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6.5 Practical Uses of In uence Lines

Now that we know how to construct in uence lines, how do we use them, and what are they good for? The biggest bene t is that once you construct an in uence line for a reaction,
shear or moment at a critical location in a structure, you can easily check how multiple di erent load patterns on the structure a ect that load e ect (the reaction, shear or moment).
For example, if we are designing the reaction base for a beam, we can rst construct the in uence line for that reaction. Then, we can use that in uence line to check multiple
di erent load patterns and load cases on the beam without having to re-analyse the beam for every di erent set of loads. This is particularly useful if you have to check multiple
di erent load patterns to nd the worst possible combination, or if you have a moving load caused by a vehicle.

In this section, we will look at three main applications for in uence lines. The rst is the use of an in uence line to determine the in uence of a single point load. The second is the
use of an in uence line to determine the e ect of a distributed load or patterned distributed load. The last is the use of an in uence line to determine the e ect of a moving pattern of
loads.

The In uence of a Point Load

Up to now, we have only seen how in uence lines show us the e ect of a unit point load moving along a beam (with a magnitude of 1.0); however, an in uence line may be used to
determine the e ect of any magnitude point load on a beam. All we have to do is multiply the magnitude of the applied point load by the value of the in uence line at the location
where the point load is applied.

For example, a sample in uence line for a vertical support reaction Cy is shown at the top of Figure 6.16 (IL Cy ). If we apply a point load of 13 kN at point E, as shown, then the
reaction force Cy will be equal to:

Cy = 13 kN(−0.4) = −5.2 kN

= 5.2 kN ↓

where 0.4 is the value of the in uence line at point E as shown.

(/sites/default/ les/images/5-In uence/IL-

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Single-Load.png) Figure 6.16: Use of In uence Lines with a Single Point Load

Likewise, if you were to put that point load anywhere else along the beam, the e ect on Cy would be equal to the value of the point load multiplied by the value of the in uence
line at that location. Another example is shown in the middle diagram in Figure 6.16. Here an in-between in uence line value at a point between A and B is found using similar triangles
to be equal to 0.6. If the 13 kN point load is applied at this location, then the reaction Cy = 13(0.6) = 7.8 kN ↑ .

In addition to telling us what the e ect of a certain load will be on a parameter such as the reaction at a certain point, the in uence line also gives us a visual indication of where a
load should be placed to create the maximum positive or negative e ect. For example, the bottom diagram in Figure 6.16 shows an in uence diagram for some internal moment in a
beam MB . From this diagram, it is clear that if a load may be placed anywhere along the beam, then placing the load at point B would cause the greatest positive internal moment at
point B (MB ) and placing the load at point D would cause the maximum negative moment at point B (MB ).

The In uence of a Distributed Load

In uence lines also allow us to easily nd the e ect of distributed loads on individual response parameters (e.g. reactions, shear at a point). To do this, we simply nd the area
underneath the in uence diagram for the parts of the diagram where a uniform distributed load is applied and then multiply that area by the magnitude of the uniform load.

An example of this is shown in Figure 6.17. At the top of this gure, an in uence diagram is shown for the vertical reaction at a point C (IL Cy ). If a 16 kN /m distributed load is
applied between points B and C, the we can nd the e ect of the distributed load on the reaction Cy py multiplying the area under the in uence diagram under the applied load (the
trapezoidal area shaded in the gure) by the value of the distributed load (16 kN /m ):

1.4 + 1.0
Cy = (4 m)(16 kN /m)
2

Cy = 76.8 kN ↑

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Load.png) Figure 6.17: Use of In uence Lines with Distributed Loads

If we then added a point load to the beam simultaneously as shown in the second diagram in Figure 6.17, the e ect of the distributed load and point load together will be additive:

1.4 + 1.0
Cy = (4 m)(16 kN /m) + 13 kN(−0.4)
2

Cy = 71.6 kN ↑

Like the point load case discussed in the previous section, in uence diagrams can also help us to determine where we should load the beam to cause the worst e ect on a
parameter. This is illustrated by the bottom two diagrams in Figure 6.17. If we would like to nd the distributed loading pattern that will cause the greatest positive moment at B (MB ),
then we should only load between points A and C and between points D and E as shown in the gure. If we were to also load the rest of the beam between C and D, then our moment
would actually decrease. Patterned loading like this is a common design case in structural engineering, and this example makes it clear that sometimes considering a distributed load
to act along the entire length of a beam can actually be unconservative! We could actually get worse moment, by leaving some of the load o .

