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Understanding Structures: An Introduction to Structural Analysis Book · July 2008
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Mete Sozen
Toshikatsu Ichinose
Purdue University
Nagoya Institute of Technology
96 PUBLICATIONS 1,823 CITATIONS
54 PUBLICATIONS 121 CITATIONS
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Available Available from: Toshikatsu Ichinose Retrieved on: 12 November 2016
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 websites 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 understanding 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 bending 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 interactive 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 downloaded 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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