1.1 |
Introduction |
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Structural Mechanics can be briefly described as the study of the behaviour of structures using the knowledge of mechanics. Such a description needs some understanding of the terms “structure” and “mechanics”. Structures include a wide variety of systems, such as buildings, bridges, dams, aircrafts, etc., that are built to serve some specific human needs (for example, habitation, transportation, storage, etc.). Students of Structural Mechanics should already have some basic knowledge of mechanics through the prerequisite courses of Engineering Mechanics (or Rigid-body Mechanics or Vector Mechanics) and Solid Mechanics (Mechanics of Deformable Solids or Mechanics of Materials). In Structural Mechanics, we apply our knowledge of the mechanics of rigid bodies and of deformable solids to the understanding of the behaviour of engineered structures. |
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In Structural Mechanics, we mostly deal with mechanics of solids (i.e. deformable bodies). However, here we move on from studying the behaviour of structural members/materials (as in a course of Solid Mechanics) to studying the behaviour of real structures, or parts thereof. For example, instead of dealing with a beam or a column, we study how a building frame (Figure 1.1), composed of several beams and columns, behaves. In a similar way, we first learn about the loads that are applied to the whole structure, and not to individual members. Our knowledge of Structural Mechanics enables us to find the forces that act on individual members based on the loads that are acting on the whole structure. Stresses, strains, internal forces and deformations in members, then, can be obtained by using what we have already learned about the behaviour of deformable solids. |
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Fig. 1.1 Frame in a building |
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Contents of this course of Structural Mechanics will focus on Civil Engineering structures only. Such structures are classified into various categories depending on the system/mode of classification: |
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On the basis of its intended function/usage: Buildings, bridges, dams, industrial sheds, cable ways, chimneys, etc. (Figure 1.2) |
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On the basis of its form/load transfer mechanism: Beams, columns, floor slabs, arches, shells, trusses, frames,footings, etc. (Figure 1.3) |
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Considering the analysis perspective: 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, determinate, indeterminate, etc. (Figure 1.4) |
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