Structural engineering Definition
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the ‘bones and muscles’ that create the form and shape of man-made structures.
Structural engineering Definition 2
Structural engineering — a specialty within the field of civil engineering — focuses on the framework of structures, and on designing those structures to withstand the stresses and pressures of their environment and remain safe, stable and secure throughout their use.
Structural engineering Simple Definition
Structural engineers make sure that buildings don’t fall down and bridges don’t collapse that is the structural engineering
Structural engineers also must understand and calculate the stability, strength, rigidity and earthquake-susceptibility of built structures for buildings and nonbuilding structures. The structural designs are integrated with those of other designers such as architects and building services engineer and often supervise the construction of projects by contractors on site. They can also be involved in the design of machinery, medical equipment, and vehicles where structural integrity affects functioning and safety. See glossary of structural engineering.
Structural engineering theory is based upon applied physical laws and empirical knowledge of the structural performance of different materials and geometries. Structural engineering design uses a number of relatively simple structural concepts to build complex structural systems. Structural engineers are responsible for making creative and efficient use of funds, structural elements and materials to achieve these goals.
Structural Engineering Timeline
Galileo Galilei published the book Two New Sciences in which he examined the failure of simple structuresIsaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica which contains the Newton’s laws of motionLeonhard 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
- 1660: Hooke’s law by Robert Hooke
- 1687: Isaac Newton published Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica which contains the Newton’s 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: R. 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
Structural failures and Learning
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.
