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Understanding Structures: An Introduction to Structural

Analysis

Book · July 2008

DOI: 10.4324/9781315275673

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2 authors:

Mete Sozen Toshikatsu Ichinose

Purdue University Nagoya Institute of Technology
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 Preface
This book is committed to the development of an intuitive understanding of structural
response. The material in the book brings together the art and science of structures
in the environment of a computer game. The software GOYA, specially developed
for this purpose, is an integral part of the book. Access one of the following web-
sites to download GOYA.
http://kitten.ace.nitech.ac.jp/ichilab/mech/en/
http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~ce297/
ftp://ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/sozen/GOYA
Structural behavior is best learned by repeated observation and, sometimes, by
intensely bad experience. The old masters, who built elegant and efficient structures
long before the first glimmerings of the theory of elasticity, demonstrated that quite
well. Modern life does not encourage long apprenticeships. The art of analysis for
design needs to be learned in a short period of time. To reach maturity in under-
standing structures requires the development of a sense of proportion and an innate
knowledge of how structural elements deform. GOYA will supply instant answers
to the questions that the reader may ask: Are the members strong enough to carry
the applied load? What if the cross-sectional area of the member is changed? What
is the effect of the change on the deformed shape? Is the member still strong enough
to resist the load? What if the loading differs from the one first assumed? How is the
deflected shape affected?
The reader can develop judgment by seeing graphic and quantitative answers
to such questions very quickly and conveniently. It is not as good as experience and
certainly not as memorable as bad experience, but the answers are inexpensive and
immediately available. Simple physical experiments are also prescribed to reinforce
intuitive understanding of structural response obtained from exercises with GOYA.
The book takes the reader from elementary concepts of forces in trusses to bend-
ing of beams and response of multistory, multibay frames in a carefully designed
cadence. The text, the figures, and the relevant portions of GOYA create an interac-
tive learning environment for understanding how trusses, beams, and frames work.
We hope that it will entertain as well as edify the reader.
We wrote the book to be understood not only by structural engineers but also by
architectural engineers and architects. In fact, it is our firm belief that anyone with
a threshold understanding of physics should be able to learn structures using this
book, preferably with, but also without, an instructor.
We are indebted to Dr. Yo Hibino for his contributions to GOYA throughout its
development, to Tomoharu Hayase for his work during the initiation of GOYA, and
to Naoya Wakita, Takashi Tozawa, and Ken Matsui who helped in various stages of
development of the program. Naoya Wakita is also thanked for drawing cartoons.
Dr. Santiago Pujol and Jeff Rautenberg are thanked for their critical reading of the
manuscript.

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 Simple directions for using GOYA are included in a brief manual in Appendix A..
GOYA will operate on any platform that accommodates JAVA. JAVA can be down-
loaded from Java Technology (Sun Systems) on the Web.

Mete A. Sozen
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

T. Ichinose
Nagoya Institute of Technology
Nagoya, Japan

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