Department of Civil Engineering.

EE 101 Introduction to Engineering

Structural Engineering
Structures
The word structure describes much of what is seen in nature: living plants, from ferns to the
most rugged of trees all posses a structural form all consistent with their needs and which
supports their lives. Insects and animals play a more active role in building the structures that
they need or that support their activities. Some examples are: A delicate spider web, a complex
mole or termite hill, a beaver’s dam – all built more from instinct than from design.

Humans too are builders of designed structures conceived with a purpose. From a simple tree
conveniently felled across a gully/chasm to be used as a bridge by accident to the most complex
and advanced structures of today. Structural engineering was born when humans were able to
conceive, then design, and finally construct their structures. It has grown to meet the ever
increasing demands of humanity – whether real or cosmetic (related to aesthetics). Most bridges
and building structures fall between these two extremes – they have a specific function and yet
are designed in harmony with the aesthetic sensitivities of Humanity.

Structural Engineering
Includes Structural Design – associated with either science or engineering.
 Science – involves investigation of what exists.
 Engineering – engages in synthesis to form that which does not exist.

Engineering - requires the intelligent application of scientific principles but the creative nature of
the discipline makes it an art.
Structural Engineering – conception, design and construction of the structural systems needed to
support human activities. Mostly associated with Civil Engineering but it also interfaces with
other engineering disciplines that require structural systems or components in meeting its
objectives. Specific projects involve Bridges, buildings, dams, transportation facilities, liquid or
gas storage and transmission facilities, industrial factories, vehicular frames (trailers), etc.

Brief History
Development of the theories of mechanics of materials and structural analysis, formulation of
computational techniques necessary for solving the governing equations of these theories;
introduction of new materials; creation of new structural forms; invention of new construction
techniques. These required the analytic talents of scientists, mathematicians and engineers, and
the daring and artistic skills of the entrepreneur or builder. So a combination of different
disciplines as the needs arose of each area sparked the development of the different areas.

Engineering Design Process – much more than just Structural design

Entire process involves:
Conceptual stage – Planning stage for a special purpose - identify and assess needs.
Preliminary Stage – Several alternatives are investigated – preliminary designs –
relative economies (savings) of the alternatives.
Load paths are identified – how the applied loads are transferred from
point of application to the foundations.
Selection stage – Decision to proceed with the best option (or reject all and back to
the drawing board).
Final Design Stage – Proceed with greater care from this point.
  Loads are determined with greater accuracy and combinations considered.
 Structural analysis carried out with great precision (approximations from the prelim stage
is eliminated).
 Each member is proportioned and connections are detailed to ensure structure will behave
in accordance with assumptions made in the structural analysis.
 Results of the final design are capsuled in a set of complete design drawings which give a
graphic portrayal of the details of the entire system.
 Other Documents are also prepared:
o Tender documents – General conditions and Particular Conditions
o Specifications – Material and quality of workmanship, Codes to be employed, etc.
Tendering Stage
Tenders are called and Contract for construction is awarded after assessment of bids.

Construction stage – Brings into existence that which was described in the final stage. The
completed documents of the final design stage serve as the basis for bidding by prospective
building contractors. The successful bidder will normally prepare additional drawings related to
fabrication of the structure. The role of the structural engineer is vital and very challenging at
this stage. The contractor’s own structural engineer must liaise with those who designed the
structure – otherwise failure (collapse) of the structure might occur.

Structural Analysis – Process by which the structural engineer determines the response of the
structure to specified loads or actions. The response is usually measured by establishing the
forces and deformations throughout the structure.

Structural Form – Form that the structure takes depends on many considerations.
 Functional requirements narrow the possible forms.
 Other factors: aesthetic requirements; foundation conditions; availability of materials;
and, economic limitations.

Structural forms available

1. Tension and Compression structures – members are subject to pure tension (pull) or
compression (pressure). Highly efficient material usage (tension members - constant
stress throughout the member, while compression members may buckle thus limiting
allowable stresses).
Examples: Suspension Bridge Cables – Pure Tension forces only
Bridge Arch – Pure Compression forces only.

2. Flexural Beam and Frame structures

Flexural member – subjected to bending action. Bending induces compression on one
side of the element and tension on the other side. Transverse shear may also be present.
Beams are the simplest flexural members. Flexural structures are from a combination of
Beam and column structures – some carry pure bending (beams) while others carry a
combination compression and bending (beam-columns).

