CLASS 1:

REVIEW OF
STRUCTURAL
SYSTEMS AND
PROPERTIES IN
ARCHITECTURE
PROFESSOR RADHI MAJMUDAR

C H A L LE NGING T H E B O UNDA R IES O F

S T R U C T U R A L E N G I N E E R I N G I N N O V AT I O N
CONCEPTS TO BE COVERED
IN THIS CLASS
• Examine basic structural concepts such as
loads, assumptions, idealizations, statical
determinacy, trusses, shear, moment,
deflections, axially loaded members, arches,
cables, rigid frames, plates, slabs, thin shells.
• Review of structural engineering theory which
is based upon applied physical laws and
empirical knowledge of the performance of
different materials and geometries and its
application to materials and projects.
WHAT IS STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING?

WHAT IS A STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM?
Structural Engineering is the
branch of civil engineering that
deals with buildings, bridges. and
other structural systems. Structural
engineering is the analysis, design
and construction of structural
system.

Examples of structural systems

include bridges, buildings, dams,
transportation facilities, liquid or
gas storage facilities, industrial
factories and plants, sculptures,
power generation and transmission
units.
Loads and Structures

• In structural engineering
terms, a building can be
considered as a series of
individual interconnected
components whose
function is to transfer
externally applied loads
through a structural system
into the building’s
foundations.
STRUCTURAL
MEMBER’S
RESISTANCE
TO LOAD
To determine whether a
structural component is capable
of resisting the loads applied to
it, two major factors have to be
considered: the component’s size,
and the material from which it is
made. This lesson will examine
both the geometric and material
properties of structural
components and their
implications on structural
performance.
 IN SERVICE OR SERVICEABILITY
W hile a building’s components must be designed to
ensure that they are capable of withstanding the
load applied without collapsing, they must also be
designed to ensure they can perform their desired
purpose without wobbling, deflecting, or vibrating
to such an extent as to disturb the building’s
occupants or cause damage to fittings and
fixtures.
These criteria are often called “in service” or
“serviceability” states.
 STABILITY OF A
STRUCTURE

• Individual components are

combined to form structures
that vary from thin concrete
shells to steel-trussed bridges
to igloos to multistory high-rise
towers, and all must be
sufficiently stable to resist any
imposed lateral forces and
hence avoid “falling over.”
• Stability and the various load-
transfer mechanisms different
building types employ to
achieve stability are explained
 Structural engineering uses the principles of static
equilibrium to analyze load distribution. In this lesson the
basic concepts of static equilibrium are examined and
explained using simple models. STATICS

Statics in structural engineering theory

 F O R C E I S A
M E A S U R E O F
T H E
I N T E R A C T I O N
B E T W E E N T W O
B O D I E S .
M E A S U R E D I N
P O U N D S ( L B )
O R
K I L O P O U N D S
( K I P ) , W H E R E
1 , 0 0 0 L B = 1
K I P

• CONCEPTS AND
DEFINITIONS
• FORCE
 Load—A force acting on a
structural element. Measured in
pounds (lb) or kilopounds (kip),
where 1,000 lb = 1 kip.

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION

LOAD
 MASS—A
MEASURE OF
THE AMOUNT
O F M AT E R I A L
IN AN OBJECT
MEASURED IN
POUNDS (LB)
• CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION
MASS
 WEIGHT—A measure of the
amount of gravitational force
acting on an object. Measured
in pound mass (lb mass).

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION

WEIGHT
 S I G M A ∑

M A T H E M A T I C A L T E R M
M E A N I N G “ T H E S U M O F . ”

F O R E X A M P L E :
∑ F = F 1 + F 2 + F 3

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION

SIGMA
 WEIGHT—A MEASURE OF THE
AMOUNT OF GRAVITATIO NAL FORCE
A C T I N G O N A N O B J E C T. MEASURED
IN POUND MASS (LB MASS).

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITION

C O N V E RT I N G M A S S TO W E I G H T
NEWTON’S L AWS OF MOTION
S TAT I C A L D E T E R M I N A C Y
A N D S TA B I L I T Y
•
Components
of a Truss
A truss in architecture and engineering is a
supporting structure of framework
composed of beams, girders, or rods
commonly of steel or wood lying in a single
plane.
A truss usually takes the form of a triangle or
combination of triangles, since this design
ensures the greatest rigidity.
Trusses are used for large spans and heavy
loads, especially in bridges and roofs.
Their open construction is lighter
than, yet just as strong as, a beam
with a solid web between upper and lower
lines.
The members are known as tie-
beams, posts, rafters, and struts; the distance
over which the truss extends is called the
span.
The upper and lower lines or beams are
connected by web members.
DEFLECTION
Methods for Calculating
Forces in a Truss

s
•
CABLE
STRUCTURES
Cable structures can be
paradoxically simple and
complicated – both in their
geometry and their design and
analysis.
The typical uses are suspension
bridges, cable stayed bridges, long
span roof structures, inflatable
membrane roofs, elegant railings,
cable net glass curtain walls, and
others.
They are also used in concrete
structures in lieu of mild steel
reinforcing to achieve longer spans
with thinner members.
Cables typically consist of steel
wire strands grouped together to
form a larger strand or wire rope
CABLE THEORY
Structurally, a cable is a non-rigid member that takes only tension and
has no rigidity.
A cable sagging under its own weight takes a catenary (from the Latin
word for chain) shape.
When uniformly loaded, it is usually assumed to take on a parabolic
shape.
From these basic assumptions, equations can be derived that relate the
sag, tension and change in length.
CABLES AND
ARCHES
One curious aspect of the analysis
is that it is analogous to an arch in
pure compression and the basic
equations are essentially the same.
Often, closed form “classic”
solutions can be utilized in simple
analyses to obtain the tension and
sag. Since cables work in pure
tension, they are very “efficient”
structures, making them useful for
long spans such as suspension
bridges. Cable systems can also
behave non-linearly, sometimes
warranting a more advanced
nonlinear analysis. This is
particularly true during the erection
of cable systems.
 RIGID FRAMES
A rigid frame in structural engineering is the load-resisting skeleton constructed
with straight or curved members interconnected by mostly rigid connections
which resist movements induced at the joints of members. Its members can take
bending moment, shear, and axial loads.
The two common assumptions as to the behavior of a building frame are (1) that
its beams are free to rotate at their connections or (2) that its members are so
connected that the angles they make with each other do not change under load.
Frameworks with connections of intermediate stiffness will be intermediate
between these two extremes. Frameworks with connections of intermediate
stiffness are commonly called semirigid frames. The AISC specifications recognize
three basic frame types: Rigid Frame, Simple Frame, and Partially Restrained
Frame.
HINGED FRAME, RIGID FRAME, POST & BEAM STRUCTURE
REVIEW SHELL STRUCTURES
P O W E R P O I N T/ P A P E R

“Shell structures”
by Chris J K Williams
University of Bath
Reinforced Concrete Slabs
Reinforced Concrete Slabs
Folded Plate Structures