Concept Library.

A push or a pull that changes motion or loads a structure.

Example: A person standing on a bridge applies a downward load.

How fast something moves, including its direction.

Example: A launched ball has horizontal and vertical velocity components.

How quickly velocity changes over time.

Example: Near Earth's surface gravity accelerates falling objects at about 9.81 m/s².

A quantity that can be stored, transferred, or converted into motion.

Example: A swinging pendulum exchanges potential energy for kinetic energy.

How often a repeating motion completes one full cycle each second.

Example: A pendulum with a period of 2 s has a frequency of 0.5 Hz.

An effect that removes energy from an oscillating system.

Example: A car's shock absorber helps stop its suspension from bouncing.

The amount of force required per metre of spring displacement.

Example: Higher stiffness means greater force for the same stretch.

The rate a system would oscillate without applied driving forces.

Example: Adding mass to a spring makes its natural frequency lower.

Damping relative to the amount needed to prevent oscillation.

Example: ζ below 1 oscillates while ζ at 1 is critically damped.

A framework made from straight members joined at nodes.

Example: A triangular roof truss transfers its load through tension and compression.

A pulling internal force that tends to stretch a member.

Example: The bottom member of a triangular loaded truss can be in tension.

A pushing internal force that tends to shorten a member.

Example: Diagonal truss members may push inward under load.

The force a wall or support pushes back with to keep a structure balanced.

Example: Two supports share the weight of a loaded beam.

The internal force that resists one side of a beam sliding vertically past the other.

Example: Shear jumps at the position of a concentrated point load.

The internal turning effect that bends a beam.

Example: The largest moment often occurs where the shear force crosses zero.

How far a structure moves away from its original shape when loaded.

Example: A steel beam bends downward when weight is added.

A load spread evenly along a length instead of applied at one point.

Example: The weight of a floor resting on a beam can be modeled as a UDL.

A material property describing resistance to elastic stretching or compression.

Example: Steel is stiffer than rubber because its elastic modulus is higher.

A geometric quantity that describes how a cross-section resists bending.

Example: An I-beam places more material away from its centre to resist deflection.

Internal force divided by the area carrying it.

Example: A loaded bar experiences tensile or compressive stress.