Structures Task 3

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A LEVEL

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A LEVEL

ABOUT

Reach one of your palms up toward the ceiling while reaching the other palm down toward the floor. Does it feel like your body (also a structure) wants to move in two different directions? You have just generated an internal force. This internal force is caused by one part of your body acting on another part. Other structures also experience internal forces. Depending on the direction in which they act, internal forces can be classified as compression, tension, bending, shear, or torsion

TASK ONE

On the page below identify the 5 main types of forces that act upon a structure and draw an examples of each different different types of force and how it acts upon a structure.

TASK TWO

Read through each of the 5 forces descriptions and fill in the blanks using the words from the word bank found at the bottom of the page.

TASK THREE

If you look at some pictures of familiar frame structures like cranes, electricity pylons or roof supports you may notice that triangulation is used to make them rigid.

y adding an extra bar or member (usually a strut) corners A and B are prevented from moving apart. The structure then cannot be forced out of shape, and is said to be rigid. Notice that the additional member has formed two triangles in the structure.

An alternative to triangulation is to use a gusset plate. A gusset is simply a piece of material used to brace and join the members in a structure. A triangular gusset plate has been used here but they can be made in a variety of shapes.