Structural analysis is a branch of solid mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and their components. In contrast to theory of elasticity, the models used in structure analysis are often differential equations in one spatial variable. Structures subject to this type of analysis include all that must withstand loads, such as buildings, bridges, aircraft and ships. Structural analysis uses ideas from applied mechanics, materials science and applied mathematics to compute a structure's deformations, internal forces, stresses, support reactions, velocity, accelerations, and stability. The results of the analysis are used to verify a structure's fitness for use, often precluding physical tests. Structural analysis is thus a key part of the engineering design of structures.
A simple triangular truss with loads imposed .
Image: Truss Structure Analysis, FBD2
Image: Truss Structure Analysis, Method of Sections Left 2
Image: Truss Structure Analysis, Method of Sections Right 2
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as biological organisms, minerals and chemicals. Abstract structures include data structures in computer science and musical form. Types of structure include a hierarchy, a network featuring many-to-many links, or a lattice featuring connections between components that are neighbors in space.
A traditional Sami food storage structure
Gothic quadripartite cross-ribbed vaults of the Saint-Séverin church in Paris
The spiral arrangement of small bright yellow florets that make up the flower head of a sunflower is an example of the highly ordered structure that characterizes all organisms.
