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Flip to reveal answersWhat does analysing a structure mean?
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All 4 Flashcards — Structures everywhere
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Question
What does analysing a structure mean?
Answer
Following the load: what loads act on it, where each enters, which members carry it, and how it reaches the ground. Describing its appearance is not analysis.
Question
Why is a bone dense outside and spongy inside?
Answer
In bending the stress is highest at the outer surfaces and nearly zero on the neutral axis, so material in the middle would add mass and carry almost nothing — the same reason an I-beam has thick flanges and a thin web.
Question
What principle does a spider web demonstrate?
Answer
Pure tension: no member is ever pushed, so nothing can buckle and every strand can be extremely thin. The same principle as a suspension bridge or a bicycle spoke.
Question
Why look for members that carry no load?
Answer
A member carrying nothing is mass, cost and an extra joint that can fail, for no return — usually the fastest improvement available in an existing product.
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