Structural engineering: Difference between revisions

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Civil engineering structures are often subjected to very extreme forces, such as large variations in temperature, dynamic loads such as waves or traffic, or high pressures from water or compressed gases. They are also often constructed in corrosive environments, such as at sea, in industrial facilities, or below ground.

resisted and significant deflections of structures.

===Mechanical engineering structures===

The forces which parts of a machine are subjected to can vary significantly and can do so at a great rate. The forces which a boat or aircraft are subjected to vary enormously and will do so thousands of times over the structure's lifetime. The structural design must ensure that such structures can endure such loading for their entire design life without failing.

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Columns are elements that carry only axial force (compression) or both axial force and bending (which is technically called a beam-column but practically, just a column). The design of a column must check the axial capacity of the element and the buckling capacity.

The [[buckling]] capacity is the capacity of the element to withstand the propensity to buckle. Its capacity depends upon its geometry, material, and the effective length of the column, which depends upon the restraint conditions at the top and bottom of the column. The effective length is <math>K*l</math> where <math>l</math> is the real length of the column and K is the factor dependent on the restraint conditions.

The capacity of a column to carry axial load depends on the degree of bending it is subjected to, and vice versa. This is represented on an interaction chart and is a complex non-linear relationship.

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[[File:The Little Belt Bridge (1935).jpeg|thumb|[[Little Belt Bridge|''Little Belt'']]: a [[truss bridge]] in [[Denmark]]]]

A beam may be defined as an element in [[which]] one dimension is much greater than the other two and the applied loads are usually normal to the main axis of the element. Beams and columns are called line elements and are often represented by simple lines in structural modeling.

* [[cantilever]]ed (supported at one end only with a fixed connection)

* simply supported (fixed against vertical translation at each end and horizontal translation at one end only, and able to rotate at the supports)