Computer Analysis of Structural Frameworks

By James A.D. Balfour

Structural analysis is conducted during the preliminary design of civil structures, such as bridges airplanes, to ensure their feasibility. Once the outline design is complete, the structure is analyzed in detail to assess its strength and stiffness. This procedure, structural analysis, is therefore inextricably bound up with structural design. It is one of the tools that the designer uses to ensure economy and safety of the final structure. Of the many different ways in which computer technology has affected the engineering profession, it is in the field of structural analysis that the impact has been most profound. The computer's ability to handle vast amounts of arithmetic with speed and accuracy has made computationally intensive methods viable. This book offers an overview of this critical field. The authors use short computer programs to perform each of the standard procedures used in commercial structural analysis programs. The programs are written in BASIC and are designed to run on any computer from a desktop microcomputer to a mainframe machine. Each program is clear and complete in itself. Also presented are a number of structural analysis programs for a number of different framework types. This second edition illustrates the simplicity and flexibility of the stiffness method by considering problems in the field of structural dynamics. The text is designed for students and professionals in civil, mechanical, structural, and aeronautical engineering.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195209648
• ISBN13: 9780195209648
• Release Date: August 1992
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 510 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Great for Developers of Structural Analysis Software

Do you want to know how to develop your own Structural Analysis software? Then this is the book for you! You will learn how to develop codes for 2D and 3D Trusses, 2D and 3D Frames, Grillages and there is even a chapter on Structural Dynamics.

Best book to learn about the stiffness method

Removes the unnescesary mathematical approach to the introduction of the stiffness method. Even an undergraduate can understand with minimal effort. This has to be the best introductory text to the stiffness method as it paves the way for further understanding of the more advanced topics such as finite elements.