ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to indeterminate structures
1.1 Structural Loads
Structure refers to a system of connected parts used to support load, such as buildings,
bridges, towers, etc. Engineers should account for structures safety, esthetics and
serviceability, economic and environmental issues. The objective of a structural engineer is to
design a structure that will be able to withstand all the loads to which it is subjected while
serving its intended purpose throughout its intended life span. In designing a structure, an
engineer must, therefore, consider all the loads that can realistically be expected to act on the
structure during its planned life span. Determination of the loads that act on a structure,
evaluation of critical force effects in the member and dimensioning are the most difficult and
yet important steps in the overall process of design.

The loads that enter a system are of three different types. Concentrated loads (example a
single vehicular wheel load) are those that are applied over a relatively small area. Line loads
are distributed along a narrow strip of the structure. The weight of a member itself and the
weight of a wall or partition are examples of this type of load. Surface loads are loads
that are distributed over an area. The loads on a warehouse floor and the snow load on a roof
are examples of surface loads.

The loads that act on common civil engineering structures can be grouped according to their
nature and source into three classes: (1) dead loads due to the weight of the structural system
itself and any other material permanently attached to it; (2) live loads, which are movable or
moving loads due to the use of the structure; and (3) environmental loads, which are caused by
environmental effects, such as wind, snow and earthquakes. In addition to estimating the
magnitudes of the design loads, an engineer must also consider the possibility that some of these
loads might act simultaneously on the structure. The structure is finally designed so that it will be
able to withstand the most unfavorable combination of loads that is likely to occur in its lifetime.
The minimum design loads and the load combinations for which the structures must be designed
are usually specified in building codes. Building codes vary from country to country and also,
owing to geographical variations, from region to region within a country.

Furthermore, loads can be classified based on:

 Direction:- Gravity/vertical and Lateral/horizontal loads

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 1

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

 Variation with time:- dead load (permanent) and Live Loads (temporary)
 Structural Response:- Static (loads applied gradually) and dynamic (loads applied
over a short period of time and vary in magnitude with time)
The loads described in the codes are usually based on past experience and study and are the
minimum for which the various types of structures must be designed. However, the engineer
must decide if the structure is to be subjected to any loads in addition to those considered by the
code, and, if so, must design the structure to resist the additional loads. Remember that the
engineer is ultimately responsible for the safe design of the structure.
 Dead Loads
Dead loads are gravity loads of constant magnitudes and fixed positions that act permanently on
the structure. Such loads consist of the weights of the structural system itself and of all other
material and equipment permanently attached to the structural system. For example, the dead
loads for a building structure include the weights of frames, framing and bracing systems, floors,
roofs, ceilings, walls, stairways, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, electrical
systems, and so forth.
The weight of the structure is not known in advance of design and is usually assumed based on
past experience. After the structure has been analyzed and the member sizes determined, the
actual weight is computed by using the member sizes and the unit weights of materials. The
weights of permanent service equipment, such as heating and air-conditioning systems, are
usually obtained from the manufacturer.
 Live Loads
Live loads are loads of varying magnitudes and/or positions caused by the use of the structure.
Sometimes, the term live loads are used to refer to all loads on the structure that are not dead
loads, including environmental loads, such as snow loads or wind loads. However, since the
probabilities of occurrence for environmental loads are different from those due to the use of
structures, the current codes use the term live loads to refer only to those variable loads caused
by the use of the structure. It is in the latter context that this text uses this term. The magnitudes
of design live loads are usually specified in building codes. The position of a live load may
change, so each member of the structure must be designed for the position of the load that causes
the maximum stress in that member. Different members of a structure may reach their maximum
stress levels at different positions of the given load. For example, as a truck moves across a truss
bridge, the stresses in the truss members vary as the position of the truck changes. If member A
Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 2
ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

