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National University of Santa

Language Center CEIDUNS

THE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS FOR MODERN


BUILDINGS

STUDENT’S NAME: Erick Paul Cortez Flores

ADVISOR:

BASIC LEVEL MONOGRAPH

Nuevo Chimbote, April 2019


I. INTRODUCTION
Since human started to gather in towns to live as a community, they have
always looked for improve the buildings that people have built.

Structural analysis is the type of study that let the buildings have the best
construction process, because this analysis will provide them the best
dimensions and they will resist the loads that they were designed for.

The objective of structural design is to create a safe structure that also


satisfies different requirements imposed by factors such as the function of
the structure, conditions of the place, economic aspects, aesthetics,
facilities to build and legal restrictions.

The good analysis is based on predicting with certainty the behavior of the
structures in the current service conditions, although all the structures are
continually deformed due to loads, changes in humidity, temperature and
other causes. In fact, to some degree, almost all structures are statically
indeterminate. The availability of fast and efficient analysis programs that
are solved by means of computers, has left free the useful means for the
creation of better revisions of the structures, not only because they can
automate the project, but because they provide greater flexibility in the
decision process about the basic form of reinforcement of structures.
II. CONTENTS

2.1. BASIC DEFINITIONS

If we want to understand how does the structural analysis work, we


need to define what is a structure. So we will say that a structure is
the part of the construction that put up with the whole building. In
fact, the structure is able to resist any kind of actions that act on it
like: the own weight, useful overloads, wind, earthquake
movements, etc.
All the topics that I have mentioned are studied by the structure
Engineering. This science is the branch of the Engineering what
deals the dimension, design and the construction of the necessary
structures to develop the human activities in a safe way.
In a similar definition, the join of two or more structural elements
make a structure.
Depending of the type of structural element, we will get a diversity
of structural systems and the way of how the structural elements
are located will show how much resistant and stable is the structure.
A feature of the structural analysis is that it is a unificated system,
we can understand it as:
- A separate structural element has too many restrictions and
limitations and it would not be safe if we take it to build any
construction.
- But those elements have a different behavior when they work
together. That is what we call a unificated system. This kind of
system has just a few limitations and restrictions. This system
also has much more resistance than a separate structural
element. Then, the system’s resistances is equal to the sum of
the separate structural elements’ resistance that conform it.
The structural Engineering has to contemplate four basic concepts:

A. FUNCTIONALITY
Every structures have to work according to the design that they
was made for.

B. SECURITY
Every structures have to put up the loads that they was made
for. It gives security because a building is exposed to different
loads through its useful life period, so the correct design is made
to put up all those kind of loads.

DEAD LOADS

LIVE LOADS
In the follow picture we can see two kind of loads:

o Dead loads
We consider as dead loads all the permanent forces that act
inside and outside the building.
For example:
 The ceiling’s own weight
 The walls’ own weight
 The beams’ own weight
 The columns’ own weight

o Live loads
We consider as live loads all the variable forces that act only
inside the building.
For example:
 People who lived there
 The furniture’s weight
 No structural elements (drywall)

C. ECONOMY
Every structure is built to take advantage of the available
material resources that are used in the construction of it.

D. AESTHETICS
Every structure has to have an appropriate exterior appearance.
To fulfil this concept, Architecture and Engineering work
together.
2.2. PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
The analysis takes into account all the possible deformations that a
structure and includes them in the seismic analysis. In the case of
an equivalent static analysis, you would only be modeling the
structure from a single deformed one (equivalent to the deformed
from the fundamental mode of modal analysis). Finally, in the modal
analysis you would be contemplating forces that would not consider
the equivalent static.
The analysis of structures has as a fundamental objective
determine the response of structures when they look submitted to
the different actions that they must have during their construction
and useful life.

Structural Response
We can understand for Structural Response basically, the
determination of the states of tension and deformation to which the
structure will be submitted by effect of the different loads state that
are considered.

2.3. STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

2.3.1. BEAMS
A beam is a structural element that primarily
resists loads applied laterally to the beam's axis. Its mode of
deflection is primarily by bending. The loads applied to the
beam result in reaction forces at the beam's support points.
The total effect of all the forces acting on the beam is to
produce shear forces and bending moments within the
beam, that in turn induce internal stresses, strains and
deflections of the beam. Beams are characterized by their
manner of support, profile (shape of cross-section), length,
and their material.
Beams are traditionally descriptions of building or civil
engineering structural elements, but any structures such as
automotive automobile frames, aircraft components,
machine frames, and other mechanical or structural systems
contain beam structures that are designed to carry lateral
loads are analyzed in a similar fashion.

A. Beam’s classification according to their supports


In buildings we can find some types of beams, those are:

 Simply supported
A beam supported on the ends which are free to rotate
and have no moment resistance

 Fixed
A beam supported on both ends and restrained from
rotation

 Over hanging
A simple beam extending beyond its support on one end.
 Double overhanging
A simple beam with both ends extending beyond its
supports on both ends.
 Continuous
A beam extending over more than two supports.

 Cantilever
A projecting beam fixed only at one end.

