On the Moment Distribution Method of Structural Analysis

Abstract

An algebraic method of moment distribution for the analysis of forces and displacements in redundant structures is presented. The method, described as “synthetic moment distribution”, is originally due to Professor Yu Chao-chung (1957) of National Taiwan University and was published in Chinese in one of the University journals. It appears that the method has not found its way into the western literature. The advantage of the method is that it retains all the features of the standard moment distribution procedure but provides an exact solution with merely one cycle of balance and carryover. An additional feature of the method is that the displacements and rotations of the joints of the structure are also readily obtained, in the spirit of a true displacement method as pointed out recently by Creed (1991). The procedure is illustrated by two examples, one a continuous beam and the other an unsymmetrical portal frame.