www.covenantuniversity.edu.

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Raising a new Generation of Leaders

Introduction to Structural Mechanics –

Load, determínate and indeterminate
structure

Dr Oluwarotimi Olofinnade MNSE, Rg. Engr

Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering
Covenant University
 Module Objectives
• Students should be able to comprehend and apply the basic principles of statics
and mechanics to analyze structures.
• Students should be able to distinguish between determinate and indeterminate
structures and use appropriate methods (such as equilibrium equations, moment
distribution, or matrix analysis) for their analysis.

• Students should develop the ability and be able to calculate the reactions, shear
force and bending moment values and draw shear force and bending moment
distributions/diagrams for structures under various loading conditions.

• Students should enhance their ability to approach, model, and solve real-world
structural problems using both manual and software-based tools, preparing them for
more advanced design courses and practical engineering applications.
INTRODUCTION
There are many different types of structures all around us.
Each structures has a specific purpose or function.

Some structures are simple, while others are complex; however there are
two basic principles of composing structures.

1. They must be capable of carrying the loads that they are designed
for without collapsing;

2. They must support the various parts of the external load in the
correct relative position.
 What is a structure?

A structure as its relates to civil engineering

refers to a system of connected
parts/members used to support an external
load/external loads.
Some examples related to civil engineering are
Buildings (private and public), high-rise/multi-storey buildings,
bridges, road pavement (flexible and rigid), foundations (shallow
and deep), towers etc.
However, some of these structures are very complex for analysis
and design, while some are simple.

At first, we will consider simple examples of structures and parts of

structures like beams, trusses, frames etc.
It is important for a civil/structural engineer to recognize the
various type of elements composing a structures and to be able to
classify them as to there form and function. We will introduce some
of these aspects.
What does a structure do? - Carries load - Loads acting on
the structure: Dead & Live (people, equipment, wind,
wave, seismic)-
Superposition Principle - Keeps the structure in static and
dynamic equilibrium –

Transfers the load to contiguous structural components -

Transfers the load safely - Transfers the loads to the
foundation
Structural analysis is the prediction of the response
of structures to specified arbitrary external loads.

During the preliminary structural design stage, a structure’s potential

external load is estimated, and the size of the structure’s
interconnected members are determined based on the estimated
loads.
• Structural analysis establishes the relationship between a
structural member’s expected external load and the
structure’s corresponding developed internal stresses and
displacements that occur within the member when in
service.

• This is necessary to ensure that the structural members

satisfy the safety and the serviceability requirements of the
local building code and specifications of the area where the
structure is located.
 Structural mechanics/analysis of structures is the computation of
deformations, deflections, and internal forces or stresses (stress equivalents)
within structures, either for design or for performance evaluation of existing
structures.
The performance characteristics commonly of interest in the design of
structures are;

i. stresses or stress resultants, such as axial forces, shear forces,

and bending moments;
ii. deflections; and
iii. support reactions.

Thus, the analysis of a structure usually involves determination of these

quantities as caused by a given loading condition.
Often, the purpose is to determine the strength of a structure, such
as a building or a bridge, in order to prevent damage or accidents.

Other common goals of structural mechanics analyses include

determining the flexibility of a structure and computing dynamic
properties, such as natural frequencies and responses to time-
dependent loads.
• Dead loads are loads that act on a structure all the time and include its self-weight,
fixtures, such as service ducts and light fittings, suspended ceilings, cladding and
floor finishes, etc. Interestingly, machinery and computing equipment are assumed
to be movable even though they may be fixed into position.
• Live or imposed loads are movable or actually moving loads; these include vehicles
crossing a bridge, snow, people, temporary partitions and so on.
• Wind loads are live loads but their effects are considered separately because they
are affected by the location, size and shape of a structure.
• Soil or hydrostatic pressure and dynamic effects produced, for example, by vibrating
machinery, wind gusts, wave action or even earthquake action in some parts of the
world, are the other types of load.

