Structural Studies Introduction

Figure 1 The Iron Bridge1, Shropshire, England, 1779.

Learning the Vocabulary

WContents
1. Introduction
2. Units and Notation
3. Boundary Conditions
4. Loads

Princeton University
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering January 2019
Professor Maria E. Moreyra Garlock
Structural Studies Introduction

1. Introduction2
To understand the behavior of structures, and to communicate this understanding clearly,
engineers have developed a precise language. This document presents the rudiments of
this language, which enable an engineer to break down a complicated problem into simpler
elements. At first glance, this language may appear overly complicated. Once familiar,
though, it is both powerful and simple.

This document presents different types of structures which are explored from a technical
standpoint through structural studies. The same procedure is employed in all cases.
First, the actual structure is simplified into an idealized model. Then, where applicable,
the following areas are investigated: geometry, loads, reactions, internal forces, stresses,
efficiency and safety factors.

An actual structure is a complex system with numerous details, many of which are generally
unnecessary for an understanding of its basic behavior under loads. To proceed in a clear
and simple manner, the structure must be idealized (i.e. simplified).

In structural analysis, idealization usually means neglecting details that would have little
influence on the results. Only thorough and rigorous analyses account for such details.
Idealizations are slight alterations of circumstances —whether they are the structure’s
shape or its loads— that make the analysis more simplified and straightforward.

For example, when analyzing the Washington Monument (an obelisk), it is convenient to
idealize the column as simply a longitudinal line coincident with the axis of the monument.
In fact, during an analysis most structures’ elements are reduced to single lines or curves in
a one-dimensional representation.

2. Units and Notation

For consistency most calculations are presented in the English system. Thus the following
units are used in the structural studies:

Length: Inches [in], Feet [ft]

Force: Pounds [lbs], Kips [k]
Stress: Pounds per square inch [psi], Kips per square inch [ksi]

Note that a kip is a unit for measuring weight or force, which is equivalent to 1,000 pounds.

The assignment of variables in this course will most often coincide with common engineering
practice. For uniformity, however, a few basic rules have been followed. A lowercase
variable name shall usually correspond to a distributed force. Since it is distributed along
the length of a structure, its units will always be in pounds per foot or kips per foot. Likewise,
a capitalized variable name shall usually correspond to a concentrated force, and will have
units of pounds or kips.

A lowercase p is used to denote a uniform load with horizontal direction acting on a

structure, while the capitalized form, P, is used to label a concentrated horizontal force.
When such forces are in the vertical direction, we use q and Q, respectively.

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Structural Studies Introduction

Figure 2
Distributed uniform load of
length h, and its equivalent
concentrated force.

Figure 3
Distributed uniform load of
length h/2, and its equivalent
concentrated force.

Figure 2 shows a uniform wind load, p, acting horizontally along the side of a structure, and
its equivalent force P. The value of P is the product of p times the total length over which p
is applied. In Figure 2, for example, P = ph, while in Figure 3, P = p(h/2).

The equivalency is complete only after this force is applied at the centroid point of the load
distribution, namely the point representing the mean position of such distribution. Figure 3
(left) shows a uniform load only on the top half of the structure; its equivalent concentrated
load acts at the centroid of this load distribution, or 3/4 of the height, h.

3. Boundary Conditions
Figure 4 contains the four types of boundary conditions (supports) that apply to our analysis
of structures. We use a beam (Figure 4, top) and a cantilever (Figure 4, below) to illustrate
them. From left to right, they are the pin and the roller in the beam, and the fixed end and
the free end in the cantilever. Both the roller and the pin act as a ‘hinge’. Much like a door
hinge, this boundary condition has no resistance to rotation. When a beam is supported as
shown in Figure 4 (top), it is referred as a simply supported beam. Figure 4 (bottom) depicts
a cantilever beam, that is, fixed on one end and free on the other.

