Frame analysis is the process of studying the behavior of a frame when imposed with loads. It serves as our preliminary phase before going to the design stage - finding the suitable material, size, and shape of the members and designing the joint connections.
What is A Full Analysis?
How much information do we need to know about our frame? Generally, that would depend on the problem, but it would consist of four parts:
- Assessing its stability
- Finding the reactions
- Solving for internal force and stresses
- And analyzing the deflections
The internal forces of a rigid frame would entail solving for axial, shear, moment, and torsion. For 2D structures, we don't consider torsion; however, if we have a 3D skeleton, it is most likely these four are involved.
Analysis Assumptions
Basic Rigid Frame Analysis
In fundamental rigid frame analysis, there are several assumptions to take note of:
- The centroid of each member meets with the centroid of the joints. As a result, members are concurrent on its joint connections.
- The joints are perfectly rigid; hence, these are capable of withstanding moments.
Summary
Frame analysis is the process of studying the behavior of a frame when imposed with loads.
There are four essential aspects for a complete analysis: (1) stability, (2) reaction analysis, (3) internal force and stress analysis, and (4) deflection analysis.
Fundamental rigid frame analysis has essential assumptions: (1) the centroid of each member meets with the centroid of the joints, and (2) the joints are perfectly rigid.
