CVE 313 - STRUCTURAL MECHANICS

by

Engr. Sanusi, Abdulganiyu

Department of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
sanisuabdulganiyu@nileuniversity.edu.ng
 CVE 313: Structural Mechanics (3 Credits)

• Course Synopsis
Analysis of Determinate Structures, Beams, Trusses; Structure Theorem.
Graphical Methods: Application to Simple Determinate Trusses. Williot
Mohr Diagram. Deflection of Statically Determinate Structures. Unit
Load, Moment Area Methods, Strain Energy Methods. Introduction to
Statically Indeterminate Structures
 Course Aim and Objective

Aim:

•The aim of this course is to expose the students to various methods of

structural analysis, for determinate and indeterminate structures.

Objectives are;
• To teach students how to analyze determinate structures such as beams and trusses.
• To teach students the use of graphical method for the analysis of beams and trusses.
• To expose students the use of Williot Mohr diagram in structural analysis.
• To teach students how to obtain deflection in statically determinate structures.
• To expose students to the use of unit load, moment area and energy methods for the
calculation of deflections in beams and frames.
• To introduce students to the idea of indeterminate structures.
 Expected Learning Outcome

At the end of the course;

• Students should be able to analyze all types of determinate structures such as beams
and trusses.

• Students should be able t o determine deflections in all statically determinate

structures.

• Students should know how to calculate deflections in beams and frames using unit
load, moment area and strain energy methods.

• Students should possess in-depth knowledge of determinate structures and basic

understanding of indeterminate structures.
 Text Books
• B. C. Punmia etal. (2017). Theory of Structures, 13th Edition, LAXMI Publicatios
(P) Ltd.

• M. L. Gambhir (2011). Fundamentals of Structural Mechanics and Analysis, PHI

Learning Private Limited, New Delhi.

• R. C. Hibbelar (2006). Structural Analysis, 6th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, New
Jersey.

• A. Dankov (1983). Structural Mechanics, 4th Edition, Mir Publishing, Mosco.

• B. Bedenik and Colin Besant (1999). Analysis of Engineering Structures, Horwood

Publishing Limited.

• H. B. Harrison (1980). Structural Analysis and Design, Pergamon Press, New York.
 Statically Determinate Structures
• A structural system is generally called structure is referred to as assembly of members
such as cables, bars arches etc., with a primary purpose to resist applied loads or forces
and transmit it to the foundation.

Structural Engineering is a part of human endeavor established long time ago to make life
easier for the humanity. This branch of engineering consists of planning, designing, and
construction of safe, aesthetic and economic structures which should serve it’s intended
purpose.

• For structural designing to take place, structural analysis is a priority of any structural
engineering project which includes the prediction of a given structures performance under
a considerable loading and support system. The desired attributes for structural analysis
are condition of equilibrium, compatibility, and force displacement relations of the
materials.
 Statically Determinate Structures
• Some of the Civil Engineering structures include buildings, bridges, towers and
dams etc.

• Other branches of engineering that make use of structures include ship, aircraft
frames, tanks, pressure vessels, mechanical systems and electrical supporting
structures.

• In designing a structure for specific function, the engineer must account for safety,
aesthetic and serviceability, while taking into consideration economic and
environmental constraint.

•The design process is both creative and technical and requires a fundamental
knowledge of material properties and mechanics which govern material response.

•Once a preliminary design of structure is proposed, the structure must be analyzed to

ensure that it has required strength and rigidity.
 Statically Determinate Structures

•To analyze a structure properly, certain idealization 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.
 Loads Acting on Structures
• A properly designed structures should be able to withstand all the load it is designed
for during its service life span. This load arise in variety of ways and depend
generally upon the purpose the structures has been built.

• Basically, common load encounter in civil engineering structures three (3) which are
dead load, live load and environmental load.

• Dead loads are gravity loads generated from the self-weight of the structures and
permanent loads attached to it throughout it life time.

• Live loads are gravity loads due to people and utilities like furniture, floor
coverings etc.

• Environmental loads are gravity load caused by the environmental effects, such as
temperature, wind, earthquake, snow etc.
 Loads Acting on Structures
• Some loads may act on structures simultaneously, when estimating structural loads,
structure is designed for the most unfavorable combination of loads that is likely to
occur to it during service time.

Generally, structural loads could be static or dynamic or combination of the two in

nature.
 Basic Structural Elements and Systems
• Commonly rigid elements are; beams, strut or column, and arches.

• Flexible structural elements are; cables and suspenders.