Likewise, if we want to nd the distributed loading pattern that will cause the greatest negative moment at B, then we should only load the beam between points C and D as
shown in Figure 6.17.

The In uence of a Series of Moving Loads

The e ect of a series of point loads on a certain response parameter (such as a reaction or internal moment at a point) may be found by simply adding up the e ect of each individual
point load. But, what would happen if we have a set of point loads in a certain arrangement and that arrangement may be placed at any point in the beam and we need to know the
worst case?

This is a common design problem in bridge engineering, since one of the design loads is a set of loads caused by a "standard" truck, which can move and be placed anywhere
along the length of the bridge. One example of a standard set of truck loads for Ontario is shown in Figure 6.18. Since the truck has multiple wheels/axles, the total load of the truck is
not spread evenly over its length, but is concentrated at the locations of the wheel axles. The standard truck shown in the gure is designed to be a worst-case heavy truck.

(/sites/default/ les/images/5-In uence/Truck-

Load.png) Figure 6.18: Standard Truck Axle Loads

If we want to nd the worst e ect of such a set of moving loads, cause by a truck or otherwise, then we can use the in uence line to easily nd it. It may seem like there are an
in nite number of possibilities for the location of a moving truck on a bridge, but, luckily, it can be shown that the worst case will always be when one of the loads is placed on a peak
of the in uence diagram. So, we only need to check the possibilities where each load is placed on a peak.

An example of this method is shown in Figure 6.19. A sample in uence diagram for the shear in a beam at point B is shown at the top of the gure (IL VB ), and we must nd the
maximum positive shear that may be caused by the set of moving loads shown on the top right of the gure. This moving set of loads consists of three di erent loads with di erent
magnitudes P1 , P2 , and P3 . The loads are spaced apart as shown and that spacing is constant.

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(/sites/default/ les/images/5-In uence/IL-

Series-Load.png) Figure 6.19: Use of In uence Lines with a Series of Point Loads

There is only one peak for the positive shear in the in uence diagram, and that peak is located just immediately to the left of point B. Therefore, the worst case will occur when one
of the loads P1 , P2 , or P3 is located right at point B (actually just immediately to the left of point B). All of the possibilities for this are shown in Figure 6.19. Note that, since the series
could potentially travel in either direction across the beam, we need to check both the cases where it moves from left to right (where the front load P1 is on the right), and the cases
where it moves from right to left (where the front load P1 is on the left).

To nd the total shear VB caused by each possibility shown in Figure 6.19, all we have to do is add up the e ect of each point load (the value of the point load multiplied by the
value of the in uence line at the point load's location). Sometimes, one of the loads may fall o of the beam altogether, as shown in the gure. In that case, that load is ignored and
not added to the others. Of course, loads that cause a negative shear e ect would be subtracted from the total. At the end, whichever possibility creates the greatest possible shear
at point B constitutes the worst case load series location.

‹ 6.4 In uence Lines for Trusses (/In uence-Lines-for-Trusses) up 6.6 Practice Problems › (/Chapter-6-Practice-Problem)
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Lines)

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INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS (/STRUCTURAL-ANALYSIS)

  Chapter 1: Introduction and Review (/Introduction-Review)
  Chapter 2: Stability, Determinacy and Reactions (/Stability-Determinacy)
  Chapter 3: Analysis of Determinate Trusses (/Analysis-of-Determinate-Trusses)
  Chapter 4: Analysis of Determinate Beams and Frames (/Analysis-of-Determinate-Beams-and-Frames)

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  Chapter 5: De ections of Determinate Structures (/De ections-of-Determinate-Structures)

  Chapter 6: In uence Lines (/In uence-Lines)
6.1 Introduction (/In uence-Lines-Introduction)
6.2 Constructing In uence Lines using Equilibrium (/Constructing-In uence-Lines-using-Equilibrium)
6.3 Constructing In uence Lines using the Muller-Breslau Principle (/Muller-Breslau-Principle)
6.4 In uence Lines for Trusses (/In uence-Lines-for-Trusses)
6.5 Practical Uses of In uence Lines (/Practical-Uses-of-In uence-Lines)
  6.6 Practice Problems (/Chapter-6-Practice-Problem)
  Chapter 7: Approximate Indeterminate Frame Analysis (/Approximate-Indeterminate-Frame-Analysis)
  Chapter 8: The Force Method (/Force-Method)
  Chapter 9: The Slope De ection Method (/Slope-De ection-Method)
  Chapter 10: The Moment Distribution Method (/Moment-Distribution-Method)
  Chapter 11: Introduction to Matrix Structural Analysis (/Matrix-Structural-Analysis)

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