Structural Engineering Slide Library

Set F: Columns, Rigid Frames, Grids and Slabs

This set covers the following general topics:

• Stone columns
• Buttresses and flying buttresses
• Towers: Historic
• Towers: Modern
• Some modern tall buildings
• Columns: Unsupported
• Columns: Hinged at both ends
• Columns: Hinged at one end, fixed at the other
• Columns: Fixed at both ends
• Rigid frames: Crane structure
• Rigid frames: Single-story buildings
• Rigid frames: Bridges
• Rigid frames: Vierendeel girder
• Rigid frames: Multi-story
• Rigid frames: With shear walls
• Horizontal grids
• Slabs

Columns and buckling (strangely enough) are not usually covered in introductory courses in structural analysis, but appear in courses on the strength of materials and the mechanics of solids. However, it is important to discuss the topic in a course on structural analysis or architectural engineering. Classical architecture has many examples of columns, from segmental stone columns to the buttresses and flying buttresses of cathedral construction. These make excellent examples for studying stresses due to axial and transverse loading. The stability of modern columns is very sensitive to boundary conditions, and a series of slides is devoted to close-ups of column supports -- including cases where the boundary conditions are different in different directions. Stability can also be important in the design of modern tall buildings, and examples are given.

In the section on rigid frames, examples are given of simple frames that can be readily analyzed by hand, as well as the more complex examples of multi-bay and multi-story frames, gabled frames and arch frames that may require computer solution. Shear stiffening by partial shear walls is also illustrated.

The distribution of forces in horizontal grids, both beam- and truss-grids, is a suitable introduction to slab design, and examples of all these are given at the end.