ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

MODULE 4
Influence Lines of
Determinate Structures

STRUCTURAL THEORY
Course Description: A professional course common to all
civil engineering students designated to provide
fundamental concepts, principles, and theories in the
theory of structures and structural analysis for internal
actions in structure and its deformations under load

ENGR. APRILLE ANN M. SIM

 MODULE 4 the influence line. An influence line represents the
variation of the reaction, shear, moment, or

Influence Lines for deflection at a specific point in a member as a

concentrated force moves over the member.

Statically Determinate
Once this line is constructed, one can tell at a
glance where the moving load should be placed
on the structure so that it creates the greatest
Structures influence at the specified point. Furthermore, the
magnitude of the associated reaction, shear,
Overview moment, or deflection at the point can then be
Influence lines have important application for the calculated from the ordinates of the influence-
design of structures that resist large live loads. In this line diagram. For these reasons, influence lines
module we will discuss how to draw the influence play an important part in the design of bridges,
line for a statically determinate structure. The theory industrial crane rails, conveyors, and other
is applied to structures subjected to a distributed structures where loads move across their span.
load or a series of concentrated forces, and specific
applications to floor girders and bridge trusses are Procedure for Analysis
given. The determination of the absolute maximum
live shear and moment in a member is discussed at
Either of the following two procedures can be
the end of this module
used to construct the influence line at a specific
Learning Outcomes: point P in a member for any function (reaction,
APPLY the methods of structural analysis for external shear, or moment). For both of these procedures
and internal actions on various types of structural we will choose the moving force to have a
systems due to static and moving loads. dimensionless magnitude of unity.*
Learning Objectives
Tabulate Values
Student Upon completion of this module,
 Place a unit load at various locations, x,
Learning you will be able to:
along the member, and at each location
Objectives for  Know the meaning of influence
use statics to determine the value of the
this Module lines.
function (reaction, shear, or moment) at
 Determine its an important part
the specified point.
in the design of bridges,
 If the influence line for a vertical force
industrial crane rails, conveyors,
reaction at a point on a beam is to be
and other structures where
constructed, consider the reaction to be
loads move across their span.
positive at the point when it acts upward
Learning Activities on the beam.
Activities for  Do the assignments and  If a shear or moment influence line is to be
this module problem sets drawn for a point, take the shear or
 Take the quiz (Quiz1) moment at the point as positive according
Graded Assessment to the same sign convention used for
Evidence to  Completed all the drawing shear and moment diagrams.
proceed assessment tasks in this  All statically determinate beams will have
module influence lines that consist of straight line
References segments. After some practice one should
Printed  National Structural Code of the be able to minimize computations and
Sources Philippines, 5th ed. Association locate the unit load only at points
of Structural Engineers of the representing the end points of each line
Philippines, Manila 2001 by segment.
Association of Structural  To avoid errors, it is recommended that
Engineers of the Philippines one first construct a table, listing “unit load
 Structural Analysis, 4th Ed, at x” versus the corresponding value of the
Prentice Hall 1999., N.J. By: function calculated at the specific point;
Hibbler, R.C. that is, “reaction R,” “shear V,” or
 Structural Analysis, By: Besavilla “moment M.” Once the load has been
 Structural Analysis, By: Gillesania placed at various points along the span of
the member, the tabulated values can be
plotted and the influence-line segments
Influence Lines constructed.

If a structure is subjected to a live or moving load, Influence-Line Equations

however, the variation of the shear and bending  The influence line can also be constructed
moment in the member is best described using by placing the unit load at a variable
 position x on the member and then
computing the value of R, V, or M at the
point as a function of x. In this manner, the
equations of the various line segments
composing the influence line can be
determined and plotted.

Influence Lines for Beams

Since beams (or girders) often form the main

load-carrying elements of a floor system or bridge
deck, it is important to be able to construct the
influence lines for the reactions, shear, or moment
at any specified point in a beam.

