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Structural Analysis cover

Engineering

Engineering

Structural Analysis

Russell C. Hibbeler

A comprehensive textbook covering classical and modern methods of structural analysis for determinate and indeterminate structures, with emphasis on practical applications in civil and structural engineering.

Difficulty Level
Intermediate
Academic Level
Undergraduate
Structural AnalysisBeamsFramesTrussesDeflectionsIndeterminate StructuresMatrix MethodsLoad Distribution

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Hibbeler, R. C. (2024). Structural Analysis (11th ed.). Pearson.

Chapter Summary

The eleventh edition has seventeen chapters, an appendix on matrix algebra for structural analysis, solutions to the preliminary and fundamental problems, and answers to selected problems. Pearson describes it as a presentation of the theory and applications of structural analysis as it applies to trusses, beams and frames, organised to build the ability to model and analyse a structure for professional practice. The chapters fall into four groups: determinate structures, deflections, classical analysis of indeterminate structures, and matrix methods with computer analysis. The publisher's listing gives chapter titles only, so the entries below stay close to the titles.

Determinate structures: Types of Structures and Loads; Analysis of Statically Determinate Structures; Analysis of Statically Determinate Trusses; Internal Loadings Developed in Structural Members

The book opens with the kinds of structures and loads they carry, then analyses statically determinate structures, trusses and the internal loadings in members.

Determinate structures, continued: Cables and Arches; Influence Lines for Statically Determinate Structures

Two further topics for determinate structures: cables and arches, and influence lines, which show how a response changes as a load moves across a structure.

Deflections: Deflections; Deflections Using Energy Methods

Two chapters on deflections, the second using energy methods. They come before the indeterminate-structure chapters in the listing.

Classical analysis of indeterminate structures: Analysis of Statically Indeterminate Structures by the Force Method; Displacement Method of Analysis: Slope-Deflection Equations; Displacement Method of Analysis: Moment Distribution

The force method and two displacement methods, slope-deflection equations and moment distribution, are the hand-calculation methods for indeterminate beams and frames.

Approximation and special cases: Approximate Analysis of Statically Indeterminate Structures; Beams and Frames Having Nonprismatic Members

Approximate analysis of indeterminate structures and the treatment of members whose cross section varies.

Matrix methods: Truss Analysis Using the Stiffness Method; Beam Analysis Using the Stiffness Method; Plane Frame Analysis Using the Stiffness Method; Structural Modeling and Computer Analysis

The stiffness method is applied in turn to trusses, beams and plane frames, and the last chapter, Structural Modeling and Computer Analysis, turns to modeling a structure for analysis by computer. Pearson's description of the SI-units version of this edition says it adds more material on structural modeling.

Key Concepts

Determinate structures and deflections

  • Types of structures and loads: the classification used to set up an analysis.
  • Internal loadings: the forces developed inside structural members.
  • Influence lines: a tool for determinate structures that shows the effect of a moving load.
  • Energy methods for deflections: the second of the book's two deflection chapters.

Indeterminate structures

  • Force method: the first method named for statically indeterminate structures.
  • Slope-deflection equations and moment distribution: the two displacement methods named in the contents.
  • Approximate analysis: a chapter of its own, placed after the displacement methods.

Matrix and computer methods

  • Stiffness method: applied to trusses, beams and plane frames in separate chapters.
  • Structural modeling: the subject of the closing chapter, together with computer analysis.
  • Matrix algebra: reviewed in the appendix.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • A full path from determinate to computer analysis. The seventeen chapters cover determinate analysis, deflections, the force method, two displacement methods and the stiffness method for three structure types, a wide range for a single volume.
  • Hand methods and matrix methods are both present. Slope-deflection and moment distribution sit alongside truss, beam and plane-frame stiffness chapters and a closing chapter on modeling and computer analysis, so the classical and matrix approaches are both on offer.
  • Support material for self-study. The appendix reviews matrix algebra, and the book includes solutions to preliminary and fundamental problems and answers to selected problems. Pearson says the SI-units version has about 30 percent new problems drawn from many engineering fields.
  • Stated emphasis on modeling. Pearson's overview stresses developing the ability to model and analyse a structure for professional practice.

Limitations

  • Scope. The chapter titles do not include structural dynamics or design in steel or concrete; the book is about analysis.
  • Prerequisite mechanics. The contents begin with determinate structures and do not include a chapter reviewing statics or strength of materials, so those subjects are taken for granted.
  • Edition details. Pearson lists a 25 July 2023 publication with a 2024 copyright, and the paperback rental ISBN as a 2023 update.
  • Little public detail. Pearson's public listing gives chapter titles and a short overview, with no section headings or sample pages, so the depth of any one chapter is hard to judge before opening the book.

Where It Fits in the Course

Among the civil and structural engineering books on this list, Hibbeler's Structural Analysis is the main undergraduate text on analysing trusses, beams and frames. Megson's Structural and Stress Analysis is a British textbook that brings mechanics of materials and structural analysis together in a single course text, running through energy methods, indeterminate structures, matrix methods, plastic analysis and structural instability; students who want one book for both subjects might choose Megson, while Hibbeler suits a dedicated structural analysis course after strength of materials.

For a gentler start, J. E. Gordon's Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down and Ji, Bell and Ellis's Understanding and Using Structural Concepts explain how structures work in a non-technical, visual way. For a second step, McGuire, Gallagher and Ziemian's Matrix Structural Analysis develops the stiffness method in depth and comes with the MASTAN2 program, and Chopra's Dynamics of Structures continues into vibration and earthquake analysis.

How to Use This Book

The book is meant for civil, structural and related engineering students; statics and mechanics of materials are the natural preparation. A practical plan:

  • Core: the determinate structures, deflections and force-method chapters, in the listed order, then slope-deflection and moment distribution.
  • Selective: cables and arches, influence lines and approximate analysis, depending on what the course covers.
  • Matrix methods: the three stiffness chapters, with the matrix algebra appendix first if needed. The closing chapter on modeling and computer analysis suits a course that uses structural analysis software.
  • Practice: use the preliminary and fundamental problem solutions to check method before the assigned problems.