Basic Civil Engineering

Materials and Structures

Lecture-3
 Introduction
Structure
• The structure of a building is the part which is responsible for maintaining the shape of the building
under the influence of the forces, loads and other environmental factors to which it is subjected.
Structural analysis
• The analysis of structures involves the study of the forces and stresses occurring within a structure
and the design of suitable components to cater for such forces and stresses.
• As an analogy, consider the human body. Human body comprises a skeleton of 206 bones which
constitutes the structure of human body. If any of those bones were to break, or if any of the joints
between those bones were to disconnect or seize up, the injured body would ‘fail’ structurally.
Structural components
1. beams, columns, roof trusses and frames made of steel
2. beams, columns, slabs, retaining walls and foundations made of reinforced cement concrete
3. joists, columns, and roof trusses made of timber
4. walls and columns made of masonry like stone and brick
 Basic aspects of structures
Following words are important in structural engineering:
Stress
1. Force
• Stress is internal pressure. A heavy
2. Reaction
vehicle parked on a road is
3. Stress applying pressure to the road
4. Moment surface – the heavier the vehicle
Force and the smaller the contact area
• A force is an influence on an object that may cause movement. For between the vehicle’s tyres and
example, the weight of people and furniture within a building causes a the road, the greater the pressure.
vertically downwards force on the floor, and wind blowing against a Moment
building causes a horizontal force on the external wall of the building. • A moment is a turning effect.
Reaction When one uses a spanner to
• If one stands on a floor, the weight of his body will produce a downward tighten a nut, mechanically wind
force into the floor. The floor reacts to this by pushing upwards with a up a clock or turn the steering
force of the same magnitude. This upward force is called a reaction, wheel on one’s car, one is applying
which is a response to the downward force. a moment.
 Behaviour of structures or parts of structures
1. Behaviour under compression
• Figure shows an elevation of a concrete column in a building. The
column is supporting beams, floor slabs and the load or force, from
all of these is acting downwards at the top of the column which is
represented by the downward arrow at the top of the column.
• The column is experiencing compression and a downward force must
be opposed by an equal upward force (or reaction) if the building is
stationary. This reaction is represented by the upward arrow at the
bottom of the column.
• Thus the rules of equilibrium (total force up = total force down) apply
for the column as a whole; these rules must apply at any and every
point within a stationary structure.
• Look at the direction of the broken arrows in Fig. b. These arrows
represent the internal forces in the column. it is noticed that they are
pointing away from each other. This is always the case when a
structural element is in compression: the arrows used to denote
compression point away from each other.
Behaviour under tension
• Figure shows a block suspended from the ceiling of a room by a
piece of string. The block, under the effects of gravity, is pulling the
string downwards, as represented by the downward arrow. The
string is thus being stretched and is therefore in tension.
• For equilibrium, this downward force must be opposed by an equal
upward force at the point where the string is fixed to the ceiling.
This opposing force is represented by an upward arrow in Fig. (a).
• The rules of equilibrium (total force up = total force down) must
apply at any and every point within this system if it is stationary.
• Look at the direction of the broken arrows in Fig. (b). These arrows
represent the internal forces in the string. One will notice that they
are pointing towards each other. This is always the case when a
structural element is in tension: the arrows used to denote tension
point towards each other. (An easy way to remember this principle
is the letter T, which stands for both Towards and Tension.)
Behaviour under bending
• Consider a simply supported beam (that is, a beam that simply rests on
supports at its two ends) subjected to a central point load. The beam will
tend to bend, as shown in Fig.
• The extent to which the beam bends will depend on four things:
(1) The material from which the beam is made. One would expect a beam
made of rubber to bend more than a concrete beam of the same
dimensions under a given load.
(2) The cross-sectional characteristics of the beam. A large diameter wooden
tree trunk is more difficult to bend than a thin twig spanning the same
distance.
(3) The span of the beam. Anyone who has ever tried to put up bookshelves at
home will know that the shelves will sag to an unacceptable degree if not
supported at regular intervals.
(4) The load to which the beam is subjected. The greater the load, the greater
the bending.
• If One carries on increasing the loading, the beam will eventually break due
to excessive bending.
Behaviour under shear
• Consider two steel plates that overlap each other slightly, with a
bolt connecting the two plates through the overlapping part, as
shown in Fig. (a). A force is applied to the top plate, trying to pull it
to the left. An equal force is applied to the bottom plate, trying to
pull it to the right. Let’s now suppose that the leftward force is
slowly increased, as is the rightward force. (The two forces must be
equal if the whole system is to remain stationary.) If the bolt is not
as strong as the plates, we will reach a point when the bolt will
break. After the bolt has broken, the top part of it will move off to
the left with the top plate and the bottom part will move off to the
right with the bottom plate.
