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. Often this requires several independent studies of different solutions
before a final judgment can be made as to which structural form is the most appropriate. This
design process is both creative and technical and requires a fundamental knowledge of material
properties and the laws of mechanics that govern material response. Once a preliminary design of
a structure is proposed, the structure must then be analyzed to ensure that it has its requires stiffness
and strength
CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURES:
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 the Figure.
Beams are usually primarily designed to resist bending moment; however, if they are short and
carry large loads, the internal shear force may become quite large and this may govern their design.
When the material used for a beam is a metal such as steel or aluminum, the cross-section is most
efficient when it is shaped as shown. Here the forces developed in the top and bottom flanges of
the bean form flange the necessary couple used to resist the applied moment, M, whereas the web
is effective in resisting the applied shear
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 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.
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. Planar trusses are composed of members that lie in
the same plane and are frequently used for a bridge and roof support, whereas space trusses have
members extending in three dimensions and are suitable for derricks and towers. Due to the
geometric arrangement of its members, loads that cause the entire truss to bend are converted to
tensile and compressive forces in the members.
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. The Arch achieves its strength in
compression since it has a reverse curvature to that of the cable. The arch must be rigid, however, to
maintain its shape, and this results in secondary loading involving shear and moment which must be
considered in its design. Arches and cables are frequently used in bridge structures.
FRAMES. Frames are often in building and are composed of beams and columns that are either pin or
fixed connected. Like trusses, frames extend in two or more dimensions. The loading on a frame cause
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
beams and the columns at rigid joints.
LOADS ON STRUCTURE:
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 on the 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. To design a structure, it is,
therefore, necessary to first specify the loads that action it.

NSCP 2015: Design codes provide detailed technical standards and are used to establish the requirements
for the actual structural design. It should be realized, however, that codes provide only a general guide for
design. The ultimate responsibility for the design lies with the structural engineers.

GRAVITY LOADS
The vertical loads, due mainly to the occupancy, self-weight and snow or rain, are commonly
referred to as gravity loads
DEAD LOADS
Dead loads consist of the weight of the various structural members and the weights of any objects
that are permanently attached to the structures. The values for dead loads are shown in NSCP
section 204, Tables 204-1 and 204-2 for common components.
LIVE LOADS
Live loads can vary both in their magnitude and location. They may be caused by the weights of
the objects temporarily placed on a structure, moving vehicles, or natural forces. NSCP Section
204, Table 205-1, provides recommended design live loads depending on the use of the space.
SNOW AND RAIN LOADS
In some parts of the country, roof loading due to snow and rain can be quite severe, and therefore
protection against possible failure is of primary concern.
HYDROSTATIC AND SOIL PRESSURE
When structures are used to retain water, soil, or granular materials, the pressure developed by
these loadings becomes an important criterion for their design.
IMPACT LOADS
When live loads are applied rapidly to a structure, they cause larger stresses that those that would
be produces if the same loads would have been applied gradually. The dynamic effect of the load
that causes this increase in stress in the structures is referred to as an impact.
WIND LOADS
When structures block the flow of wind, the winds kinetic energy is converted into potential energy
of pressure, which causes a wind loading. The effect of wind on a structure depends on the velocity
of the air, the angle of incidence of the wind, the shape and stiffness of the structure, and the
toughness of its surface.
EARTHQUAKE LOADS
Earthquake produce loadings on a structure through its intersection with the ground and its
response characteristics these loadings result from structures distortion caused by the ground’s
motion and the lateral resistance of the structure

WIND LOADS
THREE (3) METHODS FOR WIND LOAD CALCULATIONS
Method 1: Simplifies Procedure
Method 2: Analytical Procedure
Method 3: Wind Tunnel Procedure
Main Wind – Force Resisting System (MWFRS) – An assemble of structural elements assigned to
provide support and stability for the overall structure. The system generally receives, wind loading
from more than one loading.
Components and Cladding (C&C) – Elements of the structure that do not qualify as part of the
MWFRS.
Building Low Rise – A structure whose mean roof height is less than or equal to 18 meters or it

does not exceed least horizontal dimension or simply B ≥ h ≥ 18 m e t e r s

Eave Height – Distance from ground to the roof eave line
Mean Roof Height, h – Average distance of the roof eave height and the highest point the roof
surface
For a roof with; h = he
Roof eave line – bottom of the roof