is subjected to its maximum stress when the truck is at a certain position x, then another member
B may reach its maximum stress level when the truck is in a different position y on the bridge.
The procedures for determining the position of a live load at which a particular response
characteristic, such as a stress resultant or a deflection, of a structure is maximum (or minimum)
are discussed in subsequent chapters.
 Impact
When live loads are applied rapidly to a structure, they cause larger stresses than those that
would be produced if the same loads would have been applied gradually. The dynamic effect of
the load that causes this increase in stress in the structure is referred to as impact. To account for
the increase in stress due to impact, the live loads expected to cause such a dynamic effect on
structures are increased by certain impact percentages, or impact factors. The impact percentages
and factors, which are usually based on past experience and/or experimental results, are specified
in the building codes.
 Wind Loads
Wind loads are produced by the flow of wind around the structure. The magnitudes of wind
loads that may act on a structure depend on the geographical location of the structure,
obstructions in its surrounding terrain, such as nearby buildings, and the geometry and the
vibrational characteristics of the structure itself. Although the procedures described in the
various codes for the estimation of wind loads usually vary in detail, most of them are based on
the same basic relationship between the wind speed and the dynamic pressure induced on a flat
surface normal to the wind flow.

 Snow Loads
In many parts of the world, snow loads must be considered in designing structures. The design
snow load for a structure is based on the ground snow load for its geographical location, which
can be obtained from building codes or meteorological data for that region.
 Earthquake Loads
An earthquake is a sudden undulation of a portion of the earth’s surface. Although the ground
surface moves in both horizontal and vertical directions during an earthquake, the magnitude of
the vertical component of ground motion is usually small and does not have a significant effect
on most structures. It is the horizontal component of ground motion that causes structural
damage and that must be considered in designs of structures located in earthquake-prone areas.

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 3

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

During an earthquake, as the foundation of the structure moves with the ground, the above-
ground portion of the structure, because of the inertia of its mass, resists the motion, thereby
causing the structure to vibrate in the horizontal direction. These vibrations produce horizontal
shear forces in the structure. For an accurate prediction of the stresses that may develop in a
structure in the case of an earthquake, a dynamic analysis, considering the mass and stiffness
characteristics of the structure, must be performed. However, for low- to medium-height
rectangular buildings, most codes employ equivalent static forces to design for earthquake
resistance. In this empirical approach, the dynamic effect of the earthquake is approximated by a
set of lateral (horizontal) forces applied to the structure, and static analysis is performed to
evaluate stresses in the structure.

Load Combinations
Once the magnitudes of the design loads for a structure have been estimated, an engineer must
consider all loads that might act simultaneously on the structure at a given time. For example, it
is highly unlikely that an earthquake and the maximum wind loads will occur simultaneously.
Based on past experience and probability analysis, the building code standard specifies various
load combinations to be considered when designing structures. It is important to realize that the
structure must be designed to have adequate strength to resist the most unfavorable of all the load
combinations.
The ultimate design load acting on a member will be the summation of the relevant
characteristic load combinations multiplied by their respective partial safety factors. Thus,
the ultimate design load for the combination of dead and imposed loads will be expressed as
follows:
Partial Safety Factors for Load:
In practice the applied load may be greater than the characteristic load for any of the
following reasons:
a. Calculation errors
b. Constructional inaccuracies
c. Unforeseen increases in load.
To allow for these the respective characteristic loads are multiplied by a partial safety factor
to give the ultimate design load appropriate to the limit state being considered. That is,
Ultimate design load = γf x characteristic load
Load combinations depend on the design philosophy adopted. In addition to the aforementioned

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 4

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

strength or safety requirements, a structure must also satisfy any serviceability requirements
related to its intended use. For example, a high-rise building may be perfectly safe, yet
unserviceable if it deflects or vibrates excessively due to wind. The serviceability requirements
are specified in building codes for most common types of structures and are usually concerned
with deflections, vibrations, cracking, corrosion, and fatigue.

