Week 1 Learning Summary Introduction to materials and basic structural forces This week being the first week was focused on an introduction into the subject and to basic structural forces, materials and load paths. It became apparent that considering and understanding materials (and their properties) is fundamental in deciding what materials to use in relation to suitability and practicality. Choosing the right materials is particularly important as they determine how a structure will respond to forces. Newton (2014) touched on considerations for selecting materials in the e-learning such as the strength, stiffness, shape, behaviour, economy and sustainability which was further explored during the studio. The studio explored more into how materials and their properties respond differently to forces and how certain materials handle forces better than others. For example, some materials may be better at withstanding compression forces (e.g. mass construction) and others better with tension forces (e.g. Steel, aluminium, wood).
Additionally, there are materials that have a combination of properties that enables the material to withstand compression and tension forces (e.g. reinforced concrete). The reason these materials respond differently is due to their properties, for example concrete or stone are very dense materials making them strong and hard which is good for compression forces but bad for tension forces as they are unable to stretch or bend.
Also introduced this week were, load paths, loads and reaction forces. There are different types of loads including dead loads (static) which are a permanent/long term loads, live loads (applied) and dynamic loads (environmental) all in which create load paths (Ching, 2008, pp2.08-2.09) An example of a load path is shown to the left. As shown, the load path takes the most direct roots down to the ground and is then faced with the ground reaction force which has to be both equal and opposite to the applied load to ensure stability (Ching, 2008, pp2.12).