Introduction Part I

Figure 1: The Iron Bridge, Shropshire, England, 1779. (Photo credit: Flickr by Bs0u10e0)

To understand the behavior of structures,

and to communicate this understanding
clearly, engineers have developed a
precise language. This course 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. In this first part, various
concepts such as idealized models,
boundary
conditions,
loads,
and
reactions will be explored.
Structural Analyses
This course 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.
Units
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
1000 pounds.
Notation
The assignment of variables in this course
will most often coincide with common
engineering practice. For uniformity,

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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.

(/)

()

/2

()

(/)

/2

()

/4

()
Figure 2: Distributed uniform loads and their
equivalent concentrated forces

When such forces are in the vertical

direction, we use q and Q, respectively.
Figure 1a 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 2a, for example, P= p h, while
in Figure 2b, 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 1b 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
of the height, h.
The Idealized Model
An actual structure is a complex system
with numerous details that 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
structures 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.
Boundary Conditions
Figure 3 contains the four types of
boundary conditions (supports) that
apply to our analysis of structures. We
use a beam (Figure 3a) and a cantilever
(Figure 3b) 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

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the pin act as a hinge. Much like a

door hinge, this boundary condition has
no resistance to rotation.
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 the Reactions
section.

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.
Table 1: Boundary Conditions
Degrees
Boundary
Reactions
of
Condition
freedom
0
Horizontal Reaction
(H), Vertical
Fixed
Reaction (V),
Moment (M)

Figure 3: Boundary Conditions for a) a beam,

and b) a cantilever

Pinned

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 3a can
only react to the beam it supports with a
vertical and a horizontal force.

Roller

Horizontal reaction
(H), Vertical
reaction (V)

Free

Vertical Reaction (V)

3

No reactions possible

Loads can be uniformly distributed

along a specified length or width of a
structure. 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
(refer to Figure 2). The functional
notation q(x) (or p(x)) is used to express
load distributions that change along the
width or height x of the structures where
they act.

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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 4 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.

reactions in the structure so that it is in

equilibrium and not in motion (or
rotation). Mathematically we define
static equilibrium through the following
three equations:
(+)

Figure 4: Bending moment M of force R relative

to point B

Reactions
Reactions are the forces and/or moments
at the support(s) of a structure that resist
the applied loads. These reactions are
necessary to balance all the loads and
keep the structure in equilibrium the
condition where every force acting on a
structure is balanced by an equal and
opposite force.
Static Equilibrium assumes that all
loads applied to a structure, both
forces and moments, are resisted by

(1)

which reads: the sum () of all (external)

vertical forces (V) on the structure must
cancel. The arrow and the (+) sign mean
that the forces pointing upwards are
considered positive in the sum, while
those pointing downwards are negative.
(+)

= 0

(2)

which reads: the sum () of all (external)

horizontal forces (H) on the structure
must cancel. In this sum, the horizontal
forces pointing east are considered
positive. Forces in the opposite direction
must be considered negative.
(+)

= 0

? = 0

(3)

which reads: the sum () of all (external)

moments (M) relative to any point x on
the
structure
must
cancel.
Counterclockwise
moments
are
considered positive in this sum.
Clockwise moments are negative.
Although positive sign conventions
are defined above, it doesnt matter
which direction you choose to be
positive, as long as you remain
consistent throughout all of your
calculations.
Verbally, these equations are fairly
simple. First, all of the forces in the
horizontal directions often those due to
wind are resisted by some horizontal
reaction(s). Second, the forces in the
vertical direction likely those due to
dead loads and live loads are resisted
by some vertical reaction(s). However,

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just because vertical and horizontal loads

are cancelled by reaction forces does not
eliminate the possibility of them rotating
the structure. Rotational equilibrium is
assured only when the sum of the
moments of all the forces relative to any
point in the structures is zero.
In order to apply these equilibrium
equations to a structure, it is necessary to
draw a free-body diagram of the
structure (or a piece of it). Usually, these
forces are just the external loads and the
reactions from the supports of the
structure. However, if we draw the freebody diagram of a piece of the structure,
we must include the internal forces that
the removed piece exerted on the cut
(i.e. where the structure was sliced).

degrees of freedom and type of

reactions, as shown in Table 1. Point A is
supported by a pin, which can react to
the structure it supports only with a
vertical and a horizontal reaction force,
hence we should draw a vertical VA and
a horizontal HA reaction in the free-body
diagram of the beam at point A. The
support at B is a roller, which means that
the only reaction such a support can
present is a vertical one, VB. This
completes the free-body diagram for the
beam (Figure 6):
2/3

Example 1 (reactions)
Let us find the reactions in the bridge
sketched below in Figure 5, where a
truck with a given weight Q is located
2L/3 from support A.
2/3

Figure 5: A sketch of the bridge for Example 1

The first step is to draw the freebody diagram of the beam that models
the bridge. We detach it from its supports
and draw all the forces acting on it.
These forces are: the external load Q (an
idealized concentrated load that accounts
for the truck weight) and the reactions
from the detached supports. The latter
follows from the relationship between

Figure 6: Free-body diagram of the bridge beam

for Example 1

To find the horizontal reaction force

at A, HA, we notice that there is no
horizontal external force on the beam to
be resisted, hence there is no need for a
horizontal reaction on the beam, leading
to the conclusion that HA = 0 (the same
result is obtained if we look at the
equilibrium condition H = 0 = HA).
The vertical reaction must resist the
external load Q, namely VA + VB = Q,
which also results from the formal
condition V = 0:
(+)

= C + E = 0

To find the values of VA or VB we

apply
the
rotational
equilibrium
condition M = 0 at either point A or
point B (any other point in the beam will
yield the same result but the calculations
are simpler if one selects a point where a

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horizontal or vertical reaction exists).

For point B, we get:
E = 0 = C + /3

(+)

V =

2Q
3

The force VA has a clockwise

moment relative to point B; hence its
contribution is negative in the sum
above, while force Q has a counterclockwise moment, giving a positive
contribution in such sum. Solving for VA
yields:
C = /3
Which in turn gives:
E = C = 2/3

Summary of Terms
P or Q: point load, [lbs] or [k]
p or q: distributed load, [lbs/ft] or
[k/ft]
h: height length [ft]
L: span lenght [ft]
V: vertical reaction, [lbs] or [k]
H: horizontal reaction, [lbs] or [k]
M: bending moment, [lb-ft] or [k-ft]

Summary of Equations
Vertical Reaction at the Support of a
Simply Supported Beam Due to a
Concentrated Load Located 2 L/3 from
that Support:

V =

Q
3

Vertical Reaction at the Support of a

Simply Supported Beam Due to a
Concentrated Load Located L/3 from
that Support:

Maria E. Moreyra Garlock