Performance evaluation of spanning systems

The design of spanning systems is a common task that structural engineers perform, and beam theory is one of the first things taught in a mechanics course. This thesis studies a range of spanning systems, and evaluates their performance in a systematic way. The systems considered are beams, trusses, funicular structures, and cable-stayed systems. The first part of the thesis examines system selection by evaluating the limits to each structural system and the relative efficiency of structural systems at different spans, depths, and loading constraints. In the second part, dynamic performance and global buckling are investigated to determine their influence on the performance of beams and trusses. These failure mechanisms should be examined early in the design process, but similar types of studies rely only on static behavior to evaluate performance. The third part analyzes the effect of the length-to-depth ratio on the performance of beams and trusses. In conceptual design, rules of thumb for this ratio are used as a starting point, but may not always be appropriate depending on the situation. Finally, the effect of design constraints on the performance of beams and trusses are studied. Depending on the situation, these design constraints may negatively affect the spanning system's performance. Specifically, the constraints of deflection, local buckling, uniform sizing of truss members, and support conditions are explored.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Iwamoto, Grant T

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pierre Ghisbain and John A. Ochsendorf.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89850

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/89850