Structural analysis and design tutorials
Free tutorials on structural analysis and design: how to design beams, columns, slabs, walls, footings and connections, structure by structure and code by code.
Each tutorial explains the engineering first — how the structure carries load, what the code asks you to check and why — then shows it step by step in Struxt3D with real numbers. Start with the fundamentals if you are new to analysis, or jump to the element or structure you are designing.
Fundamentals of analysis
How a computer model of a structure works, where the loads come from, and how to read what the analysis gives back.
FundamentalsHow structural analysis worksLearn how structural analysis software turns a model of nodes, members and plates into forces and deflections, with a worked beam example and the stiffness method explained.FundamentalsLoads and load combinationsDead, live, wind and seismic loads, and how codes combine them into ULS and SLS load combinations. Worked floor example and the combinations for six design codes.FundamentalsSupports, joints and end releasesFixed, pinned and roller supports, soil springs, rigid and pinned joints, and member end releases: what each one means, how it changes the forces, and how to set it in Struxt3D.FundamentalsReading analysis resultsHow to read deflected shapes, axial force, shear and bending moment diagrams, envelopes, reactions and utilization, and how to check them, with examples from Struxt3D.FundamentalsWind loadsHow wind speed becomes pressure on a building, the difference between mean and 3-second gust speeds, windward and leeward pressures, drag on open frames, and wind in Struxt3D.FundamentalsResponse spectrum analysisLearn seismic design by response spectrum: vibration modes, periods, mass participation, design spectra, behaviour factor q or R, CQC combination, with a worked example in Struxt3D.FundamentalsPlates and meshingHow slabs and walls are analysed as shell elements: one-way versus two-way action, the analysis mesh, plate moments Mx, My and Mxy, and Wood–Armer design moments, in Struxt3D.
Designing elements
Step-by-step design of each kind of member, with a worked example and the code clauses behind every check.
Element designHow to design a steel beamLearn steel beam design step by step: bending, shear, lateral-torsional buckling and deflection, with a worked Eurocode 3 example and the AISC 360 equivalents.Element designHow to design a reinforced concrete beamReinforced concrete beam design explained: bending steel, shear links, minimum bars, deflection and support bars, with a worked Eurocode 2 example and ACI 318 notes.Element designHow to design a steel columnSteel column design explained: slenderness, buckling curves, effective length and combined axial force and bending, with a worked Eurocode 3 example and AISC 360 formulas.Element designHow to design a reinforced concrete columnLearn RC column design: the axial force–moment interaction diagram, slenderness, biaxial bending and ties, with a worked ACI 318 example and Eurocode 2 notes.Element designHow to design a concrete slabConcrete slab design explained: one-way, two-way and flat slabs, Wood–Armer moments, bar meshes, punching shear and deflection, with a worked Eurocode 2 example.Element designHow to design a shear wallReinforced concrete shear wall design explained: piers, in-plane bending, shear reinforcement and boundary elements, with a worked ACI 318 example for a core wall.Element designHow to design a pad footingPad footing design step by step: size the base for the allowable bearing pressure, then check punching shear, one-way shear and bending, with a worked ACI 318 example.Element designHow to design steel connectionsSteel connection design explained: fin plates, end plates, base plates, gussets and splices, bolt groups and welds, with a worked Eurocode 3 fin plate example.Element designHow to design a composite beamComposite steel–concrete beam design explained: effective width, plastic moment, shear studs, unshored construction and floor vibration (AISC DG11), with a worked AISC 360 example.Element designHow to design timber membersGlulam beam and column design to Eurocode 5 explained: kmod, γM, bending, shear, lateral-torsional buckling and column buckling, with worked GL24h examples.
Designing structures
One tutorial per Struxt3D template: the load path, the settings that matter, what to look for in the results and how to make the design pass.
