Structural elements are used in structural analysis to split a complex structure into simple elements. Within a structure, an element cannot be broken down (decomposed) into parts of different kinds (e.g., beam or column).
Structural elements can be linear, surfaces or volumes.
Linear elements:
- Rod - axial loads
- Beam - axial and bending loads
- Struts or Compression members- compressive loads
- Ties, Tie rods, eyebars, guy-wires, suspension cables, or wire ropes - tension loads
Surface elements:
- membrane - in-plane loads only
- shell - in plane and bending moments
- Concrete slab
- deck
- shear panel - shear loads only
Volumes:
- Axial, shear and bending loads for all three dimensions
Famous quotes containing the words structural and/or element:
“The reader uses his eyes as well as or instead of his ears and is in every way encouraged to take a more abstract view of the language he sees. The written or printed sentence lends itself to structural analysis as the spoken does not because the reader’s eye can play back and forth over the words, giving him time to divide the sentence into visually appreciated parts and to reflect on the grammatical function.”
—J. David Bolter (b. 1951)
“To be radical, an empiricism must neither admit into its constructions any element that is not directly experienced, nor exclude from them any element that is directly experienced.”
—William James (1842–1910)