Influence Lines and Moving Loads - Intro to Structural Analysis

This video defines the concept of an influence line for a moving loads across a structure. This is a very useful technique in bridge engineering.

An influence line plots a specific action (for example, a reaction force or the shear or moment at a specific point) for a unit load at position x, moving along the structure. These can be used to find the extreme loading events for a specific demand.

This video covers how to solve for an influence line using statics. The Muller-Breslau principle, which can be used to find influence lines using geometry, will be illustrated in a follow-up video.