• where the two failure surfaces are sliding past each other is called
a shear failure
• So a shear failure can be thought of as a cutting or slicing action.
(Incidentally, the half-headed arrow notation shown in Fig. is the
standard symbol used to denote shear.)
 Structural Elements and their behaviour
1. Beams
• Beams may be simply-supported, continuous or cantilevered,
as illustrated in Fig.
• Theyare subjected to bending and shear under load, and the
deformations under loading are shown by broken lines.
• A simply-supported beam rests on supports, usually located
at each end of the beam.
• A continuous beam spans two or more spans in one
unbroken unit; it may simply rest on its supports, but more
usually it is gripped (or fixed) by columns above and below it.
• A cantilever beam is supported at one end only; to avoid
collapse, the beam must be continuous over, or rigidly fixed
at, this support.
• Beams may be of timber, steel or reinforced or pre-stressed
concrete
2. Slabs
• As with beams, slabs span horizontally between supports and
may be simply supported,
continuous or cantilevered. But unlike beams, which are usually
narrow compared with their
depth, slabs are usually wide and relatively shallow and are
designed to form flooring.
• Slabs may be one-way spanning, which means they are
supported by walls on opposite sides of the slab, or two-way
spanning, which means that they are supported by walls on all
four sides. This description assumes that a slab is rectangular in
plan.
• Slabs are usually of reinforced concrete and in buildings they
are typically 150–300 millimetres in depth.
• Larger than normal spans can be achieved by using ribbed or
waffle slabs, as shown in Fig. (c) and (d).
• Like beams, slabs experience bending.
3. Columns
• Columns (or ‘pillars’ or ‘posts’) are vertical and
support axial loads, thus they experience
compression.
• If a column is slender or supports a
nonsymmetrical arrangement of beams, it will
also experience bending, as shown by the
broken line in Fig. (a).
• Concrete or masonry columns may be of
square, rectangular, circular or cruciform cross-
section, as illustrated in Fig. (b).
• Steel columns may be H or hollow section.
4. Walls
• Like columns, walls are vertical and are
primarily subjected to compression, but
they may also experience bending. Walls
are usually of masonry or reinforced
concrete.
• Retaining walls hold back earth or water
and thus are designed to withstand
bending caused by horizontal forces, as
indicated by the broken line in Fig. (c).
5. Foundations
• These are columns in the ground which transmit the
loads safely to a stronger stratum.
• . There are various types of foundation.
• A strip foundation provides a continuous support to
load bearing external walls.
• A pad foundation provides a load-spreading support to
a column.
• A raft foundation takes up the whole plan area under a
building and is used in situations where the alternative
would be a large number of strip and/or pad
foundations in a relatively small space.
• Where the ground has low strength and/or the building
is very heavy, piled foundations are used.
6. Arches
• The main virtue of an arch, from a
structural engineering point of view, is that
it is in compression throughout. This
means that materials that are weak in
tension – for example, masonry – may be
used to span considerable distances.
• Arches transmit large horizontal thrusts
into their supports, unless horizontal ties
are used at the base of the arch.
7. Trusses
• A truss is a two- or three-dimensional framework
and is designed on the basis that each ‘member’ or
component of the framework is in either pure
tension or pure compression and does not
experience bending.
• Trusses are often used in pitched roof construction:
timber tends to be used for domestic construction
and steel caters for the larger roof spans required
in industrial or commercial buildings.
• Lattice girders, which are used instead of solid
deep beams for long spans, work on the same
principle .
8. Portal Frames
• A portal frame is a rigid framework
comprising two columns supporting rafters.
• The rafters may be horizontal or, more
usually, inclined to support a pitched roof.
• Portal frames are usually of steel but may be
of precast concrete.
• They are usually used in large single-storey
structures such as warehouses or out-of-
town retail sheds.
9. Cable stayed and suspension structures
• Cable stayed structures are usually bridges but
are sometimes used in building structures
where exceptionally long spans are required.
• Instead of being supported from below by
columns or walls, the span is supported from
above at certain points by cables which pass
over supporting vertical masts and horizontal
outriggers to a point in the ground where they
are firmly anchored.
• The cables are in tension and must be
designed to sustain considerable tensile forces.
10. Cross section types
• There is an infinite range of cross-sectional shapes
available. Standard sections are illustrated in Fig..
• Beams and slabs in timber and concrete are usually
rectangular in cross-section.