StructuresMulti-storey frameModel, analyse and design a steel or concrete multi-storey moment frame in 3D: grid, storeys, floor loads, wind, seismic, member checks and auto-sizing.StructuresFlat slab buildingAnalyse a reinforced concrete flat slab building as 3D plates: slab moments, punching shear at the columns, deflection, slab reinforcement and column design.StructuresShear wall coreModel a concrete core building in 3D: the core walls take wind and earthquake as plates, the perimeter frame carries gravity. Analysis, pier design and reports.StructuresStairAnalyse and design a dog-leg steel stair in 3D: stringers, half and floor landings, landing beams and posts, with the right live load and vibration-aware sizes.StructuresPortal frame shedStep-by-step steel portal frame design in 3D: span, eaves height, roof pitch, purlins, bracing, wind and roof loads, rafter and column checks, and auto-sizing.StructuresWarehouse with craneModel a steel portal warehouse with an overhead travelling crane: runway beams on column brackets, wheel and surge loads, column and runway design in 3D.StructuresPipe rackAnalyse and design a steel pipe rack: moment-frame bents with knee braces, longitudinal struts and bracing, pipe loads per level, wind and seismic, in 3D.StructuresSteel truss roofAnalyse and design pitched Pratt steel roof trusses on columns: chords, web members, purlins, axial forces, buckling lengths and connections, in 3D.StructuresSpace frame roofAnalyse and design a double-layer steel space frame roof on perimeter columns: modules, grid depth, two-way action, chord and web forces, buckling and supports.StructuresGirder bridgeModel a continuous multi-girder bridge on piers, analyse it in 3D and design girders, cross-girders, deck and piers step by step in Struxt3D.StructuresTruss bridgeModel a through Pratt truss bridge with floor beams, stringers and wind bracing, then analyse and design every chord, web and connection in Struxt3D.StructuresCable-stayed footbridgeModel a two-span cable-stayed footbridge with an H-pylon and semi-fan stays, analyse it in 3D and design the stays, girders and pylon in Struxt3D.StructuresArch footbridgeLearn how a tied arch carries load, then model, analyse and design the arch ribs, hangers, deck girders and struts of an arch footbridge in Struxt3D.StructuresLattice towerModel a square tapering lattice tower with X-bracing, analyse it under wind and design the legs, braces and base connections step by step in Struxt3D.StructuresMonopoleModel a tapered tubular monopole with an antenna platform, analyse it under wind and design the pole, platform and base plate in Struxt3D step by step.StructuresElevated water tankModel the braced steel staging of an elevated water tank, analyse it for water weight, wind and earthquake, and design legs, ring beams and bracing in Struxt3D.StructuresContinuous beamContinuous beam analysis step by step: support and span moments, shear and deflection over several spans, checked by hand and designed in concrete or steel.StructuresCantilever canopyDesign a steel cantilever canopy in 3D: a single row of fixed columns with propped arms, edge beams and purlins, cantilever moments, uplift and tip deflection.StructuresRaft foundationModel a concrete raft with ground beams on Winkler soil springs, read settlements and slab moments, and design the raft reinforcement in Struxt3D step by step.StructuresRetaining wallLearn how earth pressure loads a cantilever retaining wall, then model the stem as a plate, analyse it and design its reinforcement in Struxt3D step by step.StructuresOffshore jacketModel a four-legged offshore jacket with X-braced faces and a topside deck, apply Morison wave and current drag, then analyse and design it in Struxt3D.
Designing to a specific code
What changes when you switch code: combinations, loads, spectra, materials and resistance factors.
Design codesDesign to EurocodeHow Struxt3D applies the Eurocodes: EN 1990 combinations, EN 1991 loads, the EN 1998 spectrum and EN 1992, 1993 and 1995 member checks, with a worked example.Design codesDesign to AISC / ACIHow Struxt3D designs to US codes: ASCE 7-22 LRFD combinations and spectrum, AISC 360-22 steel and ACI 318-19 concrete checks, with a worked example.Design codesDesign to KDSHow Struxt3D applies the Korean Design Standards: KDS 41 load combinations, live loads, wind and the KDS 41 17 spectrum, with KDS 14 steel and concrete checks.Design codesDesign to CSAHow Struxt3D designs to Canadian codes: NBCC 2020 load combinations and seismic RdRo, CSA S16-19 steel and CSA A23.3-19 concrete checks, with a worked example.Design codesDesign to AS/NZSHow Struxt3D designs to Australian and New Zealand standards: AS/NZS 1170 combinations, wind and earthquake inputs, AS 4100 steel and AS 3600 concrete checks.Design codesDesign to NSCP 2015How Struxt3D designs to the National Structural Code of the Philippines 2015: 203.3.1 combinations, Section 207 wind, the Section 208 zone spectrum, ACI and AISC checks.
New tutorials are added regularly. To learn the app itself — every step, panel and menu — read the user manual.