• However, the aforementioned elements are used to generate other type of structures (trusses,
frames, girds, geodesic domes, cablenets, etc.

Bending element or beam are generally referred to as horizontal structural elements that are
used extensively to support loads transversely to their length and transfer them to the
supporting vertical column or other supports. Since beam bend under transverse load, they
are said to carry bending loads. When structural beam is loaded, shear stress and bending
moment along the beam will be generated. Although, beam could be straight or curved
members supported on two or more supports. A loaded straight beam supported by two
support is shown in Fig. 1.

•When the cross-section of the beam varies, the beam is referred to as tapered or haundred. It
cross-sections may also be “built up” by adding plates to their top and bottom. Beams can be
of concrete, steel or timber.
 Basic Structural Elements and Systems
Beam could be simply supported
beam, Continuous beam, or
cantilever beam

Fig 1: Bridge girder or beam

Column

•Columns are structural members that are usually vertical and resist axial compressive
loads.

•Sometimes they resist axial loads in addition to twist or bending moments.

•Columns could generally be square, rectangular or circular in cross-section.

 Basic Structural Elements and Systems
Trusses

• Are structures used when the span of the structure is large and the its depth is not an
important criterion in design. Trusses consist of slender elements usually arranged in triangular
fashion.

• Planar trusses are composed of members that lie in the same plane are frequently used for
bridge and roof support, whereas space trusses have members extending in three dimensions
and are suitable for derricks and towers.
Space
Planar
Trusses
Trusses

Cables

•Cables are flexible structural members that carries their loads in tension. Fig.2 presents a
cable under tension load in a suspended bridge.
 Basic Structural Elements and Systems

Fig 2: Side elevation of a

suspended bridge

Arches structures are curved structural member spanning two which carries it’s load
to the supported. Arch structures predominantly support axial compression.
Therefore, arch is constructed from materials that has higher compressive strength but
low tensile strength. Arch is classified by it’s support condition, such as two-hinged
or three-hinged.

Fig 3: Arches supporting

bridges decks.
 Basic Structural Elements and Systems
Frames structures are structural beams and columns assemble together by rigid
joints. In a frame structure, both beams and columns experiences bending when load
is applied, hence subjected to bending actions.

Fig 4: Beams and

columns in structures

Portal Frames structures shown in Fig. 5(a) and (b) are commonly used in building
construction. The arrangement 5 (a) frequently forms the basic unit in a multi-
storeyed, multi-bay buildings, whereas the frame shown in Fig. 5(b) is used in single-
storeyed multi-bay unit building such as warehouses and factories.

• Generally, frames are easy to erect. Frames frequently needs to be reinforced by

bracing or share walls against large lateral forces produced by wind, earthquake aor
seismic loads.
 Basic Structural Elements and Systems

Fig 5: Portal frame and single

storeyed multi-bay factory building

Basic Structures Requirements

1. Overall stability
2. Internal or relational stability
3. Strength and stiffness of constituent elements
 Internal Stresses Resultants
Internal forces in structures ae generated as a result of various type of loading system combinations
(dead, live and/or environmental loads) that may be acting on structures. The internal stresses and
strains includes;
• Tension forces as a result of pulling (stress = force/area)
• Compression forces as a result of buckling or crushing. Compression strength of structures
decreases with increase in length.
• Bending makes fibres on one side of the structural member to elongate (extend) and hence in
tension zone while the fibres on the other side is in compression zone. Thus, tension and
compression are generated at the same cross-sectional area.
• Shear is the effect of opposite forces that causes one part of the member to slide with respect to
the adjacent part. Beam commonly experience shear stresses.
• Torsion forces is a twisting action that develop both tension and compression in structural
members.
• Bearing stresses is experience at the interface of two structural members when forces are
transfer from one to the other.
• Deflection is usually occur as a result of loads effect acting structural members. It is limited to
allowable values.
 Structural Support System
Structural supports are; roller or sliding, hinged or pinned and fixed support

• Roller or Sliding support

Hinged or pinned support

• Fixed support
 Structural Supports and Reactions
Displacement and forces at different types of support.
 Type of Structural Beams
Structural beam type is determined based of the type of support it is resting on as shown below.
 Statically Determinate and Indeterminate Structures

Structure is said to be determinate if it can be resolved or analyse using static equilibrium equation,
while statically indeterminate structures are structure that static equilibrium equation can not used to
analyse. See the Figure below.

Fig 6: (a) Statically determinate; (b) Externally indeterminate; (c) Internally indeterminate