In most cases Codes of Practice specify values of the above loads which must be
used in design. These values, however, are usually multiplied by a factor of safety to
allow for uncertainties; generally the factors of safety used for live loads tend to be
greater than those applied to dead loads because live loads are more difficult to
determine accurately.
Analysis of a structure is only ascertained as
correct when the following requirements were
satisfied;-
 Equilibrium of Forces.
 Compatibility of Displacement.
 Force/Displacement Relations.
 Types of Structures and Structural Members

There are several types of civil engineering structures,

including buildings, bridges, towers, arches,
and cables.
Members or components that make up a structure can have
different forms or shapes depending on their functional
requirements.
Structural members can be classified as beams, columns and
tension structures, frames, and trusses.
 Classification of Structures
It is important to recognize the various types of elements composing a structure and
to be able to classify structures as to their form and function.

 Structural Elements: common elements from which

structures are composed are as follows;

Tie Rods or Bracing Struts –

often subjected to
Tensile/compressive force
Trusses
Trusses are structural frameworks composed of straight members
connected at the joints, as shown in Figure. In the analysis of trusses,
loads are applied at the joints, and members are assumed to be
connected at the joints using frictionless pins.
 Beams - usually straight horizontal members used primarily to carry vertical loads – and are
primarily designed to resist bending moment. Quite often they are classified according to
the way they are supported…
Beams are structural members whose longitudinal dimensions are appreciably
greater than their lateral dimensions. For example, the length of the beam, as
shown in Figure below, is significantly greater than its breadth and depth. The
cross section of a beam can be rectangular, circular, or triangular, or it can be of
what are referred to as standard sections, such as channels, tees, angles, and I-
sections. Beams are always loaded in the longitudinal direction.
 Columns - are generally vertical and resist axial compressive Loads - Occasionally,
columns are subjected to both an axial load and a bending moment
• Columns are vertical structural members that are
subjected to axial compression, as shown in the
figure (a). They are also referred to as struts or
stanchions.
• Columns can be circular, square, or rectangular in
their cross sections, and they can also be of
standard sections. In some engineering applications,
where a single-member strength may not be
adequate to sustain a given load, built-up columns
are used.
• A built-up column is composed of two or more
standard sections, as shown in fig (b).
• Tension structures are similar to columns, with the
exception that they are subjected to axial tension.
Frames
• Frames are structures composed of vertical
and horizontal members, as shown in Figure
a. The vertical members are called columns,
and the horizontal members are called beams.
• Frames are classified as sway or non-sway. A
sway frame allows a lateral or sideward
movement, while a non-sway frame does not
allow movement in the horizontal direction.
• The lateral movement of the sway frames are
accounted for in their analysis. Frames can
also be classified as rigid or flexible.
• The joints of a rigid frame are fixed, whereas
those of a flexible frame are moveable, as
shown in Figure b.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURE

 Frame Structure
 Truss Structure
 Shell Structure
 Arch Structure
 Suspension Structure
 Mass Structure
 Composite Structure
 Types of Structural Loads
Civil engineering structures are designed to sustain various types of
loads and possible combinations of loads that could act on them during
their lifetime.
Accurate estimation of the magnitudes of these loads is a very important
aspect of the structural analysis process.

There are local and international codes, as well as research reports and
documents, that aid designers in this regard.

Structural loads can be broadly classified into four groups: dead loads,
live loads, impact loads, and environmental loads.
Loads

What is a Load?

Generally, loads on civil engineering structures fall into two (2)

major categories:
 Dead loads (Self-weight; of the components of the structure)
 Imposed (live) loads & forces (Live, Wind, Snow, Rain, and
Temperature, Erection loads, Seismic forces & others)
ROLE OF STRUCTURAL MECHANICS IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
PROJECTS
Structural engineering is the science and art of planning,
designing, and constructing safe and economical structures
that will serve their intended purposes; and
• Structural analysis is an integral part of any structural
engineering project, its function being the prediction of the
performance of the proposed structure.
• A flowchart showing the various phases of a typical structural
engineering project is presented in the figure below;
Phases of a Typical
Structural Engineering
Project
Within mechanics, structures may be statically determinate or
statically indeterminate. In the first case, all forces in a system can
be computed purely by equilibrium considerations.

