STRUCTURAL
ANALYSIS
Lecture1 Introduction
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lecture, students will be
able to:
• Define Structural Analysis.
• Know the historical background of
structural analysis.
• Visualize the phases of a typical structural
engineering project.
Structural Analysis
- the prediction of the
performance of a given
structure under prescribed loads
and/or other external effects,
such as support movement and
temperature changes.
Common Performance
Characteristics in Design of
Structures:
(1)Stresses or Stress Resultant
- axial forces, shear forces,
bending moments
(2) Deflections
(3) Support Reactions
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- Dawn of History : structures were
designed by trial and error using rule
of thumb based on past experience
- Mid 17th Century : engineers began
applying Mechanics (Math and
Science) in designing structures
Some of the Magnificent
Structures from Earlier Eras
Still Existing
- Egyptian Pyramids (about 300 BC)
- Greek Temples (500 – 200 BC)
- Roman Coliseum and Aqueducts
(200BC – AD200)
- Gothic Cathedrals (AD100 – 1500)
MAGNIFICENT
STRUCTURES
Egyptian Parthenon Temple of Poseidon
Pyramids
Roman Coliseum Roman Aqueducts Gothic Cathedral
CONTRIBUTORS
Galileo Galilei
- considered as the originator of the theory of
structures
The book: Two New Sciences
-published in 1638, discussed the analysis on
the failure of simple structures including cantilever
beams and the approximate predictions on the
strength of beams
- ushered a new era of structural engineering
in which analytical principles of mechanics and
strength of materials would have major influence on
the design of structures
CONTRIBUTORS
17th Century
Robert Hooke (1635-1730)
- developed the law of linear relationship
between the force and the deformation of materials
(Hooke’s Law)
Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727)
- formulated the laws of motion and
developed calculus (foundational mechanics)
CONTRIBUTORS
John Bernoulli (1667 – 1748)
- formulated the principle of virtual work
Leonhard Euler ( 1707-1783)
- developed the theory of buckling columns
Charles Agustin de Coulomb (1736-1806)
- presented the analysis of elastic bending of
beams
CONTRIBUTORS
18th Century
Claude Louis Marie Henri Navier (1785-1836)
- published a treatise on elastic behavior of
structures (1st textbook on modern theory of
strength of materials) in 1826.
B.P. Clapeyron (1799 – 1864)
- formulated the three-moment equation for
the analysis of continuous beams
CONTRIBUTORS
19th Century
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)
- presented the method of consistent
deformations and the law of reciprocal deflections
Otto Mohr (1835 – 1918)
- developed the conjugate beam method for
calculation of deflection and Mohr’s circle of stress
and strain
CONTRIBUTORS
Alberto Castigliano (1847 – 1884)
- formulated the theorem of least work
C.E. Greene (1842 – 1903)
- developed the area moment method
Heinrich Muller-Breslau (1851 – 1925)
- presented a principle for constructing an
influence line
CONTRIBUTORS
George A. Maney (1888 -1947)
- developed the slope deflection method (the
precursor of matrix stiffness method)
Hardy Cross (1885 – 1959)
- developed the moment distribution method in
1924 (most widely used by structural engineers between
1930 to 1970)
- provided significant understanding on the
behavior of statically indeterminate frames
- design of high rise buildings and other huge
structures would not have been possible without the
moment distribution method of analysis
1950’s
-development of the
revolutionized structural analysis using
computers
- computers could solve large
systems of simultaneous equations
that was usually performed in weeks
but now in seconds
Contributors on the current computer
method on structural analysis:
- J.H. Argyris - R.K. Livesley
- R.W. Clough - H.C. Martin
- S. Kelsey - M.T. Turner
- E.L. Wilson - O.C.
Zienkiewicz
Structural Engineering
- the science and art of planning, designing
and constructing safe and economical structures
that will serve their intended purposes
Note: Structural Analysis is an integral part of
any structural engineering project, its function
being the prediction of the performance of the
proposed structure.
PHASE OF A TYPICAL STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING PROJECT
PLANNING PHASE
PRELIMINARY STRUCTURAL
DESIGN
ESTIMATION OF LOADS
STRUCTURAL
ANALYSIS
Are the
safety and Revise
N
serviceabil Structural
O
ity Design
satisfied?
YES
CONSTRUCTION PHASE
