Structural engineering elements are the pieces that compose the “skeleton” of structures. Just like the bones of the human body, the skeleton of a building provides strength, shape, and stability. These elements come in various shapes and sizes and similar to other sciences, form follows function. This paper explains the importance and roles of the very basic structural elements such as beams, columns, and foundations. These work together along with various other elements to create a strong, stable, skeleton for buildings and structures.
Beams
A beam is a load-bearing, horizontal, straight member that has high flexural strength. Flexural strength refers to the load-bearing capability of a material or structural element. Structural elements with high flexural strengths can undergo immense bending stress without deformation or yielding. Beams are often categorized by the way they are supported. Examples of this include simply supported beams, cantilevered beams, continuous beams, and fixed supported beams.
A simply supported beam is a beam that rests on two supports with inhibited vertical movement. This is because simply supported beams have one “roller support” and one “pinned support”. A roller support is a support that is free to move both horizontally and rotationally but not vertically. Contrastingly, a pinned support, also referred to as a hinge support, is a support that cannot resist movement. A pinned support allows the structural element to rotate, but resists both horizontal and vertical movement. These beams are commonly used in bridges, and are easy to install. Although easy to design and effective, simply supported beams have disadvantages. Compared to fixed beams, simply supported beams have reduced ability to resist bending loads.
Cantilevered beams are horizontal, and only have one end support. These beams are often used in buildings to support things such as eaves and roofs. Like other beams, cantilever beams resist bending and are designed and intended to bear weight. A common example of a cantilever beam is a balcony. A balcony is supported at only one end with the rest extending over open space. Cantilever beams are generally easy to install, lightweight, and can be used in a variety of structures. They also come with various disadvantages such as cantilever beams are unable to support axial loads, and the size of these beams is limited by large deflections. An axial load is a load where the force is acting on an object parallel to its axis of ration.