Structural Analysis Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the Structural Analysis lecture.

Structure

A system of connected parts used to support a load.

Tie Rods

Structural members pointed to a tensile force, often slender and chosen from rods, bars, angels or channels.

Beams

Usually straight horizontal members used primarily to carry vertical loads. Materials include steel, aluminum, concrete, and timber.

Columns

Members that generally are vertical and resist axial compressive loads. Tubes and wide-flange cross sections are normally used for metal columns. Circular and square cross sections with reinforcing rods are used for concrete columns.

Truss

A span of a structure which required being large and its depth is not an important criterion for design and consist of slender element with triangular fashion arrangement and are supported compression and tension forces in the members.

Cables

Structures that are usually flexible and carry their loads in tension and can be used to span long distances (greater than 46 m).

Arches

Rigid and reverse curvature forms which can achieve compression strength and are regularly used in bridge structures, dome roofs, and for opening in masonry walls.

Frames

Composed of beams and columns that are either pin or fixed connected and often used in buildings.

Surface Structure

Made from rigid materials such as reinforced concrete, folded plates, cylinders, or hyperbolic paraboloids, and is referred to as thin plates or shells that act like cables or arches which support tension or compression loads and very little bending.

Structural Design

Required to give consideration to both materials and load uncertainties.

Structural Analysis

A process in determining the reaction of the structure under the specified loads or actions.

Idealization of Structures

Idealizing model from actual structure in line diagram in order to perform structural analysis of the members, usually reducing from 3 dimensional to 2 dimensional.

Kinematics Unstable

Partial Constraints where the Number of reaction at the support or number of the member is less than the minimum requirement.

Geometry Unstable

Improper Constraints where the location or the arrangement of the support or member is improper.

Stress

Force divided by cross-sectional Area (  = F / A).

Strain

Change in length divided by original length (  = l / lo ).

Shear Stress

Force applied parallel to upper and lower faces each having area A0.

Shear Strain

Tan of strain angle (  = tan ).

Modulus of Elasticity (Young's Modulus)

Measure of how a material or structure will deform and strain when placed under stress; the ratio of stress to strain (E = / ).

Moment of Inertia

A property which measures the distribution of area around a particular axis of a cross section, and is an important factor in its resistance to bending.