TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - CAVITE

CQT AVE., SALAWAG, DASMARIÑAS CAVITE, PHILIPPINES

PCE5 – C

STRUCTURAL THEORY, LEC.

ASSIGNMENT NO. 1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND EARLY FATHERS ON STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING

MENDOZA, KERBY G.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

ENGR. GIL S. BELTRAN, MSCE, RMP

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

I. Historical Background of Structural Analysis

Structural analysis as we know it today evolved over several thousand years. During
this time many types of structures such as beams, arches, trusses and frames were
used in construction for hundred or even thousands of years before satisfactory
methods of analysis were developed for them.[3]
Structural engineering has been utilized in early times, and one of the remarkable
structures was the Pyramid of Giza that was constructed in the 26th century BC.
During the medieval period, the major structures that can be seen were the pyramids
since it is structurally stable. Theoretical knowledge during early times about
structures was inadequate, and construction techniques were solely based on
experience. The real advancement in the structural engineering was evident during
the 19th century Industrial Revolution when notable progress was achieved in the
sciences of structural analysis and material science.[1]

Quoted from [3] https://abuildersperspective.wordpress.com/

The Egyptians and other ancient builders surely had some kinds of empirical rules
drawn from previous experiences for determining sizes of structural members. There
is, However, no evidence that they had developed any theory of structural analysis.
The Egyptian Imhotep built the great pyramid of Saqqara in about 3000 -2500 B.C.
sometimes is referred to as the world’s first Structural Engineer. Other Egyptian
builders who built great pyramid of Khufu are called the builders.[3]

Pyramid at Giza compound

 Menkaure Pyramid with granite visibly unifinished about 2620 -2480 BC

Although the Greeks built some magnificent structures, their contributions to

structural theory were few and far between.
Pythagoras (about 582 -500 B.C.), a Greek mathematician, who is said to have
originated the word mathematics, is famous for the right angle theorem that bears his
name the Pythagorean theorem. Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) Greek mathematician
developed some fundamental principles of static and introduced the term center of
gravity.
The Romans were outstanding builders and were very competent in using certain
structural forms such as semicircular masonry arches. As did the Greeks, they, too
had little knowledge of structural analysis and made even less scientific progress in
structural theory. They probably designed most of their beautiful buildings from an
artistic viewpoint. Perhaps their great bridges and aqueducts were proportioned with
some rules of thumbs, however, if these methods of design resulted in proportions
that were insufficient, the structures collapsed and no historical records were kept.
Only their successes endured.
Most of the knowledge that the Greeks and Romans accumulated concerning
structural engineering was lost during the Middle Ages between 476 A.D. and 1492
A.D. and has been recovered only since the Renaissance (beginning of Renaissance
period -the fall of Muslim Granada in Spain and the voyage of Christopher Columbus
to America.
 Roman Bridge-134 AD

Ruin of Roman Bridge-30 BC to 14 AD

One of the greatest and most noteworthy contributions to structural analysis, as well
as to all other scientific fields, was the development of the Hindu-Arabic system of
numbers. Unknown Hindu mathematician in the second and third centuries B.C.
originated numbering system of One to Nine (1 to 9). In about 600 A.D. the Hindus
invented the symbol SUNYA (meaning empty). which we call ZERO. (The Mayan
Indians of Central America, However, had apparently developed the concept zero
about 300 years earlier). In the 8th century A.D. the Arabs learned this numbering
system from scientific writings of the Hindus. in the following century, a Persian
mathematician wrote a book that include the system, his book was translated into
Latin some years later and brought to Europe. In around 1000 A.D. Pope Sylvester II
decreed that the Hindu- Arabic numbers were to be used by Christians.
In the 17th century A.D., Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), invented the fundamental
principles of structural analysis, an English mathematician and physicist, and one of
the greatest scientists in history who ever lived. His discoveries and theories laid the
foundation for much of the progress in the science.
Sir Isaac Newton was one of the inventors of the branch of mathematics called
differential and integral calculus (the other was German mathematician Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz). Newton also formulated three laws of Motion and from them the
universal law of gravitation. To develop his theory of gravitation, Newton had to
develop the science of forces and motion called mechanics.

