Structures from first principles!
The reading and interpretation of structural engineering drawings is a much-underrated skill. A skill that is often not taught but learnt through frequent exposure to structural engineering contents and a drive to fully understand them. In simple form, a structural drawing can be defined as any drawing consisting of plans or set of plans and details explicitly showing how a building or structure will be constructed
Many problems of long spanning in structural engineering can be resolved through the use of steel trusses. These days, long span structures are very popular– from sport arena roofs to auditorium galleries, airport terminals, railway stations etc….
Steel portal frames are the most common and cost-effective structural solutions for single-storey buildings with gable-pitched roofs. In fact, about 50% of the steelwork in the U.K is used up in the construction of single-storey buildings, of which portal frames form the greater part…
A truss is a triangulated assembly of interconnected elements, pinned at the nodes and typically having all external forces and reactions applied at the nodes (Figure 1). Trusses are extremely strong and a very cost-effective solution when compared to other structural options