• Concrete columns are usually of circular, square,
rectangular or cruciform cross-section
• Steel beams are usually of ‘I’ or hollow section.
• Steel columns are usually of ‘H’ or hollow section.
• Prestressed concrete beams are sometimes of ‘T’, ‘U’
or inverted ‘U’ section.
• Members of steel trusses are sometimes of channel or
angle sections.
•
 Different types of supports
Supports (to beams, etc.) are indicated by upward arrows
irrespective of the type or nature of the support. There
are three different types of supports like i) Roller support
ii) Pinned support and iii) fixed support.
1. Roller Support
• A roller support to part of a structure is analogous to
that person on roller skates: a roller support is free to
move horizontally. Roller supports are indicated using
the symbol shown in Fig. (a).
• This is purely symbolic and a real roller support will
probably not resemble this symbol. In practice a roller
support might comprise sliding rubber bearings, for
example, or steel rollers sandwiched between steel
plates, as shown in Fig. (b).
2. Pinned support
• The word pin, as used in structural engineering, is analogous
to the hinge in a door. A pin is indicated symbolically as a
small unfilled circle.
• Consider two steel rods connected by a pin joint, as shown in
Fig. The two rods are initially in line as shown in Fig. (a) and
the left-hand rod is subsequently rotated about 30 degrees
anticlockwise, as shown in Fig. (b). The right-hand rod is not
affected by this rotational movement of the left-hand rod.
• A pin, then, has two important characteristics:
(1) A pin permits rotational movement about itself.
(2) A pin cannot transmit turning effects, or moments.
• A pinned support permits rotation but cannot move
horizontally or vertically – in exactly the same way as a door
hinge provides rotation but cannot itself move from its
position in any direction.
3. Fixed support
• In structures, the support equivalent to your gripping
hand is called a fixed support.
• As with your hand gripping the ruler, a fixed support
does not permit rotation.
• There are many situations in practice where it is
necessary (or at least desirable) for a beam or slab to be
supported at one end only – for example, a balcony. In
these situations, the single end support must be a fixed
support because, as we’ve seen, a fixed support does
not permit rotation and hence does not lead to collapse
of the structural member concerned
• Like a pinned support, a fixed support cannot move in
any direction from its position. Unlike a pinned support,
a fixed support cannot rotate. So a fixed support is fixed
in every respect.
 Restraints experienced on various types of supports
Restraints may be discussed in the following ways:
(1) Vertical reaction
(2) Horizontal reaction
(3) Resisting moment
Restraints on roller support
• Let’s consider the case of a roller skater standing on a highly polished floor. As the floor is supporting
him, it must be providing an upward reaction to counteract the weight of the skater’s body. When we
push the skater, he will move. The rollers on the skates, and the frictionless nature of the floor, mean
that the skater can offer no resistance to our push. In other words, the skater can provide no horizontal
reaction to our pushing (in contrast to a solid wall, for example, which would not move if leaned on and
therefore would provide a horizontal reaction).
• There is also nothing to stop the skater from falling over (i.e. rotating). We can conclude from the
example that a roller support provides one restraint only: vertical reaction. (There is no horizontal
reaction and no moment.)
Restraints on pinned support
• As discussed above, a pinned support permits rotation (so there is no resistance to moment) but as it cannot
move horizontally or vertically there must be both horizontal and vertical reactions present.
• So, a pinned support provides two restraints: vertical reaction and horizontal reaction.
Restraints on Fixed Support
• We saw above that a fixed support is fixed in every respect: it cannot move either horizontally or vertically and it
cannot rotate. This means there will be both horizontal and vertical reactions and, if it cannot rotate, there must
be a moment associated with the fixed support.
• Incidentally, this moment is called a fixed end moment. So, a fixed support provides three restraints: vertical
reaction, horizontal reaction and moment.
Summary
• A roller support provides one restraint:
vertical reaction.
• A pinned support provides two restraints:
vertical reaction and horizontal reaction.
• A fixed support provides three restraints:
vertical reaction, horizontal reaction and moment.
 Solution of Equilibrium Equations

• Based on our knowledge of mathematics we know:

• If we have the same number of unknowns as we have equations, a mathematical
problem
• can be solved. But if we have more unknowns than equations, a mathematical problem
cannot be solved.
• Relating this to structural analysis, if we look back to the procedure we used for
calculating reactions, we’ll see that we were solving three equations. These equations
were represented by:
(1) Vertical equilibrium (total force up = total force down)
(2) Horizontal equilibrium (total force right = total force left)
(3) Moment equilibrium (total clockwise moment = total anticlockwise moment)