Load Paths and Structural Forms

After working through this lecture you should

be able to:
discuss a range of structural forms, both for two
dimensional and three dimensional structures
sketch the load path for a given load on a given
structural form
divide a two dimensional structure into a series of
members and joints to enable it to be
mathematically modeled
 Before we can analyse a structure we must
understand how the forces move through it.

Structures can be classified into different structural

forms, each carrying the load in a different way.
 For a structure to be successful, it must carry the
applied loads through to the support along a load
path, maintaining equilibrium at every point along
the way.
Consider your current situation sitting in a chair.
 1. the load (your weight) acts on the seat of
the chair
2. the seat carries the load to the chair
legs
3. the legs push down on the floor which
transfers the load to the walls
4. the walls carry the load to the footings
5. the footings carry the load to the earth
So the load path is seat-legs-floor-walls-footing-
earth.
 If any part of this load path is not present, then the
structure will fail to carry the load (it will collapse).
For any situation you must be able to trace the
load path from the point of application of the load,
to the ultimate reaction (usually the earth)
 Consider yourself sitting on a bicycle.
Trace the load path from your backside to the
ground.
Now start pedalling this introduces new loads.
How are these transferred to the ground?
 Consider again the example of the load path
when you sit on a chair.
1. the load (your weight) acts on the seat of the chair
the seat carries the load by bending
2. the seat carries the load to the chair legs
the legs carry the load by axially compressing
3. the legs push down on the floor which transfers the load to the walls
the floor carries the load by bending
4. the walls carry the load to the footings
the walls carry the load by axially compressing
5. the footings carry the load to the earth
the footings and earth carry the load by compressing
 There are five load paths - two which involve
bending and three which involve axial
compression.

Bending and axial compression are called the

structural actions.
 Beams are the most common type of structural form.

Beams divert a load, thus creating an open space beneath them.

This causes curving of the beam - in this case the top of the beam
gets shorter and the bottom gets longer.
 Cables are far more efficient than beams
- the same amount of material will carry
a much greater load. The problem is that
a cable only works in tension, and so the
load must be in line with the cable. Thus
cables are not as useful, and hence not
as popular, as beams.

The most famous examples of cable structures are suspension

bridges, where the main cable supports many
hanger cables.
 Another form is the cable stayed bridge where the
cables connect directly to the deck.

Cables have the unique property that the shape of the cable
changes as the load changes, so that the cable always carries
tension only.
Because cables change shape to suit the load
(always carrying the load by tension and never by
bending moment, shear or torque), we give cables a
special name funicular structures.
An arch carries load by compression. It is helpful to think of the
arch as the opposite of a cable, because a cable carries its load
by tension.

Arches have an additional complication when compared to cables. Because the

arch is in compression, the arch wants to buckle. For this reason, an arch can
never be as slender as a cable. To prevent buckling an arch needs to have
some bending stiffness. Because an arch has bending
stiffness, it cannot change shape to suit the
load, as a cable does.
 For a given load there is one particular shape of arch which would
carry that load by pure compression in the arch, and this is the most
efficient arch shape for that load.
This shape is the funicular shape. The easiest way to find the
funicular shape is to put the load on a cable, and see what shape
the cable takes up (this will be pure tension).
Flip that shape upside down and you have the shape of an arch that
carries the load by pure compression.
When the shape of an arch is not the correct funicular shape for a
given load, the arch will carry the load by a combination of
compression and bending moment.
The further away the shape is from the funicular shape, the more
bending moment there will be in the arch.
 A truss can be thought of as a particular
type of beam, where all the inner workings
of the beam are exposed.
Trusses divert a load, in the same way that
beams do, thus creating an open space
beneath them. The truss curves like a beam
(with the top in compression and the bottom
in tension for the example shown).

The unique thing about a truss is that while the truss as a whole curves, each
individual member carries its load by tension or compression. Therefore,
individual members get shorter or longer (with no curving), but this causes the
truss as a whole to curve.
 Beams, cables, arches and trusses are all two
dimensional structural forms.
They are useful because when engineers develop
mathematical models of real structures we treat them as
a series of repeated two dimensional structures joined
together to form a three dimensional structure.
This makes them easier to analyse and easier to build.
However, there are times when a structure is truly three
dimensional - a load is dispersed along load paths which
exist in all three dimensions.
Slabs and Plates
When a beam is extended into the third dimension it
becomes a slab, or a plate.

These bend in two directions at the same time.

Nets or Membranes
When a cable is extended into three dimensions a net is
created if the cables are kept discrete.
If the cables merge together to from a continuum, a
membrane is created.
Nets and membranes form some of the worlds most unusual
but exciting structures.
Because of the efficiency of the structure (carrying the load in
pure tension), these structures can cover very large areas
with very light structures.
 Shells and Domes
When an arch is extended into three dimensions a shell or
dome is created.
Like all three dimensional structures, shells and domes
provide many alternative load paths for any applied load, and
by dispersing the load paths through the structure, thinner and
more elegant structures are possible with three dimensional
compared to two dimensional structures.
Space frames

When a truss is extended into three dimensions a space

truss or space frame is created.

These can span large distances because the load is

dispersed through many load paths.
Folded Plates
A folded plate is an uncommon three dimensional structure,
but it illustrates well the importance of shape in determining
the strength and stiffness of a structural form.
A flat sheet of paper is useless as a beam, but when folded
into a series of peaks and valleys it becomes very much
stiffer and stronger.
This principle has been used to create long span concrete
roofs.
 Two Dimensional Structural Forms
To create a mathematical model of a structure we need to
divide the structure up into a series of linear members.
The members are joined together at nodes.
Certain of the nodes will be restrained against movement -
these are the supports.
Other nodes are left free to move as the structure deforms.
There is no limit to the number of nodes that can be used
when dividing up a structure, however a node must be
provided at the following positions,
at every point where the structure is supported
everywhere that the structure changes direction
everywhere that a member changes shape or size
The process of modelling a two dimensional structure by
dividing it up into a series of members is called
discretising the structure - ie modelling it as a series of
discrete members.
Three Dimensional Structural Forms
Models of three dimensional structural forms are created by
dividing the structure up into a series of elements. These
elements can be plates, shells etc.
This process is more complex than for two dimensional
structures.
The process of modelling a three dimensional structure by
dividing it up into a series of elements is called discretising
the structure ie modelling it as a series of discrete
elements.
 Beams, cables, arches and trusses are all
examples of two dimensional structural forms with
the loads being carried by different types of load
paths.
Plates, slabs, nets, membranes, shells, domes,
space trusses and space frames are all examples
of three dimensional structural forms with the load
being carried by different types of load paths.
 Two dimensional structures are modelled by
dividing the structure into a series of members
connected at nodes.

Three dimensional structures are modelled by

dividing the structure into a series of elements
connected at nodes.
 Load path:
The way that a load is carried through a structure
to the supports.

Structural actions:
All loads are carried by a combination of axial
compression or tension, bending moment, shear
and torque.
 Structural forms:
The elements that make up a structure, and from
the load path can be grouped into structural forms,
of which beams, cables, arches and trusses are
the most common.

Modelling:
In order to develop mathematical models we
idealise a structure by discretising it into
members connected at nodes.