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Lecture

Determining Forces with Arc-and-Cable

Description

This lecture explains how to use an arc-and-cable to determine forces at supports, starting with a simple system and progressing to more complex ones. The method involves drawing forces in a Cremona diagram and analyzing subsystems to find support forces. By applying this method to various structures, such as trusses and beams, one can accurately determine support forces.

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Related concepts (11)

Truss

A truss is an assembly of members such as beams, connected by nodes, that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object". A "two-force member" is a structural component where force is applied to only two points. Although this rigorous definition allows the members to have any shape connected in any stable configuration, trusses typically comprise five or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes.

Structural analysis

Structural analysis is a branch of solid mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and their components. In contrast to theory of elasticity, the models used in structure analysis are often differential equations in one spatial variable. Structures subject to this type of analysis include all that must withstand loads, such as buildings, bridges, aircraft and ships.

I-beam

I-beam is a generic lay term for a variety of structural members with an or -shaped cross-section. Technical terms for similar items include H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German). I-beams are typically made of structural steel and serve a wide variety of construction uses. The horizontal elements of the are called flanges, and the vertical element is known as the "web".

Structural engineer

Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic, and environmental concerns, but they may also consider aesthetic and social factors. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty discipline within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right.

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of human-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and calculate the stability, strength, rigidity and earthquake-susceptibility of built structures for buildings and nonbuilding structures. The structural designs are integrated with those of other designers such as architects and building services engineer and often supervise the construction of projects by contractors on site.

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