Structural Engineering & Statics
where the load goes
Concept

Characteristic length — where it appears

The distance over which a stiff member spreads a concentrated action into whatever supports it, set by the ratio of the two stiffnesses.

Named by 2 essays across 2 fields — each of them below, with the objects they name alongside it.

Also named here as elastic foundation — the same set of essays touches all of them, so they are one junction rather than several.

1000 kN1/β = 2.56 mthe beam lifts off at 6.04 msettlement 3.90 mm · contact pressure 195 kN/m · moment 641 kNm, none of which contains the length of the beam

The beam that sits on the ground

Every other beam in this collection is held at points. A footing is held everywhere, by something that pushes back in proportion to how far it is pushed — and that single change hands the structure a length it did not choose. Two or three of those lengths from the column, nothing knows the load happened.

internal-forces · elastic foundation the cable alonekink of 0.0083 radwith the stiffening girderthe cable takes 83% of the load; the girder spreads it over 183 mμ = L√(H/EI) = 4.93

The deck is not there to carry the load

A cable takes the shape of whatever is on it, which is exactly the problem — under a point load its shape is a kink, and a kink is not a road. The stiffening girder exists to spread the load until what reaches the cable is something the cable's own shape is right for.

structures · stiffening girder

Named alongside it

The objects these essays reach for when they reach for this one.

Elastic foundationStiffnessCatenaryCompatibilityDeflectionForm findingFunicularGeometric nonlinearityHorizontal thrustLoad pathLoad sharingPattern loading

All concepts