ABSTRACT
This chapter considers only skeletal structures but mathematical analysis carried out for building structures. It explains the rudiments of the differential calculus are required for this analysis. To understand the mathematical basis of the behaviour of structures, no new structural concepts are required. But this mathematical world can only be entered through the differential calculus. Physical phenomena, which include the behaviour of structures, can often be described by differential equations. The method of analysis is to derive equations for the joints that relate the forces on the joint to the displacement of the joint. This is done through the stiffness coefficients of the elements that meet at a joint to give the joint stiffness. Using the concept of stiffness coefficients, the structural analysis of any structure is turned into a set of simultaneous equations, which are based on the known loads and structural properties.
