Structural analysis

Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2009, International Codes Council. All rights reserved. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This Structural Analysis: In Theory and Practice is a copyrighted work owned by the International Code Council, Inc. Without advance permission from thecopyright owner, no part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including without limitation, electronic, optical or mechanical means (by way of example and not limitation, photocopying, or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system). For information on permission to copy material exceeding fair use, please contact Publications, 4051West Flossmoor Road, Country Club hills, IL 60478-5795. Phone 1-888-ICC-SAFE (422-7233) Trademarks: “International Code Council,” and the “International Code Council” logo are trademarks of the International Code Council, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Application submitted British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from theBritish Library. ISBN: 978-1-85617-550-0 For information on all Butterworth–Heinemann publications visit our Web site at www.elsevierdirect.com Printed in the United States of America 08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Foreword
It is with great pleasure that I write this foreword to Structural Analysis: In Theory and Practice, by Alan Williams. Like many other engineers, I have utilized Dr.Williams’ numerous publications through the years and have found them to be extremely useful. This publication is no exception, given the extensive experience and expertise of Dr. Williams in this area, the credibility of Elsevier with expertise in technical publications internationally, and the International Code Council (ICC) with expertise in structural engineering and building codepublications. Engineers at all levels of their careers will find the determinate and indeterminate analysis methods in the book presented in a clear, concise, and practical manner. I am a strong advocate of all of these attributes, and I am certain that the book will be successful because of them. Coverage of many other important areas of structural analysis, such as Plastic Design, Matrix and ComputerMethods, Elastic-Plastic Analysis, and the numerous worked-out sample problems and the answers to the supplementary problems greatly enhance and reinforce the overall learning experience. One may ask why, in this age of high-powered computer programs, a comprehensive book on structural analysis is needed. The software does all of the work for us, so isn't it sufficient to read the user’s guide to thesoftware or to have a cursory understanding of structural analysis? While there is no question that computer programs are invaluable tools that help us solve complicated problems more efficiently, it is also true that the software is only as good as the user’s level of experience and his/her knowledge of the software. A small error in the input or a misunderstanding of the limitations of thesoftware can result in completely meaningless output, which can lead to an unsafe design with potentially unacceptable consequences. That is why this book is so valuable. It teaches the fundamentals of structural analysis, which I believe are becoming lost in structural engineering. Having a solid foundation in the fundamentals of analysis enables engineers to understand the behavior of structures andto recognize when output from a computer program does not make sense. Simply put, students will become better students and engineers will become better engineers as a result of this book. It will not only give you a better understanding of structural analysis; it will make you more proficient and efficient in your day-to-day work. David A. Fanella, Ph.D., S.E., P.E. Chicago, IL March 2008...