In a planar system, which will constitute the limits of our analysis, there are three possible
degrees of freedom: translation in the horizontal direction, translation in the vertical
direction, and rotation about an axis perpendicular to the plane at a given point. These
three degrees of freedom correspond to the three equations of static equilibrium that are
discussed in detail in Structural Studies: Basics of Structural Analysis.

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Structural Studies Introduction

Figure 4
Boundary conditions:
Top: simply supported beam
Below: contilever beam

Each of the boundary conditions in Table 1 represents varying degrees of freedom in a

planar system. In the cantilever, the fixed end has no degrees of freedom and the free
end has three. The pin supporting the beam allows only rotation, providing one degree of
freedom, while the roller allows for horizontal translation in addition to rotation, providing
two. The third column in Table 1 indicates how a support will react to a structure bound to
it by the type of support specified in column one. For example, the pin in Figure 3, top, can
only react to the beam it supports with a vertical and a horizontal force.

Table 1
Boundary conditions

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Structural Studies Introduction

4. Loads
The loads applied to a structure are the forces it must resist. They influence the size and
shape of a structure and can be classified as either dead or live loads. Dead loads are
permanent and include the weight of the building and incorporated machinery. A structure
must carry its own weight before it can support other loads. Live loads include people,
furniture, and natural forces such as wind and snow. Supporting and resisting these
temporary loads are the reason a structure is built: to carry people and their belongings
and shelter them from nature.

Loads can be uniformly distributed along a specified length or width of a structure (e.g p in
Figures 2 and 3). External loads can also be concentrated and idealized as located at just
one point on the structure, hence they are also referred to as point loads (e.g P in Figures
2 and 3). The functional notation q(x) or p(x) are used to express load distributions that
change along the width or height x of the structures where they act.

Loads on structures are represented by forces or moments. A force has a magnitude (i.e.
95 k), and a direction (i.e. north-east). Such a quantity is known mathematically as a vector.
The force will try to displace the structure along its direction.

A moment of a force is always defined relative to a given point, and it is needed to quantify
the ability of the force to produce a rotation or bending of the structure around the alluded
point. Its value is defined as the product of the magnitude of the forces times the distance
from the line of forces to the point of reference. The typical convention is to assign a negative
sign to a moment producing a clockwise rotation. Figure 5 illustrates the moment of force
R relative to point B. It is a positive moment since the force R creates a counterclockwise
rotation of the force R around point B.

Figure 5
Bending Moment M of force R
relative to point B

wSummary of Terms

P or Q point load lbs or k

p or q distributed load lbs/ft or k/ft
h height ft
L span length ft
V vertical reaction lbs or k
H horizontal reaction lbs or k
M bending moment lbs-ft or k-ft

Learning the Vocabulary — 5

Structural Studies Introduction

w Visual Glossary

Suspension Bridges

Cable Stayed Bridges

(Pylon)

Arched Bridges

Cross Walls

Tie Arch Bridges

(Hangers)

Learning the Vocabulary — 6

Structural Studies Introduction

w Visual Glossary

Beam Bridges

Simply Supported

Cantilever (idealized)

Continuous

Continuous Cantilever (idealized)

Haunched

Domes

meridians
hoops

tension ring

N’ϕ (force/length)

Learning the Vocabulary — 7

Structural Studies Introduction

w Visual Glossary

Horizontal Cantilever
horizontal cantilever system

tie

r
cantileve
backspan

tie

Hyperbolic Paraboloid Umbrella (Hypar)

tympan O
O B
A
A B
Y X

H
H
Z

Notes
1 Image obtained from Pixabay from author Ian Kensall (https://pixabay.com/en/ironbridge-architecture-river-
water-3155988/).

2 Parts of this Structural Study are based upon Structures and the Urban Environment, Structural Studies, by David
P, Billington and Robert Mark, 2004, with contributions from M. Dolores Gómez Pulido

Learning the Vocabulary — 8