Structural
Structural
Structural
Structural Analysis
Architectural
Functional Plans Final Design
Structural Detailing
System
Connection
Trial Sections Design
Yes
Revise Acceptable
Modeling
Sections
No
Member
Analysis Design
EXCITATION RESPONSE
Loads Stresses
Vibration Strains
Settlements Displacements
Thermal Stress Resultants
Changes Structural Model Support Reactions
STRUCTURE
Various Ways of Modeling Structures
(e) 2D Frame
Roller
Pinned
Fixed
Spring
Settlements
Structural Analysis Output
Displacements
Axial Forces
Shear Forces
Bending Moments
Stresses
BEAMS are usually horizontal members, primarily designed
to resist bending moment.
COLUMNS are generally vertical and resist axial
compressive loads.
Stonehenge, England.
One of the earliest
examples of beam and
column construction, it
was built in
approximately 2000
B.C. The picture shows
part of a 30-meter circle
of 30 upright stones,
each weighing
approximately 25 tons,
capped by a continuous
ring of 30 lintel stones,
each weighing about 7
tons. The stones were
brought 30 km from the
quarry. Transport and
construction procedures
are still a matter of
conjecture.
Temple of Olympian Zeus. Completed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 76-138)
700 years after the first columns were raised. Columns are 6 ft. 4 in. diameter, 56 ft.
high, 18 ft. centers. Architrave beam span is obviously limited by the self-weight and
tensile strength of the stone. (Athens, Greece)
Continuous Beam
14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River. Continuous riveted steel girders.
Note the absence of internal hinges and the resulting internal self-straining
forces in the girders if one of the supports should settle. (Washington, D.C.)
Cantilever Beam
Missouri River Bridge, Chamberlain. These through trusses show how complex the geometry of a
large bridge truss can become. Careful study shows X-bracing in all except the end panel. Horizontal
members in the plane of the truss at mid-height are to stiffen the verticals. (Chamberlain, So.Dakota)
Detail of pin-jointed truss connection, approach span to San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Pin joints are used in older bridges
or situations where rotation has to be allowed for due to settlement,
or for construction purposes. (San Francisco Bay Area)
Single-story building. In a strongly seismic area, buildings have to resist
horizontal inertial forces caused by the horizontal components of
earthquake ground motions. This building has simple X-bracing in both
directions. (Larkspur, California)
Truss members as Bracing on Buildings
Merchant Exchange Building. The outside trusses of this building consist of X-braced 50-ft
square panels. The clear span between supporting columns is 100 ft, and the end of the building
(foreground) has a 50-ft overhang. (Chicago, Illinois)
ARCHES support their loads in
compression
Manhattan Bridge. Over New York's East River, this bridge was opened in 1909. One of the first
major bridges to use steel towers. It used more flexible towers and shallower stiffening truss than
preceding bridges. (New York City)
FRAMES are often used in buildings and are
composed of beams and columns that are either
pin or fixed connected.
One story rigid frame. Both the horizontal and vertical stability of this building
depend on the concrete frame on all four sides. (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Multistory Building: First City National Bank Building, Houston,
Texas. Concrete covered steel frame multi-story building. 3 bays x
9 bays in plan. (Houston, Texas)
Space Truss Frame
Public Auditorium.
Designed to serve both
as a convention hall and
as an open-air
amphitheater seating
13,600, the building has
a retractable dome
consisting of radial steel
ribs sheathed in stainless
steel. The dome has a
diameter of 417 ft. and a
rise of 109 ft.
(Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania)
FIXED-PINNED COLUMNS: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles Cultural Center. The
outside of this building consists of a continuous reinforced concrete frame, the bottom of
which can be seen in this slide, and consists of tapered columns pinned at the base. As the
top of the column is built into a stiff horizontal beam, the columns are effectively fixed at the
top and pinned at the base. (Los Angeles, California)
Support Connections