B. STRESS
Internally, beams subjected to loads that do not induce
torsion or axial loading experience compressive, tensile and
shear stresses as a result of the loads applied to them.
Typically, under gravity loads, the original length of the beam
is slightly reduced to enclose a smaller radius arc at the top
of the beam, resulting in compression, while the same
original beam length at the bottom of the beam is slightly
stretched to enclose a larger radius arc, and so is under
tension. Modes of deformation where the top face of the
beam is in compression, as under a vertical load, are known
as sagging modes and where the top is in tension, for
example over a support, is known as hogging. The same
original length of the middle of the beam, generally halfway
between the top and bottom, is the same as the radial arc of
bending, and so it is under neither compression nor tension,
and defines the neutral axis (dotted line in the beam figure).
Above the supports, the beam is exposed to shear stress.
There are some reinforced concrete beams in which the
concrete is entirely in compression with tensile forces taken
by steel tendons. These beams are known as prestressed
concrete beams, and are fabricated to produce a
compression more than the expected tension under loading
conditions. High strength steel tendons are stretched while
the beam is cast over them. Then, when the concrete has
cured, the tendons are slowly released and the beam is
immediately under eccentric axial loads. This eccentric
loading creates an internal moment, and, in turn, increases
the moment carrying capacity of the beam. They are
commonly used on highway bridges.

2.3.2. COLUMNS
A column in civil Engineering is a structural element that
transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure
above to other structural elements below. In other words, a
column is a compression member. The term column applies
especially to a large round support a capital and
a base or pedestal which is made of stone, or appearing to
be so. A small wooden or metal support is typically called a
post, and supports with a rectangular or other non-round
section are usually called piers. For the purpose
of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be
designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression
members are often termed "columns" because of the similar
stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to
support beams or arches on which the upper parts of walls
or ceilings rest. In architecture, "column" refers to such a
structural element that also has certain proportional and
decorative features. A column might also be a decorative
element not needed for structural purposes; many columns
are "engaged", that is to say form part of a wall.
Early columns were constructed of stone, some out of a
single piece of stone. Monolithic columns are among the
heaviest stones used in architecture. Other stone columns
are created out of multiple sections of stone, mortared or dry-
fit together. In many classical sites, sectioned columns were
carved with a centre hole or depression so that they could
be pegged together, using stone or metal pins. The design
of most classical columns incorporates entasis plus a
reduction in diameter along the height of the column, so that
the top is as little as 83% of the bottom diameter. This
reduction mimics the parallax effects which the eye expects
to see, and tends to make columns look taller and straighter
than they are while entasis adds to that effect. There are
fillets and flutes that run up the shaft of columns. The flute is
the part of the column that is indented in with a semi circular
shape. The fillet of the column is the part between each of
the flutes on the ionic order columns. The flute width
changes on all tapered columns as it goes up the shaft and
stays the same on all non tapered columns. This was done
to the columns to add visual interest to them. The ionic order
and the corinthian orders are the only column styles that
have fillets and flutes. The doric style has flutes but not fillets.
Doric flutes are connected at a sharp point where the fillets
are located on ionic and corinthian order columns.
C. EQUILIBRIUM, INSTABILITY AND LOADS
As the axial load on a perfectly straight slender column with
elastic material properties is increased in magnitude, this
ideal column passes through three states: stable equilibrium,
neutral equilibrium, and instability. The straight column under
load is in stable equilibrium if a lateral force, applied between
the two ends of the column, produces a small lateral
deflection which disappears and the column returns to its
straight form when the lateral force is removed. If the column
load is gradually increased, a condition is reached in which
the straight form of equilibrium becomes so-called neutral
equilibrium, and a small lateral force will produce a deflection
that does not disappear and the column remains in this
slightly bent form when the lateral force is removed. The load
at which neutral equilibrium of a column is reached is called
the critical or buckling load. The state of instability is reached
when a slight increase of the column load causes
uncontrollably growing lateral deflections leading to
complete collapse.

2.4. CONCRETE SLABS


A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern
buildings. Horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete, typically
between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct
floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs may be used for exterior
paving. Sometimes these thinner slabs, ranging from 50 to 150 mm
thick, are called mud slabs, particularly when used under the main
floor slabs or in crawl spaces.
D. CONSTRUCTION

A concrete slab may be prefabricated (precast), or


constructed on site. Prefabricated concrete slabs are built in
a factory and transported to the site, ready to be lowered into
place between steel or concrete beams. They may be pre-
stressed (in the factory), post-stressed (on site), or
unstressed. It is vital that the wall supporting structure is built
to the correct dimensions, or the slabs may not fit.

In-situ concrete slabs are built on the building site


using formwork - a type of boxing into which the wet concrete
is poured. If the slab is to be reinforced, the rebars, or metal
bars, are positioned within the formwork before the concrete
is poured in. Plastic-tipped metal, or plastic bar chairs, are
used to hold the rebar away from the bottom and sides of the
form-work, so that when the concrete sets it completely
envelops the reinforcement. For a ground slab, the form-
work may consist only of sidewalls pushed into the ground.
For a suspended slab, the form-work is shaped like a tray,
often supported by a temporary scaffold until the concrete
sets.

The formwork is commonly built from wooden planks and


boards, plastic, or steel. On commercial building sites today,
plastic and steel are gaining popularity as they save labour.
On low-budget sites, for instance when laying a concrete
garden path, wooden planks are very common. After the
concrete has set the wood may be removed, or left there
permanently.

In some cases formwork is not necessary - for instance, a


ground slab surrounded by brick or block foundation walls,
where the walls act as the sides of the tray and hardcore
(rubble) acts as the base.

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