stiffness method of structural analysis examples

The aforesaid methods can also be restrictive according to the type of structure, its support conditions and indeterminacy, even if implemented in spreadsheets which are ubiquitous nowadays. Though conducive to hand calculations, classical methods of structural analysis such as Clapeyron’s Theorem of Three Moments (Hearn 2000), the Slope-Deflection Method (Hibbeler 2012), and the Moment Distribution Method (Williams 2009) can be daunting especially if used for preliminary designs or to double-check intermediate work, in which cases these calculations may be irrelevant at the final design stage. The latter is also used as a means to assess whether trainees have understood a particular topic at the degree level. without the use of structural analysis software.

Supervisors are cognizant that less experienced engineers usually do not possess these skills and depending on the complexity of the design, may encourage their junior colleagues to perform calculations themselves i.e. Furthermore, from longevity in practice one often develops a keen eye to detect errors intuitively.

Occasionally, they may not do so due to their confidence in the reliability of certain programs out of many years of use and/or due to doubts in their capability to successfully perform such checks.

It is in the designer’s best interest to validate the output of programs they have used for structural analyses.

Stiffness method of structural analysis examples