Loadings. Once the influence line for a function

(reaction, shear, or moment) has been
constructed, it will then be possible to position the
live loads on the beam which will produce the
maximum value of the function. Two types of
loadings will now be considered.

Example 1
Construct the influence line for
a) reaction at A and B
b) shear at point C
c) bending moment at point C
d) shear before and after support B
e) moment at point B of the beam in the figure
below.
 Reaction at B

Or Using Equilibrium Conditions

Reaction at A
Example 2

Determine the maximum positive shear that can

be developed at point C in the beam shown in
figure due to a concentrated moving load of
4000 lb and a uniform moving load of 2000 lb/ft.
Example 3

Determine the maximum reaction at support B,

the maximum shear at point C and the maximum
positive moment that can be developed at point
C on the beam shown due to
- a single concentrate live load of 8000 N
- a uniform live load of 3000 N/m
- a beam weight (dead load) of 1000 N/m Influence Lines for Trusses

Trusses are often used as primary load-carrying

elements for bridges. Hence, for design it is
important to be able to construct the influence
lines for each of its members. Since the truss
members are affected only by the joint loading,
we can therefore obtain the ordinate values of
the influence line for a member by loading each
joint along the deck with a unit load and then use
the method of joints or the method of sections to
calculate the force in the member. The data can
be arranged in tabular form, listing “unit load at
joint” versus “force in member.” As a convention,
if the member force is tensile it is considered a
positive value; if it is compressive it is negative. The
influence line for the member is constructed by
plotting the data and drawing straight lines
between the points.

Example 1

Draw the influence line for the force in member

GB of the bridge truss shown in figure.
 Example 3

Determine the maximum force developed in

member BC, BG, and CG of the truss due to the
wheel loads of the car. Assume the loads are
applied directly to the truss.

Example 2

Draw the influence line for the force in member

CG of the bridge truss shown in figure.
Maximum Influence at a Point due to a
Series of Concentrated Loads

Once the influence line of a function has been

established for a point in a structure, the
maximum effect caused by a live concentrated
force is determined by multiplying the peak
ordinate of the influence line by the magnitude of
the force. In some cases, however, several
concentrated forces must be placed on the
structure. An example would be the wheel
loadings of a truck or train. In order to determine
the maximum effect in this case, either a trial-and-
error procedure can be used or a method that is
based on the change in the function that takes
place as the load is moved. Each of these
methods will now be explained specifically as it
applies to shear and moment.

Shear. Consider the simply supported beam with

the associated influence line for the shear at point
C in Fig.a. The maximum positive shear at point C
is to be determined due to the series of
concentrated (wheel) loads which move from
right to left over the beam. The critical loading will
occur when one of the loads is placed just to the
right of point C, which is coincident with the
positive peak of the influence line. By trial and
error each of three possible cases can therefore
be investigated, Fig. b. We have
The critical position of the loads can be
determined in a more direct manner by finding
the change in shear, V, which occurs when the
loads are moved from Case 1 to Case 2, then
from Case 2 to Case 3, and so on. As long as
each computed is positive, the new position will
yield a larger shear in the beam at C than the
previous position. Each movement is investigated
until a negative change in shear is computed, V.
When this occurs, the previous position of the
loads will give the critical value. The change in
shear, V, for a load P that moves from position x1
to x2 over a beam can be determined by
multiplying P by the change in the ordinate of the
influence line (y2-y1), that is, If the slope of the
influence line is s,then (y2-y1) = s (x2-x1) and
therefore
Example 1
Determine the maximum positive shear created
at point B in the beam shown in Fig a due to the
wheel loads of the moving truck.
 Example 3

Determine the maximum compressive force

developed in member BG of the side truss in
figure due to the right side wheel loads of the car
and trailer. Assume the loads are applied directly
to the truss and move only to the right.

Example 2

Determine the maximum positive moment

created at point B in the beam shown in figure a
due to the wheel loads of the crane.