TYPES OF STRUCTURES AND LOADS

A structure refers to a system of connected parts used to support a load. Important

examples related to civil engineering include buildings, bridges, and towers.

When designing a structure to serve a specified function for public use, the engineer
must account for its safety, aesthetics, and serviceability, while taking into
consideration economic and environmental constraints. This design process is both
creative and technical and requires a fundamental knowledge of material properties
and the laws of mechanics which govern material response. Once a preliminary
design of a structure is proposed, the structure must then be analyzed to ensure that
it has its required stiffness and strength. To analyze a structure properly, certain
idealizations must be made as to how the members are supported and connected
together. The loadings are determined from codes and local specifications, and the
forces in the members and their displacements are found using the theory of
structural analysis.
CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURES

It is important for a structural engineer to recognize the various types of elements

composing a structure and to be able to classify structures as to their form and
function. Some of the more common elements from which structures are composed
are as follows.

TIE RODS. Structural members subjected to a

tensile force are often referred to as tie rods or
bracing struts. Due to the nature of this load, these
members are rather slender, and are often chosen
from rods, bars, angles, or channels.

BEAMS. Beams are usually straight

horizontal members used primarily to
carry vertical loads. Quite often they are
classified according to the way they are
supported, as indicated in Fig. 1– 2. In
particular, when the cross section varies
the beam is referred to as tapered. Beam
cross sections may also be “built up” by
adding plates to their top and bottom.
Beams are primarily designed to resist
bending moment.

COLUMNS. Members that are generally vertical and

resist axial compressive loads are referred to as
columns. Tubes and wide flange cross sections are
often used for metal columns, and circular and square
cross sections with reinforcing rods are used for those
made of concrete.

Occasionally, columns are subjected to both an axial

load and a bending moment as shown in the figure.
These members are referred to as beam columns.
TYPES OF STRUCTURES
The combination of structural elements and the materials from which they are
composed is referred to as a structural system. Each system is constructed of one or
more of four basic types of structures. Ranked in order of complexity of their force
analysis, they are as follows.

TRUSSES. When the span of a structure is required to be large and its depth is not
an important criterion for design, a truss may be selected. Trusses consist of slender
elements, usually arranged in triangular fashion. Planar trusses are composed of
members that lie in the same plane and are frequently used for bridge and roof
support, whereas space trusses have members extending in three dimensions and
are suitable for derricks and towers.

CABLES AND ARCHES. Two other forms of structures used to span long distances
are the cable and the arch. Cables are usually flexible and carry their loads in
tension. They are commonly used to support bridges and building roofs. When used
for these purposes, the cable has an advantage over the beam and the truss,
especially for spans that are greater than 150 ft.
The arch achieves its strength in compression, since it has a reverse curvature to
that of the cable. The arch must be rigid, however, in order to maintain its shape.
Arches are frequently used in bridge structures, dome roofs, and for openings in
masonry walls.

FRAMES. Frames are often used in buildings and are composed of beams and
columns that are either pin or fixed connected. Like trusses, frames extend in two or
three dimensions. The loading on a frame causes bending of its members, and if it
has rigid joint connections, this structure is generally “indeterminate” from a
standpoint of analysis. The strength of such a frame is derived from the moment
interactions between the beams and the columns at the rigid joints.
LOADS
Once the dimensional requirements for a structure have been defined, it becomes
necessary to determine the loads the structure must support. For example, high-rise
structures must endure large lateral loadings caused by wind, and so shear walls
and tubular frame systems are selected, whereas buildings located in areas prone to
earthquakes must be designed having ductile frames and connections.

Once the structural form has been determined, the actual design begins with those
elements that are subjected to the primary loads the structure is intended to carry,
and proceeds in sequence to the various supporting members until the foundation is
reached. Thus, a building floor slab would be designed first, followed by the
supporting beams, columns, and last, the foundation footings. In order to design a
structure, it is therefore necessary to first specify the loads that act on it.

The design loading for a structure is often specified in codes. In general, the
structural engineer works with two types of codes: general building codes and design
codes. General building codes specify the requirements of governmental bodies for
minimum design loads on structures and minimum standards for construction.
Design codes provide detailed technical standards and are used to establish the
requirements for the actual structural design.

DEAD LOADS. Dead loads consist of the weights of the various structural members
and the weights of any objects that are permanently attached to the structure.
Hence, for a building, the dead loads include the weights of the columns, beams,
and girders, the floor slab, roofing, walls, windows, plumbing, electrical fixtures, and
other miscellaneous attachments.

