Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides numerous demonstrations using physical models and practical examples. A significant amount of material, not found in current textbooks, is included to enhance the understanding of structural concepts and stimulate interest in learning, creative thinking, and design.
This is achieved through:
- Connecting abstract theory with visual and practical examples
- Providing simple illustrative demonstration models, which can be used in conventional class teaching, to capture the essence of the concepts
- Including associated engineering examples, which demonstrate the application of the concepts and help to bridge the gap between theory and practice
- Incorporating the development of teaching material and innovative examples relating to structural concepts based on current research work
In addition to new models and examples, Understanding and Using Structural Concepts, Second Edition provides a third part, Synthesis. This considers the relationships between static and modal stiffnesses, static and dynamic problems, experimental and theoretical studies, and theory and practice. All of these relationships are linked to structural concepts. This book will be of interest to all engineers, from students to consultants. It will be useful to civil and structural engineering students, including graduate students, in all years of their courses as well as the more technically-minded architecture students and practicing engineers.
"The second edition of Seeing and Touching Structural Concepts with a revised title, Understanding and Using Structural Concepts"--Preface.
"Tianjian Ji and his co-authors have assembled a wealth of models, practical and visual examples to illustrate structural concepts, many of which students find confusing. They show that many structural concepts can be understood in quite simple, physical terms, without recourse to mathematics. Their text offers a valuable and interesting supplement to the more analytical structures books with which many students will be familiar."
-Martin Williams, University of Oxford, UK
"? an excellent source for both undergraduate and postgraduate students on any engineering course. ? of great value to researchers and practitioners involved with the analysis of structures. There is a very good coverage of the subject: as it covers both the statics and dynamics of structures. The book also brings together theoretical and experimental approaches in analyzing structures and how the gap between them may be bridged. This is quite unique in structural analysis books."
-Messaoud Saidani, Coventry University, UK
"This is an excellent book. The authors are well known for their use of physical models to demonstrate structural concepts and this book will make their ideas more widely available."
-- Peter Bullman in The Structural Engineer
