Understanding Basic Structural Elements of Modern Buildings
When you look at a building, you wonder how engineers comfortably set up complex designs and features. Essentially, they rely on building plans drawn on paper with measurement ratios to represent what the building will look on the ground. These buildings must have some basic elements for design to be successful when it is put up on the ground. Here are the basic ones that you need to know:
- Beams
A beam is an element of the building in which one of the dimensions is greater than the rest of the dimensions, such as a long plank of wood. The beams are set up in a manner that they support the weight of a building. The load is normally oriented on the main axis of the beam. Simple lines are used to represent beams on the building's plans.
- Plates
Plates are another basic structural element when setting up a building. After construction, a building is subject to tectonic forces that lead to bending, stretching and cracking. You need plates to prevent the detrimental effect of these forces. Their purpose is to absorb bending forces in two directions through principles of continuum mechanics. These principles assert that solid surfaces and structures are composed of molecules and small gaps throughout their structure. However, they can be modelled to fill up the discontinuities to guarantee optimal strength for the building.
A good example of a plate is a concrete slab, which absorbs both vertical and horizontal bending forces exerted by the building.
- Columns
A column is also referred to as a pillar. In structural engineering, the purpose of a pillar is to transmit the weight of the upper structures to the elements below through compression. In brief, columns are compression chambers built as large shafts with a base and a capital. This design ensures that the column can carry the axial force (force of rotation) exerted against the building by natural agents like strong winds. In some cases, the column also stands up against bending forces, in which case they are referred to as beam-columns.
- Catenaries
Catenaries are a building's secret weapon for dealing with cracks and fracturing. Their work is to carry tension and traverse forces that cause stretching within slabs and other structures. Catenaries do this by deflecting the traverse forces in the same way that a tight rope would sag when someone starts walking on it. They are often fabric or cable structures.