2 STRUCTURES

UNIT 1: Structures in our Society

We are surrounded by many different types of structures in our society. You will notice that
some are frame structures and some are shell structures. Some structures are a
combination of both frame and shell structures. Some solid structures are neither shell nor
frame structures.

Frame structures consist of many rigid rods or bars, joined together by joints. The bars are
often joined in triangles which makes the structure stronger.

Shell structures are hollow and are strong because of their shape. The shape spreads the
load evenly throughout the structure

THE FOUR CLASSES OF STRUCTURES:

1. Frame structures
2. Shell Structures
3. Frame and Shell Structures
4. Solid structures

Frame structure

Shell structure

Solid structure

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ACTIVITY 1.1 Classify types of structures

LO 2: AS 1

Copy the table below into your workbook and complete it.

Shell Frame Shell and Solid

Frame
1. Pylon
2. Cup
3. Tent
4. Brick
5. Climbing frame
6. Bag
7. Crane
8. Rubber / eraser
9. Pencil case
10. Three-legged pot
U Fence
11.
12. Umbrella
13. Shoe
14. Burglar bars
15. Security gate
16. Padded chair
17. Security safe
18. Water tank
19. Large billboard signs
20. Section of roof showing beams with tiles
on top

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DEFINITIONS:
 Members: parts of
structures that
UNIT 2: Members or parts of structures perform a particular
function
Structures are made up out of different parts, called members.  Bedrock: Solid rock
Each member or part of a structure is designed to resist the that lies under the
force that act on it. It is important that each member is chosen surface of the ground
carefully.  Piles: Steel or
concrete columns
COLUMNS

Columns must be stable, stiff and strong because they bear the weight of whatever are on
top op them. If they are not strong enough, they will be squashed and the building will
collapse.

In some cases we can see them easily as in the columns on a Beam

veranda or a multi story car park. They are sometimes called
pillars.

Many buildings were built with columns long ago and even
hundreds or years later, some columns are still standing while Column
the rest of the building is in ruins.

BEAM

A beam is a horizontal structure. A beam is supported at each end

and can support a load anywhere along its length. There are different
shaped beams, some are stronger than others. An iron or steel beam
is usually called a girder and is used to form the span of a bridge or
roof. If a beam is fixed at only one end it is called a cantilever. The
roofs of some stadiums are cantilevers.

LINTEL

A lintel is a beam that is across a door or a window. Lintels are

very necessary in a building. What would happen if the builder
does not put in Lintels? Very soon the door and window frames
will collapse. This is very dangerous for the people who live in
the house. It is usually people with no real building experience
who leave off the lintels in order to save money. Construction workers need to meet strict
safety requirements when building structures otherwise people could be hurt or even die.

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BUTTRESS

A buttress is a solid structure that is built at right angles to a

wall. This supports it and makes it strong. Many large
cathedrals or churches have buttresses along their length.
Buttresses can also be built along walls to strengthen them.

ARCH

An arch is a curved supporting structure. The reason why an

arch strengthens a structure is because it distributes the
compression force bearing down on it. Once arches were
invented, a structure could be built across a much wider span.
This made a big difference to the width of a building such as a
cathedral or the length of a bridge spanning a river or an
aqueduct spanning a valley. There are aqueducts that were built
in Roman times and are still standing.

STAY

A stay is a cable that is attached at one end to the structure and anchored
to the ground at the other end. The taller a tower is, the more likely it is to
sway in a strong wind. Look at a cell phone tower. You will notice that
stays are supporting members of a permanent structure and one end of
each stay is attached to the structure and the other end anchored to the
ground.

GUY

A guy is similar to a stay but is a temporary structure. A guy is found

on a structure like a tent. Can you explain what would happen to the
walls of a tent if there where no guy ropes? The walls and rood are
made of a very flexible material so they would fold in towards the tent poles. The guy ropes
pull the walls out so that they are taut. When ropes, cables or chains are used in tension to
hold a structure firmly in position they are called anchors.

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TIE

A tie is a member of a structure that is in tension. When you are

swinging, the ropes holding the swing seat are in tension, and are
called ties. A tie is a rod or a bar or beam that holds a part of a
structure together. A gusset is a piece of steel plate that is usually
triangular or rectangular and connects the members of a tie or roof
truss.

STRUT

A strut is a member of a structure that is in compression.

Struts are made from materials that do not bend such as
wood or steel. A structure can be made more stable by
using struts, ties, stays or anchors.

ACTIVITY 2.1 Distinguish between a strut and a tie

LO 2: AS 1

Look at the following pictures. In each one, identify if the member is a strut or a tie.

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ACTIVITY 2.2 Identify structural components in your community

LO1: AS 1 and 2; LO 2: AS 1

Choose any 6 structural members that you can see in your community. They may be at home, in
the classroom or outside. Draw them neatly and label them correctly.

