Structures and Their Analysis

Addressing structures, this book presents a classic discipline in a modern setting by combining illustrated examples with insights into the solutions. It is the fruit of the author’s many years of teaching the subject and of just as many years of research into the design of optimal structures. Although intended for an advanced level of instruction it has an undergraduate course at its core. Further, the book was written with the advantage of having massive computer power in the background, an aspect which changes the entire approach to many engineering disciplines and in particular to structures. This paradigm shift has dislodged the force (flexibility) method from its former prominence and paved the way for the displacement (stiffness) method, despite the multitude of linear equations it spawns. In this book, however, both methods are taught: the force method offers a perfect vehicle for understanding structural behavior, bearing in mind that it is the displacement method which does the heavy number crunching. As a rule the book keeps things as simple as possible, conveying the basic ideas and refraining from lengthy calculations wherever possible. Further, it endeavors to unify the approach, showing that whatever applies to simple springs is equally valid for intricate frames. In addition to various design considerations, it also addresses several topics relating to optimal structures that will be of interest to students and teachers of structures. Front Matter....Pages i-xxv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Equilibrium....Pages 3-21 Virtual Work....Pages 23-51 Deformations....Pages 53-66 Elasticity....Pages 67-73 The Unit-Load Method....Pages 75-84 Front Matter....Pages 85-110 Types of Structures....Pages 111-111 Structural Analysis....Pages 113-120 Qualitative Analysis and Design....Pages 121-127 Front Matter....Pages 129-140 Flexibility Coefficients....Pages 141-141 Redundancy....Pages 143-165 The Force Method....Pages 167-194 Applied Strains and Initial Stresses....Pages 195-233 Front Matter....Pages 235-258 Introducing the Stiffness Method ....Pages 259-259 Element Stiffness Matrices....Pages 261-271 Change of Coordinates....Pages 273-298 Assembling the System Stiffness Matrix....Pages 299-305 Loads on Elements....Pages 307-340 Front Matter....Pages 341-362 A Strain Energy Theorem—Moving Supports....Pages 363-363 Fully-Stressed Trusses....Pages 365-369 Front Matter....Pages 371-375 Frames Viewed as Generalized Trusses....Pages 363-363 Explicit Analysis....Pages 377-384 Front Matter....Pages 385-390 Plus ça Change....Pages 391-391 ....Pages 393-404