Fundamentals of Structural Analysis

In this lecture we'll start by introducing forces and their defining characterises. By the end of the lecture you should understand what a force is and how it influences mass. You'll also understand what a 2D force system is.

When dealing with 2D force systems, determining the resultant force is only half the story, we also need to determine the combined twisting or rotational effect generated by the force system. By the end of this lecture you'll understand what the moment of a force is and how to determine the resultant moment from a 2D force system.

Now that you can analyse 2D force systems, in this lecture we put these skills to use by determining equivalent systems of moments and forces. By the end of this lecture you'll be able to replace complex systems of moments and forces with equivalent simplified systems. We'll also cover the concept of force couples.

Equilibrium is the foundation on which almost all mechanical analysis is built. In this lecture we'll first introduce the principle of equilibrium and show how it can be used to determine the reaction forces for simple structures. We'll also look at different types of structural support, how we can model structural supports and critically how this model behaviour compares to real life support conditions.

The first step in analysing most structures is determining the support reactions. It's a critical skill that needs to be honed before we can advance. In this lecture we'll present a variety of structures and demonstrate how the support reactions are calculated. We'll also introduce different load types such as uniformly and triangularly distributed loads.

The three equilibrium equations can only get us so far. In this lecture we'll identify the limitations of using equilibrium equations to determine support reactions. By the end of this lecture you will understand the difference between statically determinate and indeterminate structures.

In this lecture we introduce one of the most common forms of structure in the world, the pin-jointed truss. We'll focus on the details of the theoretical models we use in our analyses, discussing the key features of this type of structure and what makes it such an attractive structural form for civil and structural engineers.

As with all models we use in our analyses, they're an approximation of the behaviour of the real structure. As such their behaviour will be different depending on the simplifying assumptions we make. In this lecture we focus on some of the important differences between our analysis models and real trusses. By the end of this lecture you will have an appreciation for how your analysis relates to reality.

In this lecture we get into analysing pin-jointed structures to determine how forces are transmitted through the structure. By the end of this lecture you'll be able to use the 'Joint Resolution' method to determine the internal member forces within trusses and will appreciate how these elegant structures really work.

Now we introduce an alternative analysis method known as the Method of Sections. Based on the principle of equilibrium just like the joint resolution method, this analysis procedure gives us more flexibility when analysing larger structures. By the end of this lecture you will be able to employ the method of sections to analyse trusses and will understand when to use this method joint resolution.

The concept of statical determinacy introduced in lecture 7 also extends to pin-jointed structures. In this lecture we look at what it means in the context of pin-jointed structures. We'll introduce the concept of a mechanism as well as establish a simple test to determine the if a truss is statically determinate, indeterminate or a mechanism.

In this lecture I give you some closing words of advice and some ideas on where to go next.