1.2 Stability and Determinacy of Structures

The fundamental purpose of a structure is to transmit loads from the point of application to
the point of support and, through the foundations to the ground. Before going into the analysis
of any structure, it is necessary to identify it’s 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 steps in the design process. In this chapter; Criteria
for statically classification will be established and different structures will be checked for
stability and determinacy.
Structures maybe classified into two general categories: Statically determinate and statically
indeterminate. A structure which can be completely analyzed by means of equilibrium equations
alone is called statically determinate. Statically indeterminate structure is one which cannot be
analyzed by means of equilibrium equations alone. Although the analysis of a statically
indeterminate structure is more difficult than that of a statically determinate structure, there are
very important reasons for choosing this type of structure for design. There are specific
advantages and disadvantages in using one type of structure over the other. The advantages of
statically indeterminate structures over determinate structures include the following:
1. Smaller Stresses: The maximum stresses in statically indeterminate structures are
generally lower than those in comparable determinate structures. The bending moment
and shear force, and bending stress in the indeterminate structure is significantly lower
than in the determinate structure.
2. Greater Stiffenesses: Statically indeterminate structures generally have higher
stiffenesses (i.e., smaller deformations), than those of comparable determinate structures.
3. Redundancies: Statically indeterminate structures, if properly designed, have the
capacity for redistributing loads when certain structural portions become overstressed or
collapse in cases of overloads due to earthquakes, tornadoes, impact (e.g., gas explosions

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 5

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

or vehicle impacts), and other such events. In these cases, the structure maintains its
stability and collapse is prevented. Indeterminate structures have more members and/or
support reactions than required for static stability, so if a part (or member or support) of
such a structure fails, the entire structure will not necessarily collapse, and the loads will
be redistributed to the adjacent portions of the structure.

The main disadvantages of statically indeterminate structures, over determinate structures, are
the following:
1. Stresses Due to Support Settlements: Support settlements do not cause any stresses in
determinate structures; they may, however, induce significant stresses in indeterminate
structures, which should be taken into account when designing indeterminate structures.
2. Stresses Due to Temperature Changes and Fabrication Errors: Like support
settlements, these effects do not cause stresses in determinate structures but may induce
significant stresses in indeterminate ones.
3. Computational difficulties: Since there are a lot of supports, determining all support
reactions makes the computations alittle bit complicated.

1.2.1 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. 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. 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

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 6

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

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 and geometric arrangement of
reactions and structural members rather than on the strength of individual member or supports.
Despite the possibility that an unstable structure could become stable under a particular
system of applied loads, the structure is classified as an unstable structure.

1.2.2 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. 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.

Indeterminate structures have some advantages and disadvantages over determinate ones. One
obvious disadvantage is the computational difficulty involved when establishing the required

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 7

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

additional equations. Another disadvantage is that indeterminate structures will be stressed due
to differential settlement of supports, temperature changes and errors in fabrication of
members. On the other hand, however, 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).
The question of identifying external or internal indeterminacy is largely of academic interest.
What is of primary importance is the total degree of indeterminacy, Nevertheless, determining
external and internal indeterminacy is desirable as a method to evaluate the total degree of
indeterminacy.
A structure is internally indeterminate when it is not possible to determine all internal forces
by using the equations of static equilibrium. For the great majority of structures, the question
of whether or not they are indeterminate can be decided by inspection. For certain structures
this is not so, and for these types rules have to be established. The internal indeterminacy
of trusses will be first considered, and then that of continuous frames.

1.2.3 Criteria for Stability and Determinacy of Structures-Trusses, Beams and

Frames
Internal stability of structures and determining which conditions exist in a given case need
experience, especially for trusses. In some cases, the structure is different from what our
mathematical criteria tell us. Therefore, stability of trusses is most easily settled by inspection.
 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).
• Stability depends on external supports
• Determinacy relates on the number of available and conditional equations.
If:
 ra < r; structure is statically unstable
 ra = r; structure is statically determinate
 ra > r; structure is statically indeterminate

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 8

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

Where: ra is the available number of reaction components

r is the minimum number of reaction components required for stability, usually 3+n,
n is the number of special/ conditional equation
Remark: r = 3 is not a sufficient condition for stability
On the other hand, 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
r < 3n, unstable
r = 3n, statically determinate
r > 3n, statically indeterminate
Example
Classify the following structures as stable, unstable, statically determinate or statically
indeterminate. If statically indeterminate specify the degree of static indeterminacy.

Statically indeterminate to the second degree

Statically indeterminate to the first degree

Statically determinate

Unstable

R = 5, n = 2, 5 < 3n unstable

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 9

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

 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 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 where as the truss
shown in fig (b) is unstable since the geometric arrangement of the members is not
maintained.

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 10

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

Examples

 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

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 11

ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

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
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
Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 12
ASTU Department of Civil Engineering 2024

of members at the joint minus one.

Examples

Lecture Notes (Chapter-1) ToS Page 13