Structural engineering

Galileo Galilei published the book Two New Sciences in which he examined the failure of simple structures.

Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which contains his laws of motion.

Leonhard Euler developed the theory of buckling of columns.

• 1452–1519 Leonardo da Vinci made many contributions.
• 1638: Galileo Galilei published the book Two New Sciences in which he examined the failure of simple structures.
• 1660: Hooke's law by Robert Hooke.
• 1687: Isaac Newton published Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which contains his laws of motion.
• 1750: Euler–Bernoulli beam equation.
• 1700–1782: Daniel Bernoulli introduced the principle of virtual work.
• 1707–1783: Leonhard Euler developed the theory of buckling of columns.
• 1826: Claude-Louis Navier published a treatise on the elastic behaviors of structures.
• 1873: Carlo Alberto Castigliano presented his dissertation "Intorno ai sistemi elastici", which contains his theorem for computing displacement as the partial derivative of the strain energy. This theorem includes the method of "least work" as a special case.
• 1874: Otto Mohr formalized the idea of a statically indeterminate structure.
• 1922: Timoshenko corrects the Euler–Bernoulli beam equation.
• 1936: Hardy Cross' publication of the moment distribution method, an important innovation in the design of continuous frames.
• 1941: Alexander Hrennikoff solved the discretization of plane elasticity problems using a lattice framework.
• 1942: Richard Courant divided a domain into finite subregions.
• 1956: J. Turner, R. W. Clough, H. C. Martin, and L. J. Topp's paper on the "Stiffness and Deflection of Complex Structures" introduces the name "finite-element method" and is widely recognized as the first comprehensive treatment of the method as it is known today.

The history of structural engineering contains many collapses and failures. Sometimes this is due to obvious negligence, as in the case of the Pétion-Ville school collapse, in which Rev. Fortin Augustin " constructed the building all by himself, saying he didn't need an engineer as he had good knowledge of construction" following a partial collapse of the three-story schoolhouse that sent neighbors fleeing. The final collapse killed 94 people, mostly children.

In other cases structural failures require careful study, and the results of these inquiries have resulted in improved practices and a greater understanding of the science of structural engineering. Some such studies are the result of forensic engineering investigations where the original engineer seems to have done everything in accordance with the state of the profession and acceptable practice yet a failure still eventuated. A famous case of structural knowledge and practice being advanced in this manner can be found in a series of failures involving box girders which collapsed in Australia during the 1970s.

Sydney Opera House, designed by Architect Jørn Utzon and structural design by Ove Arup & Partners

Millennium Dome in London, UK, by Richard Rogers and Buro Happold

Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, the world's tallest building, shown under construction in 2007 (since completed)

Structural building engineering includes all structural engineering related to the design of buildings. It is a branch of structural engineering closely affiliated with architecture.

Structural building engineering is primarily driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms and the underlying mathematical and scientific ideas to achieve an end that fulfills its functional requirements and is structurally safe when subjected to all the loads it could reasonably be expected to experience. This is subtly different from architectural design, which is driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms, mass, space, volume, texture, and light to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional, and often artistic.

The structural design for a building must ensure that the building can stand up safely, able to function without excessive deflections or movements which may cause fatigue of structural elements, cracking or failure of fixtures, fittings or partitions, or discomfort for occupants. It must account for movements and forces due to temperature, creep, cracking, and imposed loads. It must also ensure that the design is practically buildable within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of the materials. It must allow the architecture to work, and the building services to fit within the building and function (air conditioning, ventilation, smoke extract, electrics, lighting, etc.). The structural design of a modern building can be extremely complex and often requires a large team to complete.

Structural engineering specialties for buildings include:

• Earthquake engineering
• Façade engineering
• Fire engineering
• Roof engineering
• Tower engineering
• Wind engineering

Earthquake engineering structures are those engineered to withstand earthquakes.

Earthquake-proof pyramid El Castillo, Chichen Itza

The main objectives of earthquake engineering are to understand the interaction of structures with the shaking ground, foresee the consequences of possible earthquakes, and design and construct the structures to perform during an earthquake.

Earthquake-proof structures are not necessarily extremely strong like the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza shown above.

One important tool of earthquake engineering is base isolation, which allows the base of a structure to move freely with the ground.

Civil structural engineering includes all structural engineering related to the built environment. It includes:

The structural engineer is the lead designer on these structures, and often the sole designer. In the design of structures such as these, structural safety is of paramount importance (in the UK, designs for dams, nuclear power stations and bridges must be signed off by a chartered engineer).

Civil engineering structures are often subjected to very extreme forces, such as large variations in temperature, dynamic loads such as waves or traffic, or high pressures from water or compressed gases. They are also often constructed in corrosive environments, such as at sea, in industrial facilities, or below ground.

The principles of structural engineering apply to a variety of mechanical (moveable) structures. The design of static structures assumes they always have the same geometry (in fact, so-called static structures can move significantly, and structural engineering design must take this into account where necessary), but the design of moveable or moving structures must account for fatigue, variation in the method in which load is resisted and significant deflections of structures.

The forces which parts of a machine are subjected to can vary significantly and can do so at a great rate. The forces which a boat or aircraft are subjected to vary enormously and will do so thousands of times over the structure's lifetime. The structural design must ensure that such structures can endure such loading for their entire design life without failing.

