by Chris Devers

What are Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services?

Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads.

A specialization common to civil engineers, it is also pursued by Architects and Mechanical Engineers.

Structural design is a key component at the conceptualization stage of a large and creative structure. In the case of monuments and high rise buildings, Structural Design plays a formative role in the look of the building, and Architects merely have to embellish and balance the aesthetics. Some prominent examples in the world are:

• Eiffel Tower
• Qutb Minar
• Empire State Building
• Leaning Tower of Pisa
• 30 St Mary Axe, London
• CN  Towers, Toronto

What goes into Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services?

Structural engineers are most commonly involved in the design of buildings and large structures but they can also be involved in the design of machinery, medical equipment, vehicles or any item where structural integrity affects the item’s function or safety.

Structural engineering depends upon a detailed knowledge of applied mechanics, materials science and applied mathematics to understand and predict how structures support and resist self-weight and imposed loads.

Any structure is essentially made up of only a small number of different types of elements:

Columns
Beams
Plates
Arches
Shells
Catenaries
 

What information and support is needed in Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services?

The 3 most important ingredients of Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services are:

Strength of Materials
Calculation of loads
Behavior of structures under those loads

Theearly structural designers did a lot of testing and experiment before commissioning a structure for use.

Their earliest inspiration was Nature. Like all evolution, growth in structural design happened in 2 ways:

1. Organically: Need or curiosity made designers experiment on existing models, and modified them, bit by bit

2. Inorganically: Science and invention (like concrete) allowed new possibilities supported by reliable, proven studies.

Since time immemorial (being from a family of engineers, I’d say at least 3 centuries or more), detailed codes and standards have assisted Structural Engineers to take the right decisions. In fact, in college, we were thrilled to hear of our first Open Book Exam: Design of Steel Structures. (Rest assured, the thrill was extremely short lived)

Since the 1990s, specialist software has become available to aid in the design of structures, with the functionality to assist in the drawing, analyzing and designing of structures with maximum precision; examples include AutoCAD, StaadPro, ETABS, Prokon, Revit Structure etc. Such software may also take into consideration environmental loads, such as from earthquakes and winds.

What is the importance of Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services?

Traditionally the importance of Structural Engineering Design and Analysis Services has been to provide stability: the structure must not fail. At that time the design of structural elements was considered sacrosanct, however ugly they looked or however they impeded the design intent. The Architect had always to work within those parameters.

Today, thanks to innovation, and, especially the magic of software, wonderful, creative structures are being envisaged. These ideas are partnered by Architects and Structural Engineers, and the marvelous results are there to see, and still counting.

One of the best examples is the Geodesic dome, one of the most revolutionary structural innovations yet. Its inventor, Buckminster Fuller was known as “an American systems theorist, architect, engineer, author, designer, inventor, and futurist.” Though the only diploma he possessed was a Sc.D. from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine