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Qualitative Structural Analysis of Beams and Frames

Qualitative structural analysis is an important preliminary step before numerical analysis of structures. It involves understanding relationships between loads and structural behaviors without precise calculations. Some key aspects of qualitative analysis include recognizing deflected shapes, reactions, and bending moment diagrams. It also depends on understanding conditions like support types and their restraints, as well as principles like superposition. Qualitative analysis provides critical skills for properly sizing structural elements before detailed numerical analysis.

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Neven Ahmed Hassan
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358 views8 pages

Qualitative Structural Analysis of Beams and Frames

Qualitative structural analysis is an important preliminary step before numerical analysis of structures. It involves understanding relationships between loads and structural behaviors without precise calculations. Some key aspects of qualitative analysis include recognizing deflected shapes, reactions, and bending moment diagrams. It also depends on understanding conditions like support types and their restraints, as well as principles like superposition. Qualitative analysis provides critical skills for properly sizing structural elements before detailed numerical analysis.

Uploaded by

Neven Ahmed Hassan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Qualitative Structural Analysis of Beams and

Frames
Qualitative structural analysis might not be familiar to structural engineers. The
usual way of analysis of structures is numerical (quantitative) method in which
the structural designers should determine values for dimensions and loads and
compute bending moments and reactions.

However, there is an important step before numerical structural analysis that is


called preliminary analysis. In this stage dimensions of elements should be
assumed before analysis is performed.

Naturally, the detailed numerical analysis is to check values that have been
employed in the preliminary analysis. Therefore, unless the structural elements
sized correctly, the analysis has to be repeated many times regardless of using
computer or hand calculation. This could be time consuming and costly and the
designer should try to avoid this situation.

By and large, it is considered that required knowledge and skills to carry out
suitable and correct preliminary analysis comes from researching and studying
techniques of numerical analysis, but this might not be the case.

Qualitative structural analysis provides the necessary skills and knowledge to


perform preliminary analysis. The foundation of these skills is to understand or
recognize relations between loads and resulting structural behaviors.

For example, in simple elements the basic skills are to recognize the relationships
between loads, deflected shape and resulting reactions.
Qualitative structural analysis is substantially different from quantitative
method. Not only it does not have a specific solution procedure but also it
depends on a number of diagrams.

In qualitative analysis the procedure depends on the problem for example, in a


specific problem starting solution from deflected shape could be suitable while
for other problems beginning from bending moment diagram is effective to get
the solution.

Qualitative structural analysis method takes time and requires a lot of practices
to utilize correctly and avoiding confusion.

Conditions of Structural Behavior in Qualitative


Structural Analysis
There are numbers of certain structural behaviors that structural analysis
depends on to carry out qualitative structural analysis and some of them are
clear and obvious while others might not be:

1. Types of support and their restraints: the fully fixed support provide two
reactions and one moment, pinned support has two reactions and roller support
provide one reaction that is vertical as shown in Table 1:
Table 1 Types of supports and their reactions
2. Moment at the hinge is equal to zero.

3. Remember: moment is equal to force multiply by distance.

4. Draw bending moment diagram on the tension side of the beam to keep
consistent answers.

5. For all loading cases, the structure remains in the elastic ranges of material
behavior. Stress is proportional to strain and deflections are directly proportional
to loads (first assumption of elastic analysis of structures).

6. Deflections resulting from loading do not lead to develop secondary bending


moments. As shown in Figure 1 ABC is a cantilever that carries two loads W1 &
W2. The W2 develop bending moment at BC that leads to a horizontal deflection
at B, which is called  . Secondary moment   is neglected. (Second
assumption of elastic analysis of structures).
Figure 1: Cantilever member ABC with loads, deflection and bending moment
diagram
7. In qualitative analysis, axial loads in members which create axial strains are
neglected in bending moment determination.

8. Principle of superposition, which helps to simplify complex structure and


examine loads differently, is considered to apply provided that the structure
remains in elastic range.

For example: Two span beams ABC is shown Figure 2 with deflected shape,
reactions and bending moment diagram. Using principle of superposition, the
indeterminate beam can be solved easily.
Firstly, remove support C that lead to simply support and cantilever beam then
draw the bending moment diagram as shown in left side of Figure 3 .Secondly,
apply force Vc at C and draw BMD as shown in right side of Figure 3.
These two diagrams provide the solution of the original two span beams.
Similarly, deflections could be treated in the same manner.
Figure 2 Beam ABC with deflected shape, reactions, and bending moment
diagram

Figure 3: Remove reaction at C (left side), remove W and recall reaction C right
side, and solve both to get the original solution
9. There is no bending moment in the part of the structure that remains straight
after loading, however it could move.

10. Bending moment diagrams will be straight lines if applied loads were point
loads.

11. Bending moment diagrams will be curved if applied loads were distributed
loads.
12. At simply supports, bending moment is equal to zero.

13. Bending moment diagrams cross elements at points of contra flexure.

14. Unbraced frames will not sway if it is symmetrical and symmetrically loaded.

15. Qualitative analysis is carried out for visible loads, therefore self weight is
neglected.

16. Apart from at hinges, shapes of deflected elements are extremely smooth.

17. In frames, angles of rigid joints should maintain the original angles after
loadings as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Angle of rigid joint frame keep the same angle after loading
18. In frames, rigid joints might close or open only as shown in .
Figure 5: Open and close rigid joints after loading with bending moment
diagrams

19. There is only one moment value in the rigid joints that connects two elements.

20. Shear forces become axial force and axial force become shear force in the
alternate members at the right angle rigid join. sum(fx)  = 0 , sum(fy) = 0 can be
employed to check this statement. See Figure 6

Figure 6: Right angle rigid join in which shear force become axial and axial force
become shear force in the alternate member.
However, this is not the case in the oblique angle join as shown in Figure 7
Figure 7: Oblique angle joint
21. In rigid joints in which there are more than two members, the joint must be in
equilibrium. As shown in Figure 8, in the following joint MA = MB+MC

Figure 8: Equilibrium rigid joint in which three members are meet.


A complete solution of qualitative structural analysis is
composed of:

 Deflected shape

 Reactions

 Bending moment diagrams

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