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UNIT 3: Identify forces that act on structures

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ACTIVITY 3.1 Indicate forces of tension and compression

LO2: AS 1 and 2

Choose any 2 examples of tension and two examples of compression. Draw them neatly and indicate
the forces with arrows.

Use for compression

Use for tension

UNIT 4: Making structures strong, rigid and stable

Structures need to be strong so that they do no easily break. They also need to be rigid so
that they do not bend easily. Structures need to be stable so that they do not fall over
easily.

Triangulation and fillet weld

Fillets are an advantage as they reduce stresses at the joints. They can also be used to
soften sharp corners. The fillet weld is used to make lap joints, corner joints and T joints.
The fillet weld is roughly triangular in cross section. This is shown on the symbol for a fillet
weld.

Weld metal is deposited in a corner formed by two members and it fuses with the base
metal to form a joint.

ACTIVITY 4.1 Identify what makes structures strong, stable and rigid
LO1: AS 1 and LO2: AS 1

Choose any two frame structures and answer the questions:

1. Why is it called a frame structure?
2. What is the function of the structure?
3. What design elements and members were considered to make the structure strong, stable
and rigid

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Orientation and shape of members

Beams are parts of a structure that have to resist bending. The way a beam is placed is
called its orientation, and this determines how large a load it can support.

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PROGRAMME OF ASSESSMENT

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UNIT 5: Graphic communication

Isometric drawings

What is an isometric drawing?

Isometric drawings are 3D drawings. They show three

sides, all in dimensional proportion, but none are shown as
a true shape with 90 degree corners. All the vertical lines
are drawn vertically but all horizontal lines are drawn at 30
degrees to the base line. Isometric is an easy method of
drawing 3D images.

Isometric projection is a method for visually representing

three-dimensional objects in two dimensions
in technical and engineering drawings. It is an axonometric
projection in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and the angles
between any two of them are 120 degrees.
The term "isometric" comes from the Greek for "equal measure", reflecting that
the scale along each axis of the projection is the same (unlike some other forms of graphical
projection).
An isometric view of an object can be obtained by choosing the viewing direction in a way
that the angles between the projection of the x, y, andz axes are all the same, or 120°. For
example when taking a cube, this is done by first looking straight towards one face. Next
the cube is rotated ±45° about the vertical axis, followed by a rotation of approximately
±35.264° (precisely arcsin(tan 30°) or arctan(sin 45°) ) about the horizontal axis. Note that
with the cube (see image) the perimeter of the 2D drawing is a perfect regular hexagon: all
the black lines are of equal length and all the cube's faces are the same area. There is
isometric paper that can be placed under your normal piece of drawing paper as an aid.
In a similar way an isometric view can be obtained for example in a 3D scene editor.
Starting with the camera aligned parallel to the floor and aligned to the coordinate axes, it is
first rotated downwards around the horizontal axes by about 35.264° as above, and then
rotated ±45° around the vertical axis.
Another way in which isometric projection can be visualized is by considering a view within a
cubical room starting in an upper corner and looking towards the opposite, lower corner.
The x-axis extends diagonally down and right, the y-axis extends diagonally down and left,
and the z-axis is straight up. Depth is also shown by height on the image. Lines drawn along
the axes are at 120° to one another.
The term "isometric" is often mistakenly used to refer to axonometric projections in general.
(There are three types of axonometric projections: isometric, diametric and trimetric.)

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ACTIVITY:

Redraw the following Isometric drawing into your workbook – your educator will provide the grid paper
needed.

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ACTIVITY 4.3

LO1: AS15

You will need a pencil and an isometric grid.

1. Use the method on page 15 to draw an isometric cube.
Use measurements of 40mm x 40 mm x 40 mm.
2. Now draw a rectangular box (cuboid). Use measurements of 70mm x 35 mm x 45 mm
3. Draw more shapes of your own. Think of objects that have irregular shapes.
4. Use the method shown on page 16 to draw an isometric circle with a diameter of
40mm.

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ACTIVITY 4.4

Draw the following two-dimensional shapes as three-dimensional forms.

 Copy each of the shapes
 Draw parallel lines coming out of each corner
 Join up the lines to create a three dimensional form
 The first example has been done for you.

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UNIT 6: Orthographic Projection

Orthographic Projection is a way of drawing a 3D object from different directions. Usually a

front, side and a top view are drawn so that a person looking at the drawing can see all the
important sides.

Orthographic drawings are useful especially when a design has been developed to a stage
whereby it is almost ready to manufacture.

IMPORTANT: There are two ways of drawing in orthographic - First Angle and Third Angle.
They differ only in the position of the plan, front and side views. Below is an example
of First Angle projection.

FRONT SIDE

TOP

Below is an example of 3rd angle projection

TOP FRONT

SIDE

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ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION EXAMPLE

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ACTIVITY 4.5

Project the Front view and the Left view from the given top view

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