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Enhancing the Teaching of Moment Distribution Analysis Using Spreadsheet

Karen C. Chou1

Abstract

This paper illustrates the use of spreadsheet such as EXCEL to enhance the efficiency of moment distribution method. Continuous beam was used to illustrate the concepts. A multi-story, multi-bay framed structure was used to illustrate the efficiency of the method when spreadsheet is used. It was shown that the computer tool reduced the number of random arithmetic errors, student frustrations, and time in doing the tedious computations. Hence the instructors can assign more realistic problems without increasing the time required of the students when compared with the pre-PC era.

Introduction

A half century old numerical method developed by Professor Hardy Cross has, at time, hailed as a major break through to the analysis of complex structures. The method enjoys both mathematical and procedural simplicity. It is one of the classical structural analysis methods taught in the elementary structural analysis course. Although PC-based structural analysis software is plentiful and easily accessible, many civil engineering programs still include this classic, the moment distribution method, in their elementary structural analysis courses. Despite the simplicity of the method, it has caused the users, both students and instructors as well as engineers, some very frustrated moments. The reason is that the tedious arithmetic often caused a lot of careless mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes are hard to find even for a small frame. The development of spreadsheet gave a much needed enhancement to moment distribution method’s efficiency. The objective of this paper is to show how one can set up the spreadsheet to perform the moment distribution analysis. The paper has no intention to replace the students or other users’ knowledge of the method. The spreadsheet serves as a “big calculator” whose primary function is number crunching. The user is still required to know the...