A structure that redirects external forces primarily through the composition of tension and compression members, such as a truss.

a closed skeletal structural system composed of a set of three or more discontinuous compressive struts within a network of tensile tendons;

a major spatial division, usually one of a series, marked or partitioned off by the principal vertical supports of a structure.

a structural grid having points or lines of support spaced uniformly in one direction but varying in the other

a discrete structure or assembly of structural members forming a spatial volume.

Also called working load.

for an existing structure, this procedure is also known as structural rating.

the capacity of a structural material or component to resist the effects of loads, as determined by computation using specified materials strengths and dimensions and formulas derived from accepted principles of structural mechanics.

a structural member essential to the stability of a structural whole.

the portion of a structure contributing to the load on a structural element or member. Also called contributary area.

the reactions of each member to its loading becomes forces on the members supporting it. Also called load flow.

a point on a structural member at which its reaction to a load is transmitted as a force to a supporting member.

a structural member permitted to rotate freely about a point of support

a slender rod driven through holes in adjacent parts to keep the parts together or to permit them to move in one plane relative to each other.

the ability of a structure to resist lateral forces without sliding, overturning, buckling, or collapsing.

the straining and distortion of a structural frame by lateral forces.

a diagonal member for bracing a structure against lateral forces.

a frame system designed to resist lateral forces primarily by flexure in the members and joints.

a joint that physically separates two adjacent building masses so that free vibratory movement in each can occur independently of the other

a tube structure having closely spaced perimeter columns rigidly connected by deep spandrel beams.

a high-rise structure having perimeter lateral force-resisting systems internally braced by rigid floor diaphragms.

to cause a decrease in amplitude of successive oscillations or waves.

irregular motion of the atmosphere characterized by up-and-down currents.