These works can require mechanical structural engineering:

• Boilers and pressure vessels
• Coachworks and carriages
• Cranes
• Elevators
• Escalators
• Marine vessels and hulls

An Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner

Design of missile needs in depth understanding of Structural Analysis

Aerospace structure types include launch vehicles, (Atlas, Delta, Titan), missiles (ALCM, Harpoon), Hypersonic vehicles (Space Shuttle), military aircraft (F-16, F-18) and commercial aircraft (Boeing 777, MD-11). Aerospace structures typically consist of thin plates with stiffeners for the external surfaces, bulkheads, and frames to support the shape and fasteners such as welds, rivets, screws, and bolts to hold the components together.

A nanostructure is an object of intermediate size between molecular and microscopic (micrometer-sized) structures. In describing nanostructures it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dimensions on the nanoscale. Nanotextured surfaces have one dimension on the nanoscale, i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1 and 100 nm. Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the diameter of the tube is between 0.1 and 100 nm; its length could be much greater. Finally, spherical nanoparticles have three dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the particle is between 0.1 and 100 nm in each spatial dimension. The terms nanoparticles and ultrafine particles (UFP) often are used synonymously although UFP can reach into the micrometer range. The term 'nanostructure' is often used when referring to magnetic technology.

Designing medical equipment needs in-depth understanding of structural engineering

Medical equipment (also known as armamentarium) is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions. There are several basic types: diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis; equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers, and LASIK surgical machines; medical monitors allow medical staff to measure a patient's medical state. Monitors may measure patient vital signs and other parameters including ECG, EEG, blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood; diagnostic medical equipment may also be used in the home for certain purposes, e.g. for the control of diabetes mellitus. A biomedical equipment technician (BMET) is a vital component of the healthcare delivery system. Employed primarily by hospitals, BMETs are the people responsible for maintaining a facility's medical equipment.

Columns are elements that carry only axial force (compression) or both axial force and bending (which is technically called a beam-column but practically, just a column). The design of a column must check the axial capacity of the element and the buckling capacity.

The buckling capacity is the capacity of the element to withstand the propensity to buckle. Its capacity depends upon its geometry, material, and the effective length of the column, which depends upon the restraint conditions at the top and bottom of the column. The effective length is ${\displaystyle K*l}$ where ${\displaystyle l}$ is the real length of the column and K is the factor dependent on the restraint conditions.

The capacity of a column to carry axial load depends on the degree of bending it is subjected to, and vice versa. This is represented on an interaction chart and is a complex non-linear relationship.

Little Belt: a truss bridge in Denmark

A beam may be defined as an element in which one dimension is much greater than the other two and the applied loads are usually normal to the main axis of the element. Beams and columns are called line elements and are often represented by simple lines in structural modeling.

• cantilevered (supported at one end only with a fixed connection)
• simply supported (fixed against vertical translation at each end and horizontal translation at one end only, and able to rotate at the supports)
• fixed (supported in all directions for translation and rotation at each end)
• continuous (supported by three or more supports)
• a combination of the above (ex. supported at one end and in the middle)

Beams are elements that carry pure bending only. Bending causes one part of the section of a beam (divided along its length) to go into compression and the other part into tension. The compression part must be designed to resist buckling and crushing, while the tension part must be able to adequately resist the tension.

The McDonnell Planetarium by Gyo Obata in St Louis, Missouri, USA, a concrete shell structure

The 630 foot (192 m) high, stainless-clad (type 304) Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri

A truss is a structure comprising members and connection points or nodes. When members are connected at nodes and forces are applied at nodes members can act in tension or compression. Members acting in compression are referred to as compression members or struts while members acting in tension are referred to as tension members or ties. Most trusses use gusset plates to connect intersecting elements. Gusset plates are relatively flexible and unable to transfer bending moments. The connection is usually arranged so that the lines of force in the members are coincident at the joint thus allowing the truss members to act in pure tension or compression.

Trusses are usually used in large-span structures, where it would be uneconomical to use solid beams.

Plates carry bending in two directions. A concrete flat slab is an example of a plate. Plates are understood by using continuum mechanics, but due to the complexity involved they are most often designed using a codified empirical approach, or computer analysis.

They can also be designed with yield line theory, where an assumed collapse mechanism is analyzed to give an upper bound on the collapse load. This technique is used in practice[8] but because the method provides an upper-bound (i.e. an unsafe prediction of the collapse load) for poorly conceived collapse mechanisms, great care is needed to ensure that the assumed collapse mechanism is realistic.[9]

Shells derive their strength from their form and carry forces in compression in two directions. A dome is an example of a shell. They can be designed by making a hanging-chain model, which will act as a catenary in pure tension and inverting the form to achieve pure compression.

Arches carry forces in compression in one direction only, which is why it is appropriate to build arches out of masonry. They are designed by ensuring that the line of thrust of the force remains within the depth of the arch. It is mainly used to increase the bountifulness of any structure.

Catenaries derive their strength from their form and carry transverse forces in pure tension by deflecting (just as a tightrope will sag when someone walks on it). They are almost always cable or fabric structures. A fabric structure acts as a catenary in two directions.