SUMMARY: Unit 5

This unit tell us about structures and mechanisms.

The first we need to know is that a structure is a collection of
elements arranged in a optimum way to support a body or an object.
The structure of an object is the distribution of its essential parts.
Is what gives shape to the object. When we design a structure, we
need to match maximum strength with minimum amount of material.
This will make the construction more economical and lightweight.
There are four tipes of structures:
Mass structures. These are solid, heavy and very sturdy structures.
Frame structures. These structures are formed by columns that act
as supporting elements. Example: the structure of a building.
Truss structures. These structures are composed of bars that form
triangles. They are lightweight and sturdy. Examples: electricity
pylons.
Suspended structures. These are held in place by cables and
suspenders that are attached to it. Example: suspension bridges.
There are some things that a body have to support:
Force: is an influence that can deform a body or chage its movement.
Can also produce movement in a body at rest.
Stress: is the physical demand that a body must deal with when
one or more external forces are applied to it.
Strength: is its ability to withstand external forces without breaking.
To serve its purpose, a structure needs to be strong. It must be able
to support its own weight and external loads.
There are five basic stresses that a body have to support:
Compression: is caused by forces acting on a body to flatten it or
reduce its length or thickness. It happens in structures that need to
support weights.
Tension: is caused by forces acting on a body to stretch it.

Bending: is caused by forces acting on an element to curve or bend.

Its done by applying force on the centre while the two ends are being
supported.
Shear: is caused by two equal forces applied in opposite directions.
These actions act on lines of action close to each other. If its not
possible do twist or bend, this stress will cut the material.
Torsion: is caused by forces acting on a body to twist it. Just like
when people hold a wet towel and twist it.
One characteristic of a structure is that ithave to be be strong, so it
must be rigid, have equilibrium and be stable.
Rigidity: if the material doesnt change its shape when force is applied
to it, its a rigid material. If it does change, we call it deformable.
Equilibrium: When a body remains stationary, it means that this body
is in equilibrium. There are two types of equilibrium: stable and
unstable.
When a force is applied to a body in unstable equilibrium, it causes
the body to move.
Stability: a body is in stable equilibrium if it doesnt move when a
force is applied to it.
The strength of a structure depends on:

The types of forces applied and the points where they are
applied.
The shape of the structure and the elements that form it, as
well as the material that they are made from.

To obtain strong and stable structures you need to:

Make them more stable.

Make them more rigid.

We say that a structure is stable when it remains in equilibrium

even when a force is applied to it.
Stability is a key condition of structures because they must not fall,
topple or collapse when a force acts on them.
The centre of gravity is the point where the weight of an object
is considered to be concentrated.

The stability of a structure depends on the position of its centre of

gravity.
To make and structure more stable we can:

Wide the base of the structure

Put the centre of gravity in a low point

Make a good foundation for the structure

Support the structure with stay cables

To make a structure more rigid, we can add some elements to make

it stronger, like diagonal bars, braces and stays.

Trussing is a method used to make weak structures to be. It

works because the triangle is the only figure that cannot be
deformed. Usually, the structures that have a triangular shape are
rigid.
By other side, when a force is applied to a quadrilateral structure, it
can be deformed because it is not very rigid. We can make it rigid by
adding a diagonal bar to the polygon, and dividing the figure into
two triangles, we triangulate the structure.

A brace is a part that is positioned diagonally between two bars

to connect them and to form a right angle. It is usually used to
reinforce and join together the elements of a structure.

Stay cables are used to help support the tensile stresses in

other components of a structure by distributing the weight to the
supports in where they are anchored. They are normally used in
suspended structures.

Sections
The
other
strengthening
elements
are
known
as beams
and columns. If these elements have a certain shape or cross-section
(instead of a solid rectangular cross-section), they can be strong but
they are also lighter.