Newton's Law of Gravitation

Starting about 1665, at the age of 23, newton enunciated (pronounce, speak) the
principles of mechanics, formulated the law of Gravitation;
1. The first law of motion; an object at rest tends to remain at rest; an object in
motion tends to in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.
The development of physics owes much to Newton’s Law of motion, notably;
2. the second law…… “the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the
object multiplied by the acceleration”, F = ma ;
3. and the third Law of motion; for every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
It was actually in 1847, the first rational method of analyzing jointed trusses was
introduced by Squire Whipple (1804 -1888) of United States. This was the first
significant American contribution to structural theory. Several excellent methods for
calculating deflections were published in the 1860s and 1870s which further
accelerated the rate of structural analysis development. He has become known as
the father of iron Bridge Building in America.
Among the important investigators and accomplishments were: James Clerk Maxwell
(1831-1879) of Scotland, for the Reciprocal Deflection theorem in 1864; Otto Mohr
 (1835-1918) of Germany for Elastic Weights in 1870; Alberto Castigliano of Italy for
Least Work theorem in 1873; Charles E. Green of the United States for the Moment-
Area theorems in 1873; B.P.E Clapeyron of France for the Three-Moment theorem in
1857.
In the United States of America two great developments in Statistically Indeterminate
Structure Analysis were made by George A. Maney (1888-1947) and Hardy Cross
(1885-1959).
George A. Maney introduced Slope Deflection method in 1915 at University of
Minnesota engineering publication. In Germany, Bendixen introduced Slope
Deflection in 1914. For nearly 15 years, until the introduction of Moment Distribution,
Slope Deflection was the popular method used for the Analysis of continuous beams
and frames in the United States of America.
A very common method used for the approximate analysis of continuous concrete
structures, was the Moment and Shear Coefficient developed by the H. M.
Westergaard and W. A. Slater a member of the American Concrete Institute in 1926-
1929.
Another most common approximate method of analyzing building frames for Lateral
Loads such as winds, earthquake (seismic) is the PORTAL method which was
presented by Albert Smith in the Journal of the Western Society of Engineers in
1915. Another simple method of analyzing building frames for Lateral Loads is the
Cantilever method presented by A.C. Wilson in engineering record, 1908. These
methods are said to be satisfactory for buildings with height not in excess of 25 to 35
stories.
In the first half of the 20th century A.D., many complex structural problems were
expressed in mathematical form, but sufficient computing power was not available for
practically solving the resulting equations and/or formulas. This situation continued in
the 1940s, when much work was done with matrices for analyzing aircraft structures.
Fortunately, the development of digital computers made practical the use of
equations and formulas for these and many other types of Structures, including high
rise Buildings.
The impact that structural engineering has had in our society is so significant that it
warrants a look back at its history. [2]

II. Early Fathers on Structural Engineering and their Contributions

Here’s the condensed review of the history of structural engineering and the most
important events and milestones that show how the field has progressed throughout
time.[2]

PRE-SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (27TH CENTURY BC – EARLY 18TH CENTURY

A.D.) [2]