3. Surface Structures
Shells, domes, plates, folded plates

4. Structures are represented by models in the structural analysis. This simplifies the
work as much of the details of individual members are ignored, e.g. self-weight and
material type is not considered. The structure is represented by lines.
Loading Conditions
1. Dead Load – Permanent Loads or Long term loads. Easy to determine or estimate
Examples: Self weight of the structure, permanent plant items, office furniture

2. Live Load – Depends on the function of the structure, and may not be so easy to estimate.

3. Wind Load – Dynamic Pressure on the structure that can be modeled as static loading.

4. Earthquake load – The displacement of the foundation of a structure results in forces on the
members of a structure. Also, modeled as static loadings.

5. Other loads – Temperature (increase (sun) or decrease (shade)) and lack of fit (forced fitting
of members when they are manufactured too short or too long pre-loads members of a structure
prior to the application of the actual loadings).

Materials used in Construction

The three most common Civil Engineering materials are:

1. Timber
 Obtained direct from the forests and converted to either
 sawn timber (lumber) in various sizes, in saw mills, or,
 whole logs – round poles

 Need to be dried in the process called seasoning – free water is eliminated either by sun-
drying or under controlled conditions (slower process).
 Contains defects, the most common being knots (remains of old branches overtaken by
the growth process)
 Allowable strength is obtained by testing small clear specimens that are free of knots and
other defects) then modified to take into account the defects for the full sized timber
pieces, and the conditions in service (applications)
 Behaviour in compression is different from behaviour in tension

2. Steel
 Steel is obtained from overseas in different sections or shapes.
 Used as
o Beams – bending action members; laterally loaded
o columns (struts) – compression action members; directly, axially; normally loaded
o Ties – tension action members – same as columns but pulled instead.
 Two types of steel used are:
o Hot-rolled steel sections – formed from molten metal (Iron, plus other ingredients,
mostly Carbon) and used as received from the factory. Many shapes can be
formed in this way.
o Cold formed sections – formed from flat sheets of iron, example, galvanized iron
sheets formed into gutters, down pipes.
 Has the same strength characteristics both in tension and compression.

3. Concrete.
 A composite of mixtures formed from cements, water, and aggregates. Aggregates make
up 70 – 80% of the volume.
o Aggregates – Coarse aggregates (gravels) and fine aggregates (sand) in pre-
determined proportions – mix design.
o Water – Good clean water is necessary for concrete production.
 o Cement – different types are available for different purposes.

 Hydration – Setting and hardening of the concrete occurs by a chemical reaction called
hydration.
o After mixing of the constituents, the fluidity of the mixture gradually disappears
as the concrete hardens and strengthens. Initial set takes between 2 – 4 hours after
which the concrete hardens at a faster rate. Concrete structures can normally be
used at any time after the initial set period but must be tested (by way of cylinder
tests) to verify the strength at the time. It normally reaches full strength or
maturity after 28 days.
 Curing – The process of letting the concrete harden and strengthen under controlled
conditions. This ensures that the concrete hardens uniformly throughout to avoid
differential stresses, which may lead to pre-mature cracking.

 Fresh and early age properties of concrete – freshly made concrete should have the
following properties:

1. Fluidity – capable of being handled and flowing into the form work, and
around reinforcement.
2. Compactability – all entrapped air should be capable of being removed by
compacting such as vibrators.
3. Stability or cohesiveness – concrete remains as a homogeneous uniform mass.

The first two properties are called Workability.

Strength properties of Concrete

Concrete by itself is very good at resisting compressive (compression) forces but is almost
useless against tensile (tension) forces. In locations where concrete is subjected to tensile forces
steel reinforcing bars are used to provide resistance to these tensile forces.

Testing of Engineering Materials

All materials used in construction must be tested to confirm their suitability for use in structures.
The tests are done to international standards. The most common tests are:

1. Tensile tests – the specimen is stretched in a tensile testing machine until it fails. Tensile
stress or strength is calculated. Also tensile strain – how much it can stretch under
loading.
2. Compression tests - the specimen is pressed in a compression testing machine until it fails.
Failure occurs when the material is either ‘crushed’ or it ‘buckles’ (lateral deflection in
bending). Compressive strength is calculated from the maximum load applied.
3. Bending Tests – the specimen is subjected to lateral loading until failure. Bending
strength is calculated from the maximum load applied.
4. Torsion tests – twisting of specimen for angle of twist and strain. Shearing stress is
determined from the loading to failure.
5. Shear tests – Most failures occur due to shearing failure of materials. The shear strength of a
material may be determined from a direct shear test. (Refer to 4, above).

Structural Engineers use the results from these tests to assist and guide them in the design
structures – allocation or proportioning of forces to different elements of the structure.