CS3000:03
Structural Analysis
| Townsville | HECS Band 2 |
39 hours lectures, 39 hours tutorials and practicals. Semester 1.
Determinate structures – Elastic deflections of beams, frames and trusses; conjugate beam, virtual work, strain energy; Castigliano’s theorems; Betti’s law, Maxwell’s law; influence lines; Muller-Breslau’s principle.
Indeterminate structures – Solutions for beams, frames and trusses using the principle of superposition (force method); superposition equations. Sign convention. Slope deflection equations; sidesway; introduction to moment distribution (no sidesway).
Matrix displacement method – Outline of force and displacement methods. Displacement method; degrees of freedom. Member and total structure stiffness; truss and frame element; assembly of total structure stiffness; direct displacement method; force-displacement relationship; solution for displacements, external reactions and member forces. Statical condensation; analysis by sub-structures; general loads. Introduction to finite element method.
Learning Objectives:
- in-depth technical competence in calculating deflections in beams, frames and trusses using conjugate beam, virtual work or energy methods as appropriate;
- a detailed understanding of the fundamental theory of the matrix displacement method;
- an ability to solve a variety of indeterminate beam, frame and truss problems.
Assessment by examination (50%-70%); on-course assessment (30%-50%).