2700 BC – Imhotep, the first-named architect in history, built the step pyramid for
Pharaoh Djoser. Pyramids were the most common built structures in ancient history
because its structural form is inherently stable and can be scaled to different
dimensions easily.
2560 BC – The Great Pyramid of Giza was built. It remained the largest man-made
structure for millennia until the rise of towers and skyscrapers in the 19th
3rd BC – Archimedes published his work On the Equilibrium of Planes. His
calculations on areas and centers of gravity of various geometric figures including
triangles, paraboloids and hemispheres underpin most of the mathematics and
principles of structures in modern structural engineering.
1st BC – Vitruvius recorded in his De Architectura the methods, materials, and
machines used by ancient Romans to build structures such as aqueducts, thermae,
columns, lighthouses, defensive walls, and harbors.
1638 – Galileo Galilei published Dialogues Relating to Two New Sciences where he
outlined the sciences of strength of materials and motion of objects. This work
marked the beginning of the structural analysis.
1676 – Robert Hooke’s first statement of Hooke’s Law provided a scientific
explanation of elasticity of materials and their behavior under load.
1687 – Sir Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,
wherein his Laws of Motion provided an understanding of the fundamental laws
governing built structures.
Newton and Gottfried Leibniz both independently developed the Fundamental
Theory of Calculus, which is considered one most important mathematical tools in
engineering.
1750 – Leonhard Euler and David Bernoulli developed the Euler–Bernoulli
BeamEquation – the fundamental theory underlying most structural engineering
design.
Daniel Bernoulli and Jean Bernoulli also developed the Theory of Virtual Work, a
tool that uses equilibrium of forces and compatibility of geometry in solving structural
problems.

19TH AND 20TH CENTURY[2]

1797 – The Ditherington Flax Mill in Shrewsbury, England, was built. It was the first
building to use cast iron as its interior frame.
1804 – Belper North Mill, the world’s first “fire-proof” building, was built.
1824 – Portland Cement was patented by Engineer Joseph Aspdin. It is the most
common type of cement in general use around the world today.
1826 – Claude-Louis Navier published the Elastic Theory of He was the first to
highlight that the duty of a structural engineer is not to understand the final, failed
state of a structure, but to prevent that failure in the first place.
Navier also established the elastic modulus as a property of a material to resist being
deformed elastically when a stress is applied to it.
His works have made many to consider him as the Founder of Modern Structural
Analysis.
 1858 – Henry Bessemer successfully completed the conversion of cast iron into
cast steel. This material eventually replaced wrought iron and cast iron as preferred
metal in construction.
1867 – Joseph Monier filed several patents for tubs, slabs, and beams that use his
steel mesh reinforcement and concrete system. This led to the creation of the Monier
system of reinforced structures, the first use of steel bars located in areas of tension
of a structure.
1885 – William Le Baron Jenney built the Home Insurance Building in Chicago –
the first metal-framed building and first skyscraper in the world.
1889 – The wrought–iron Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel and Maurice
Koechlin to demonstrate the potential of building structures using iron, despite the
fact that steel construction was already popular in many 1st-world countries.
1928 – Eugène Freyssinet pioneered and patented Prestressed Concrete, a
method which is still being used to overcome the inherent weakness of concrete
structures in tension.
1930 – Professor Hardy Cross developed Moment Distribution Method, a tool used
to approximate the real stresses of complex structures quickly and accurately.
1953 – The Soviet Union successfully built seven massive skyscrapers, dubbed the
“Seven Sisters of Moscow.”
1955 – While employed in an architectural firm, Fazlur Khan began working in
Chicago. It is where the world of engineering saw some of the most innovative
structural designs for skyscrapers, including the Tube Structural Systems, Framed
Tube, Trussed Tube and X-Bracing, Bundle Tube, Tube in Tube, and Shear Wall
Frame Interaction System.
1956 – The paper Stiffness and Deflection of Complex Structures was published. It
introduced the name “finite-element method” which is still regarded as the first
comprehensive treatment of the method today.

All of these historic milestones greatly contributed to the advancement of structural

engineering. As this field advances, people can expect to benefit from structures with
even greater structural efficiency and safety than what modern buildings have today.

REFERENCE:

[1] BrightHubEngineering. (2009). What is Structural Engineering. History of Structural

Engineering: Structure failure, Building structure. Retrieved from
https://www.brighthubengineering.com/structural-engineering/43152-essentials-of-
structural-engineering/

[2] ieyenews. (2019). A brief history of structural engineering. Retrieved from

https://www.ieyenews.com/a-brief-history-of-structural-engineering/

[3] A Builder’s Perspective. (2011). History of Structural Analysis. Retrieved from

https://abuildersperspective.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/history-of-structural-analysis/