Fundamentals of Structural Engineering

This book offers a balanced, seamless treatment of both classical analytic methods and contemporary, computer-based techniques for conceptualizing and designing a structure. Includes realistic problems and case studies together with computer simulation.

Fundamentals of Structural Engineering provides a balanced, seamless treatment of both classic, analytic methods and contemporary, computer-based techniques for conceptualizing and designing a structure. The book?s principle goal is to foster an intuitive understanding of structural behavior based on problem solving experience for students of civil engineering and architecture who have been exposed to the basic concepts of engineering mechanics and mechanics of materials. Distinct from many undergraduate textbooks, which are  focused mainly on either teaching manual analysis methods and applying them to simple, idealized structures or reformulating structural analysis methods in terms of matrix notation, this text instead encourages the student to develop intuition about structural behavior. The authors of this text recognize the notion that engineers reason about behavior using simple models and intuition they acquire through problem solving. The approach adopted in this text develops this type of intuition by presenting extensive, realistic problems and case studies together with computer simulation, which allows rapid exploration of  how a structure responds to changes in geometry and physical parameters.

Part I Statically Determinate Structures.- Introduction to Structural Engineering.- Statically Determinate Truss Structures.- Statically Determinate Beams.- Statically Determinate Plane Frames.- Cable Structures.- Statically Determinate Curved Members.- Shallow Foundations.- Vertical Retaining Wall Structures.- Part II Statically Indeterminate Structures.- The Force Method.- The Displacement Method.- Approximate Methods for Estimating Forces in Statically Indeterminate Structures.- Finite Element Displacement Method for Framed Structures.- Multi-Span Horizontal Structures.- Lateral Load Issues for Buildings.- Vertical Loads on Multi-Story Buildings.