Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides numerous demonstrations using physical models and practical examples. A significant amount of material, not found in current textbooks, is included to enhance the understanding of structural concepts and stimulate interest in learning, creative thinking, and design. This is achiev
Deflections tend to have more significance in modern structures, especially those that are either taller, longer or have wider spans than earlier designs. It is also necessary to provide desirable distributions of internal forces in order to achieve effective, efficient and elegant structures. This book presents four structural concepts relating to deflections and internal forces in structures. It demonstrates a number of routes and physical measures together with their implementation for creating desirable distributions of internal forces and for designing structures against deflection. Hand calculation examples, with and without using the implementation measures, are provided to quantify the effectiveness and efficiency of the structural concepts. Practical examples, including several well-known structures, are considered qualitatively to illustrate the practical implementation of the structural concepts and show their structural rationale. The book is especially suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying civil engineering or architecture and should enhance the holistic comprehension of structural engineers and architects. Features Develops the concepts from their principles through to their implementation Provides worked examples in pairs and analyses real structures Especially suits final year undergraduates and graduate students in structural engineering Author Bio Dr. Tianjian Ji, CEng, FIStructE, FHEA, is Reader in Structural Engineering at the University of Manchester, UK. He received the Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering Education from the Institution of Structural Engineers, UK, in 2014 and the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Manchester in 2016. He is the primary author of Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, 2nd edition, also published by Taylor & Francis.
The pioneering website www.structuralconcepts.org, by Tianjian Ji and Adrian Bell, goes back to basics and explains in detail the basic principles of structural concepts and how they relate to the real world. Following on from and expanding upon the website, comes this book. Essential for the civil engineering student, it examines the concepts in closer detail with formulae and technical terminology, while remaining grounded in the website's practical approach. With hundreds of photographs and diagrams, you are encouraged to visualize each concept in turn and to understand how it applies to every day life.
In our world of seemingly unlimited computing, numerous analytical approaches to the estimation of stress, strain, and displacement-including analytical, numerical, physical, and analog techniques-have greatly advanced the practice of engineering. Combining theory and experimentation, computer simulation has emerged as a third path for engineering
Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides numerous demonstrations using physical models and practical examples. A significant amount of material, not found in current textbooks, is included to enhance the understanding of structural concepts and stimulate interest in learning, creative thinking, and design. This is achieved through: Connecting abstract theory with visual and practical examples. Providing simple illustrative demonstration models, which can be used in conventional class teaching, to capture the essence of the concepts. Including associated engineering examples, which demonstrate the application of the concepts and help to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Incorporating the development of teaching material and innovative examples relating to structural concepts based on current research work. In addition to new models and examples, Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides a third part, Synthesis. This considers the relationships between static and modal stiffness, static and dynamic problems, experimental and theoretical studies, and theory and practice. All of these relationships are linked to structural concepts. This book will be of interest to all engineers, from students to consultants. It will be useful to civil and structural engineering students, including graduate students, in all years of their courses as well as the more technically-minded architecture students and practicing engineers. ition to new models and examples, Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides a third part, Synthesis. This considers the relationships between static and modal stiffness, static and dynamic problems, experimental and theoretical studies, and theory and practice. All of these relationships are linked to structural concepts. This book will be of interest to all engineers, from students to consultants. It will be useful to civil and structural engineering students, including graduate students, in all years of their courses as well as the more technically-minded architecture students and practicing engineers.
Structural engineering is central to the design of a building. How the building behaves when subjected to various forces – the weight of the materials used to build it, the weight of the occupants or the traffic it carries, the force of the wind etc – is fundamental to its stability. The alliance between architecture and structural engineering is therefore critical to the successful design and completion of the buildings and infrastructure that surrounds us. Yet structure is often cloaked in mathematics which many architects and surveyors find difficult to understand. How Structures Work has been written to explain the behaviour of structures in a clear way without resorting to complex mathematics. This new edition includes a new chapter on construction materials, and significant revisions to, and reordering of the existing chapters. It is aimed at all who require a good qualitative understanding of structures and their behaviour, and as such will be of benefit to students of architecture, architectural history, building surveying and civil engineering. The straightforward, non-mathematical approach ensures it will also be suitable for a wider audience including building administrators, archaeologists and the interested layman.
*Winner of the 2021 TAA Textbook Excellence Award* Honorable Mention of the 2021 BTES Book Award Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking is a new type of structures textbook for architects who prefer to learn using the hands-on, creative problem-solving techniques typically found in a design studio. Instead of presenting structures as abstract concepts defined by formulas and diagrams, this book uses a project-based approach to demonstrate how a range of efficient, effective, and expressive architectural solutions can be generated, tested, and revised. Each section of the book is focused on a particular manner by which structural resistance is provided: Form (Arches and Cables), Sections (Beams, Slabs, and Columns), Vectors (Trusses and Space Frames), Surfaces (Shells and Plates), and Frames (Connections and High-Rises). The design exercises featured in each chapter use the Think, Make, Break method of reiterative design to develop and evaluate different structural options. A variety of structural design tools will be used, including the human body, physical models, historical precedents, static diagrams, traditional formulae, and advanced digital analysis. The book can be incorporated into various course curricula and studio exercises because of the flexibility of the format and range of expertise required for these explorations. More than 500 original illustrations and photos provide example solutions and inspiration for further design exploration.
This book introduces the concept of a hypothetical type of knowledge construction -- referred to as structural knowledge -- that goes beyond traditional forms of information recall to provide the bases for knowledge application. Assuming that the validity of the concept is accepted, the volume functions as a handbook for supporting the assessment and use of structural knowledge in learning and instructional settings. It's descriptions are direct and short, and its structure is consistent. Almost all of the chapters describe a technique for representing and assessing structural knowledge acquisition, conveying knowledge structures through direct instruction, or providing learners with strategies that they may use to acquire structural knowledge. These chapters include the following sections in the same sequence: * description of the technique and its theoretical or conceptual rationale * examples and applications * procedures for development and use * effectiveness -- learner interactions and differences, and advantages and disadvantages * references to the literature. The chapters are structured to facilitate access to information as well as to illuminate comparisons and contrasts among the techniques.
Before structural mechanics became the common language of structural engineers, buildings were built based on observed behavior, with every new solution incurring high levels of risk. Today, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. The web of structural mechanics is so finely woven that it hides the role of experience in design, again leading to high levels of risk. Understanding Structures brings the art and science of structures into the environment of a computer game. The book imparts a basic understanding of how buildings and bridges resist gravity, wind, and earthquake loads. Its interactive presentation of topics spans elementary concepts of force in trusses to bending of beams and the response of multistory, multi-bay frames. Formulate Graphical and Quantitative Solutions with GOYA The companion software, GOYA, runs easily on any java-enabled system. This interactive learning environment allows engineers to obtain quick and instructive graphical and quantitative solutions to many problems in structures. Simulation is critical to the design and construction of safe structures. Using GOYA and the tools within Understanding Structures, engineers can enhance their overall understanding of structure response as well as expedite the process of safe structure design.
Covering a wide range of structural concepts and presenting both relevant theories and their applications to actual structures, this book brings together for the first time lightweight structures concepts for many different applications and the relevant scientific literature, thus providing unique insights into a fascinating field of human endeavour. Evolved from a series of graduate courses taught by the authors at the University of Tokyo, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, this textbook provides both theoretical and practical insights and presents a range of examples which also provide a history of key lightweight structures since the Apollo age. This essential guide will inspire the imagination of engineers and provide an analytical foundation for all readers.
