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A structural load or structural action is a mechanical load (more generally a force) applied to structural elements. [1] [2] A load causes stress, deformation, displacement or acceleration in a structure. Structural analysis, a discipline in engineering, analyzes the effects of loads on structures and structural elements.
In the context to structural analysis, a structure refers to a body or system of connected parts used to support a load. Important examples related to Civil Engineering include buildings, bridges, and towers; and in other branches of engineering, ship and aircraft frames, tanks, pressure vessels, mechanical systems, and electrical supporting structures are important.
Structural engineering depends upon a detailed knowledge of loads, physics and materials to understand and predict how structures support and resist self-weight and imposed loads. To apply the knowledge successfully structural engineers will need a detailed knowledge of mathematics and of relevant empirical and theoretical design codes.
Structural dynamics is a type of structural analysis which covers the behavior of a structure subjected to dynamic (actions having high acceleration) loading. Dynamic loads include people, wind, waves, traffic, earthquakes, and blasts. Any structure can be subjected to dynamic loading.
A classification for the structural system of a high-rise was introduced in 1969 by Fazlur Khan and was extended to incorporate interior and exterior structures. The primary lateral load-resisting system defines if a structural system is an interior or exterior one. [2] The following interior structures are possible: Hinged frame; Rigid frame
A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that is an active structural element of a building — that is, it bears the weight of the elements above said wall, resting upon it by conducting its weight to a foundation structure. [1] The materials most often used to construct load-bearing walls in large buildings are concrete, block, or brick.
Shear and Bending moment diagram for a simply supported beam with a concentrated load at mid-span. Shear force and bending moment diagrams are analytical tools used in conjunction with structural analysis to help perform structural design by determining the value of shear forces and bending moments at a given point of a structural element such as a beam.
Compression members are structural elements that are pushed together or carry a load; more technically, they are subjected only to axial compressive forces. That is, the loads are applied on the longitudinal axis through the centroid of the member cross section, and the load over the cross-sectional area gives the stress on the compressed member.