Paper format. National Examinations,
May 2015 — 07-Str-A1 Elementary Structural Analysis. Three hours,
CLOSED BOOK, an approved Sharp or Casio calculator permitted. Six questions
constitute a complete paper: answer ALL of Questions 1 to 5 and ONE of
Questions 6, 7 or 8. Marks are shown in the left margin
(6 + 18 + 16 + 18 + 20 + 22 = 100). All eight questions are solved below,
because the three alternatives exercise quite different methods —
slope-deflection, virtual work and the statics of a three-hinged frame —
and the complete set is the more useful study resource.
Reference texts.
- R. C. Hibbeler, Structural Analysis, 10th ed. — Ch. 2
(determinacy and stability), Ch. 3–5 (trusses, internal loadings, frames),
Ch. 6 (influence lines), Ch. 8–9 (deflections and virtual work),
Ch. 11 (slope-deflection).
- A. Kassimali, Structural Analysis, 6th ed. — Ch. 3
(equilibrium and determinacy), Ch. 4 (plane trusses), Ch. 5 (beams and frames),
Ch. 7 (deflections by the method of virtual work), Ch. 8–9 (influence
lines), Ch. 16 (slope-deflection).
- K. Leet, C.-M. Uang and A. Gilbert, Fundamentals of Structural
Analysis, 5th ed. — a parallel treatment of the same syllabus.
- C. H. Norris, J. B. Wilbur and S. Utku, Elementary Structural
Analysis, 4th ed. — the classical text this exam code is named
after.
Check: every support type, hinge and member below
was read off the drawings, not off the printed text. In this subject the text carries almost no data: spans, loads, support types and hinge positions exist only in the hand-drawn figures. The classification in Question 1 in particular turns
entirely on telling a pin (plain triangle on hatching) from a roller (triangle
over two rollers) and a rigid joint from an internal hinge (small open
circle).