LIVE LOADS. Live Loads can vary both in their magnitude and location. They may
be caused by the weights of objects temporarily placed on a structure, moving
vehicles, or natural forces. The minimum live loads specified in codes are
determined from studying the history of their effects on existing structures. Usually,
these loads include additional protection against excessive deflection or sudden
overload.

Various types of live loads:

1) Building Loads 5) Wind Loads
2) Highway Bridge Loads 6) Snow Loads
3) Railroad Bridge Loads 7) Earthquake Loads
4) Impact Loads 8) Hydrostatic and Soil Pressure

ANALYSIS OF STATICALLY DETERMINATE STRUCTURES

SUPPORT CONNECTIONS. Structural members are joined together in various ways

depending on the intent of the designer. The three types of joints most often
specified are the pin connection, the roller support, and the fixed joint. A pin-
connected joint and a roller support allow some freedom for slight rotation, whereas
a fixed joint allows no relative rotation between the connected members and is
consequently more expensive to fabricate.
EQUATIONS OF EQUILIBRIUM
It may be recalled from statics that a structure or one of its members is in equilibrium
when it maintains a balance of force and moment. In general, this requires that the
force and moment equations of equilibrium be satisfied along three independent
axes, namely,
Whenever these equations are applied, it is first necessary to draw a free-body
diagram of the structure or its members. If a member is selected, it must be isolated
from its supports and surroundings and its outlined shape drawn. All the forces and
couple moments must be shown that act on the member.

DETERMINACY AND STABILITY

DETERMINACY. The equilibrium equations provide both the necessary and

sufficient conditions for equilibrium. When all the forces in a structure can be
determined strictly from these equations, the structure is referred to as statically
determinate. Structures having more unknown forces than available equilibrium
equations are called statically indeterminate.

STABILITY. To ensure the equilibrium of a structure or its members, it is not only

necessary to satisfy the equations of equilibrium, but the members must also be
properly held or constrained by their supports.

In general, then, a structure will be geometrically unstable—that is, it will move

slightly or collapse—if there are fewer reactive forces than equations of equilibrium;
or if there are enough reactions, instability will occur if the lines of action of the
reactive forces intersect at a common point or are parallel to one another. If the
structure is unstable, it does not matter if it is statically determinate or indeterminate.

DETERMINACY OF STRUCTURES

BEAMS
Criteria: Let r denote the number of reaction elements and c the number of equations
of condition ( c = 1 for a hinge; c = 2 for a roller; c = 0 for a beam without internal
connection).

1. If r < c + 3, the beam is unstable

2. If r = c + 3, the beam is determinate, no geometric instability is involved
3. If r > c + 3, the beam is statically indeterminate
TRUSSES
Criteria: If we let b denote the number of bars and r the number of reaction
components, the total number of unknown elements of the entire system is b + r. For
a truss having j joints, each joint yields two equilibrium equation, ∑Fx=0 and ∑Fy=0.
Form this, a total of 2j independent equations involving (b + r) unknowns is obtained.

1) If b + r < 2j, the system is unstable

2) If b + r = 2j, the system is determinate provided that it is also stable
3) If b + r > 2j, the system is statically indeterminate
RIGID FRAMES
Criteria: There are three independent, internal, unknown elements for each member
in a frame. If we let b denote the total number of members and r the reaction
elements, then the total number of independent unknowns in a rigid frame is (3b + r).
A rigid joint is capable of resisting moments; therefore, each joint must satisfy three
equilibrium equations. Thus, the total number of independent equilibrium equations
is equal to 3j.

1) If 3b + r < 3j + c, the frame is unstable

2) If 3b + r = 3j + c, the frame is statically determinate provided that it is
stable
3) If 3b + r > 3j + c, the frame is statically indeterminate
PRACTICE PROBLEMS:
Classify each of the structures shown as externally unstable, statically determinate,
or statically indeterminate. If the structure is statically indeterminate externally, then
determine the degree of external indeterminacy.
Beam r c r _ c+3 Remarks

Classify each of the plane trusses shown as unstable, statically determinate, or

statically indeterminate. If the truss is statically indeterminate, then determine the
degree of static indeterminacy.
Truss b r j b+r_2j Remarks
Classify each of the plane frames shown as unstable, statically determinate, or
statically indeterminate. If statically indeterminate, then determine the degree of static
indeterminacy.
Frames b r j c 3b+r_3j+ Remarks
c