Structural Engineering: A Very Short IntroductionHave you ever wondered how it's possible to build a skyscraper, a big bridge, a jumbo jet, or a cruise liner? Everything has structure. Structure is the difference between a random pile of components and a fully functional object. Through structure the parts connect to make the whole. Natural structures vary from the very smallest part of an atom to the entire cosmology of the universe. Man-made structures include buildings, bridges, dams, ships, aeroplanes, rockets, trains, cars and fair-ground rides and all forms of artefacts, even large artistic sculptures. The wide range of different industries in which structural engineers work includes construction, transport, manufacturing, and aerospace. In this Very Short Introduction, David Blockley explores, in non-technical language, what structural engineering is all about, including examples ranging from the Shard in London and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to jumbo jets like the A380 and the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
Contents
Everything has structure | 1 |
Does form follow function? | 19 |
From Stonehenge to skyscrapers | 39 |
Understanding structure | 55 |
Movers and shakers | 74 |
Resilience | 92 |
Glossary | 111 |
References | 115 |
| 119 | |
| 123 | |
Very Short Introduction | 130 |
A Very Short Introduction | 131 |
A Very Short Introduction | 132 |
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Common terms and phrases
aeroplane aesthetic aircraft architects architecture and engineering balance beam bending moments bricks bridge buckling building built buoyancy calculate called cane cantilever Chapter compression create cruise ship deformations degrees of freedom developed diagonal elastic equilibrium example external finite element finite element analysis flow of forces Form-finding structures function fuselage grid group of limit hard system horizontal important internal forces John joints jumbo jet Klaus Dodds length loads look man-made material Michael modern move natural Nick Middleton pathways piece plate potential energy pull push pyramid resilience resist risk Roger Scruton rope rotate safety self-weight shape shear forces Short Introduction shown in Figure sideways skyscraper span statically indeterminate steel stiffened stiffness Stonehenge strain energy stresses strong structural engineering surface systems thinking tensegrity tension tower truss tube turning force understand vertical vibrations virtual displacements virtual forces Vitruvius weight wings