WIND LOAD CALCULATION

1. Determine the Occupancy Category – Table 103-1
2. Determine the Basic Wind Speed (V) – Figures 207A.5-1A, B or C
3. Determine Wind Directionality Factor (Kd) – Table 207.6-1
4. Topographic Factor (Kzt) – Section 207A.8 and Table 207A.8-1
5. Exposure Category (A,B or C) – Sectiom 207A.2 and 207A.3
6. Velocity Pressure Coefficient (Kz or Kn) – Section 207.B.3.1
7. Gust Effect Factor (G) – Section 207A.1 and Section 207A.9.2
8. Enclose Classification (Open, Partially Enclosed, or Enclosed) – Section 207A.10
9. External Pressure Coefficient (Cp) – Figure 207B.4-1
10. Velocity Pressure (q2 or qn) – Section 207B.3.2
11. Design Wind Pressure or Load (P or F)

TRIBUTARY AREAS:
When flat surfaces such as walls, floors, or roofs are supported by a structural frame, it is necessary to
determine how the load on these surfaces is transmitted to the various structural elements used for their
support. There are generally two ways in which this can be done. The choice depends on the geometry of
the structural system, the material from which it is made, and the method of its construction.

ONE WAY SYSTEM

A slab or deck that is supported such that it delivers its load to the supporting members by one-
way action, is often referred to as a one-way slab.
TWO WAY SYSTEM
If the support ratio is, the load is assumed to be delivered to the supporting beams and girders in
two directions. When this is the case the slab is referred to as a two-way slab.
EQUILIBRIUM OF STRUCTURES
A structure is considered to be in equilibrium if, initially at rest, it remains at rest when subjected
to a system of forces and couples if a structure is in equilibrium, then all its member and parts are
also in equilibrium, then all its member and parts are also in equilibrium.
Recall from statics that for space (three-dimensional) structure subjected to three dimensional
systems of forces and couples, the conditions of zero resultant force and zero resultant couple can
be expressed in a Cartesian XYZ Coordinate System.
For a plane structure lying in the XY plane and subjected to a co-planar of forces and couples, the necessary
and sufficient conditions for equilibrium can be expressed as

These three equations are referred to as the equation of equilibrium of plane structures.
When a structure is in equilibrium under the action of a concurrent force system that is, the lines
of action of all forces intersect at a single point the moment equilibrium equations are
automatically satisfied, the force equilibrium equation is automatically satisfied, the force
equilibrium equations need to be considered.
EXTERNAL FORCES are the action of other bodies on the structure under consideration.
APPLIED FORCES usually referred to as LOADS, such as live loads or wind loads, tend to
move the structure and are usually known in the analysis.
REACTION FORCES or REACTIONS are the forces exerted by supports on the structure and
tend to prevent its motion and keep it in equilibrium.
INTERNAL FORCES are the forces and couples exerted by on a member or portion of the
structure by the rest of the structure. These forces develop within the structure and hold the various
portions of it together. The internal forces always occur in equal but opposite pairs, because each
member or portion exerts back on the rest of the structure the same forces acting upon it but in
opposite directions, according to Newton's third law. Because the internal forces cancel each other,
they do not appear in the equations of equilibrium of the entire structure. The internal forces are
also among the unknowns in the analysis and are also among the unknowns in the analysis and are
determined by applying the equations of equilibrium to the individual members or portions of the
structures.
SUPPORTS are used to attach structures to the ground or other bodies, thereby restricting their
movements under the action of applied loads. the load tends to move the structures; but supports
prevent the movement by exerting opposing forces or reactions, to neutralize the effects of loads,
thereby keeping the structure in equilibrium.
Beams and Frames
DETERMINANCY describes the complexity of analysis to determine the reactions.
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.
The 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.
A structure is considered to be internally stable, or rigid if it maintains its shape and remains a
rigid body when detached from the supports.
A structure is termed internal unstable or non-rigid if it cannot maintain its shape and may undergo
large displacements under small disturbances when not supported externally.
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.