that we are interested in. Vertical shear at any point within a beam is the sum of the
vertical forces in that beam up to that point. Typically, the shear force is the sum of the shear to the left of the cut beam section, and
positive shear is shear force that is acting upward. Shear diagrams always include the reactions as part of the diagram (the reactions
affect the internal forces in the beam). Shear is given in units of force (pounds or kips typically).
Shear Diagram Notes:
1.

Before starting the shear and moment diagram, draw the free body diagram of the member.

2.

When a concentrated load exists, the shear diagram has an abrupt change in it that is equal to the concentrated load (this is true
for reactions as well).

3.

When there is no load applied to the beam, the shear diagram is horizontal.

4.

When a uniform distributed load is applied to the beam, the shear diagram slopes at a constant rate.

5.

In general, the most critical points in the shear diagram are the absolute maximum value and the point where the shear is zero.

6.

The absolute maximum value is typically used to size the beam, and the point where the shear is zero can be used to determine
where the minimum amount of material is needed.

Example 4

Draw the shear diagram for the following beam with the shown loading.

Internal Stresses Diagrams (continued)

Solution:
First, determine the reactions and draw the free body diagram. The reaction at the roller end can be found by summing the forces about
the pin connection end.
M = 0 = 5k x 2.5' + 10k x 6.5' - Froller x 10'
solving for Froller = 7.75k

Solving for the reactions at the pin connection end by summing the forces in the y-direction.
Fy = 0 = -5k - 10k + 7.75k + Fpin
solving for Fpin = 7.25k

Shown below is the free body diagram:

Now, to draw the shear diagram, we take a section cut where we are interested in the internal shear force. We will start by cutting the
beam between the left reaction and the 5 kip point load (shown below). If we add the forces to the left of the section cut, we get 7.25
kips. We get the same 7.25 kip force if we take the section cut anywhere between the support and the 5 kip load. Therefore, the shear
is a constant 7.25 kips in this section of the beam.

Next, we take a section cut between the 5 kip and 10 kip point loads (see below). Adding the forces to the left of the section cut, we get
+2.25 kips (we take the upward force as positive).

Finally, we take a section cut to the right of the 10 kip load. By adding the vertical forces to the left of the section cut, we get -7.75 kips
(see below). It is possible to verify that the shear diagram is correct because the sum of the forces to the left of the section cut equals
the reaction at the roller.

We now have enough information to draw the shear diagram. Note that the value of the jumps in the shear diagram is equal to the
concentrated loads.

Similarly, the moment diagram is the sum of the moment in the beam to the left of the section cut. Typically, clockwise moments are
positive, and counterclockwise moments are negative. These sign conventions for both shear and moment diagrams are typical
convention in the United States. Units for moment (and moment diagrams) are typically lb-ft or k-ft.

Internal Stresses Diagrams (continued)

Moment Diagrams
Moment Diagram Notes:
1.

Positive moment is shown above the line and negative moment is shown below the line (similar to shear diagrams).

2.

At the point where the shear diagram passes through zero, the moment diagram is at a maximum.

3.

The value of the moment at the supports of a simply supported beam is zero.

4.

When a simply supported beam has downward load on it, it will deflect downward. A load that produces this type of deflection is
the convention for a positive moment. It is often called the smiling face convention, because when the beam deflects under load,
it creates a smile, which is positive.

5.

For a positive moment, the top part of the beam is in compression, and the bottom part of the beam is in tension.

6.

A cantilever beam with downward loading does not deflect in the shape of a smile, so therefore the moment diagram is negative.
Also, the top part of the beam is in tension and the bottom part of the beam is in compression, resulting in a negative moment.

As a drawing tip, vertically align the free body diagram with the shear diagram and moment diagram. This helps to keep the diagrams
clear.
In Example 4, the moment diagram is shown directly below the shear diagram:

Note the following about the moment diagram shown here:

1.

The constant positive slope between A and B corresponds to the positive shear diagram in Example 4.

2.

The slope of the moment changes at point B, at the concentrated load.

3.

Maximum moment occurs at point C, where the shear diagram is 0.

4.

The constant negative slope between C and D corresponds to the negative shear diagram in Example 4.

Example 5

Below are the shear and moment diagrams for a uniform load. Solve for the reactions,
draw the shear and moment diagrams, and check your work to see if your result
matches the given values. Note that for the uniform loads, the value of shear changes at
a uniform rate at uniformly distributed loads, and therefore the corresponding shear
diagram is a line of constant slope.

Internal Stresses Diagrams (continued)

Example 6

Below, we will work through the shear and moment diagrams for the cantilever beam
shown. Reactions have already been calculated. The beam's forces and reactions are
shown in the top illustration, the shear diagram in the middle, and the moment diagram
at the bottom. Check to see if your result matches the given values.

Typical shear and moment diagrams for common load and support conditions are given for structural beams in these
charts:

AISC Beam Diagrams