Based on Newton's laws of equilibrium which require that the sum

of all forces acting on a stationary structure (static structure) or on
any of its components must add to zero. In other words, buildings
should not move. Buildings should not overturn either:
This requirement is satisfied if the sum of all moments (forces
multiplied by their distance from a point) also add to zero.
Moving structures must obey similar, dynamic equilibrium laws.
 Determinacy
• Prior to the choice of an analytical method, it is important to establish the
determinacy and stability of a structure.
• A determinate structure is one whose unknown external reaction or internal
members can be determined using only the conditions of equilibrium.
• An indeterminate structure is one whose unknown forces cannot be
determined by the conditions of static equilibrium alone and will require, in
addition, a consideration of the compatibility conditions of different parts of
the structure for its complete analysis.
• Furthermore, structures must be stable to be able to serve their desirable
functions. A structure is considered stable if it maintains its geometrical shape
when subjected to external forces.
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Classify the beams shown as determinate, or
indeterminate, and state the degree of indeterminacy where necessary.
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 Equations of Equilibrium
• Recall 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,
Equations of Equilibrium

The principal load-carrying portions of

most structures, however, lie in a single
plane, and since the loads are also
coplanar, the above requirements for
equilibrium reduce to
• Engineering structures must remain in equilibrium both externally and
internally when subjected to a system of forces. The equilibrium
requirements for structures in two and three dimensions are stated below.

The above three conditions are commonly referred to as the equations of equilibrium for planar
structures. Σ 𝐹􀯫 and Σ 𝐹􀯫 are the summation of the 𝑥 and 𝑦 components of all the forces acting on
the structure, and Σ 𝑀􀯫 is the summation of the couple moments and the moments of all the forces
about an axis 𝑧, perpendicular to the plane 𝑥𝑦 of the action of the forces.

A structure in three dimensions, that

is, in a space, must satisfy the
following six requirements to
remain in equilibrium when acted
upon by external forces:
 Types of Supports and Their Characteristics
• The type of support provided for a structure is important
in ensuring its stability. Supports connect the member to
the ground or to some other parts of the structure.
• It is assumed that the student is already familiar with
several types of supports for rigid bodies, as this was
introduced in the statics.
• However, the characteristics of some of the supports are
described below and shown in Table below.
• For equilibrium, the sum of the vertical and horizontal forces must
adds to zero. Same as the moment forces.
Determine the reactions at the supports for the beam shown.

47
A cantilever beam is subjected to a uniformly distributed
load and an inclined concentrated load,
as shown. Determine the reactions at support 𝐴.
A compound beam is subjected to the loads shown. Find the support reactions at 𝐴 and 𝐵 of the beam.

A beam with overhanging ends supports three concentrated loads of 12 kips, 14 kips, and 16 kips
and a moment of 100 kips.ft, as shown. Determine the reactions at supports A and B.
A beam with an overhang is subjected to a varying load, as shown. Determine the reactions at supports 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Find the reactions at supports A, B, E, and F of the loaded compound beam, as shown below.
Find the reactions at supports E and F of the A rigid frame is loaded as shown. Determine
frame shown. the reactions at support D.
Find the reactions at support A and B of the loaded frame. The frame is hinged at
D.
Assignment

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Recommended texts
 Strength of Materials (Mechanics of Solid) by Er. R.K. Rajput, 2006, 4th
edition, S Chand Ltd
 Structural Analysis, by R.C. Coates, M.G. Coutie and F.K. Kong, 1990,
Reprint edition, CRC Press
 Structural Analysis by Aslam Kassimali, 2011, 4th edition, Cengage
learning
 Structural Analysis by R.C. Hibbeler, 2012. 8th edition, Pearson Prentice
Hall
 Structural Analysis; in theory and Practice by Alan Williams, 2009,
Revised edition, Butterworth-Heinemann
 Structural and Stress Analysis 2nd Edition, T.H.G. Megson
 Structural Mechanics 5th or 6th Edition by Durka, Morgan & Williams