The term structural system or structural frame in structural engineering

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....

 refers to load

Structural load

Structural loads or actions are forces, deformations or accelerations applied to a structure or its components.Loads cause stresses, deformations and displacements in structures. Assessment of their effects is carried out by the methods of structural analysis...

-resisting sub-system of a structure. The structural system transfers load

Load

Load may refer to:*Structural load, forces which are applied to a structure*Cargo*The load of a mutual fund *The genetic load of a population*The parasite load of an organism...

s through interconnected structural components or members.

High-rise buildings

The structural system of a high-rise building is designed to cope with the vertical gravity loads and lateral

Lateral

Lateral may refer to:*Lateral , an anatomical direction*Lateral canal, a canal built beside another stream*Lateral consonant, an ℓ-like consonant in which air flows along the sides of the tongue...

 loads caused by wind or seismic activity. The structural system consists only of the members designed to carry the loads, all other members are referred to as non-structural.

A classification for the structural system of a high-rise was introduced in 1969 by Fazlur Khan

Fazlur Khan

Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi born architect and structural engineer. He is a central figure behind the "Second Chicago School" of architecture, and is regarded as the "Father of tubular design for high-rises"...

 and was extended to incorporate interior and exterior structures. The primary lateral load-resisting system defines if a structural system is an interior or exterior one. The following interior structures are possible:

• Hinged frame
• Rigid frame
  Rigid frame
  A rigid frame in structural engineering is the load-resisting skeleton constructed with straight or curved members interconnected by mostly rigid connections which resist movements induced at the joints of members. Its member can take bending moment,shear and axial loads....
  
  
• Braced frame
  Braced Frame
  A Braced Frame is a structural system which is designed primarily to resist wind and earthquake forces. Members in a braced frame are designed to work in tension and compression, similar to a truss. Braced frames are almost always composed of steel members....
  
   and Shear-walled frame
  Shear wall
  In structural engineering, a shear wall is a wall composed of braced panels to counter the effects of lateral load acting on a structure. Wind and earthquake loads are the most common loads braced wall lines are designed to counteract...
  
  
• Outrigger
  Outrigger
  An outrigger is a part of a boat's rigging which is rigid and extends beyond the side or gunwale of a boat.In an outrigger canoe and in sailboats such as the proa, an outrigger is a thin, long, solid, hull used to stabilise an inherently unstable main hull. The outrigger is positioned rigidly and...
  
   structures

The following exterior structures are possible:

• Tube
  Tube (structure)
  In structural engineering, the tube is the name given to the systems where in order to resist lateral loads a building is designed to act like a three-dimensional hollow tube, cantilevered perpendicular to the ground. The system was introduced by Fazlur Rahman Khan while at Skidmore, Owings and...
  
  
• Diagrid
  Diagrid
  Diagrid is a design for constructing large buildings with steel that creates triangular structures with diagonal support beams. It requires less structural steel than a conventional steel frame. Hearst Tower in New York City, designed by Sir Norman Foster, reportedly uses 21 percent less steel...
  
  
• Space Truss
• Exoskeleton
  Exoskeleton
  An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
  
  
• Superframe

See also

• Base isolation
  Base isolation
  Base isolation, also known as seismic base isolation or base isolation system, is one of the most popular means of protecting a structure against earthquake forces...
  
  
• Body-on-frame
  Body-on-frame
  Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...
  
  
• Double wishbone
• MacPherson strut
  MacPherson strut
  The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
  
  
• Monocoque
  Monocoque
  Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
  
  
• Space frame
  Space frame
  A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...
  
  
• Staggered Truss System
  Staggered truss system
  The Staggered truss system is a type of structural steel framing used in high-rise buildings. The system consists of a series of story-high trusses spanning the total width between two rows of exterior columns and arranged in a staggered pattern on adjacent column lines...
  
  
• Superleggera
  Superleggera
  Superleggera is an automobile chassis construction technology developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring. The company was located just north of Milan, near Alfa Romeo, Italian Citroen, and the former Isotta-Fraschini plant...
  
  
• Tube (structure)
  Tube (structure)
  In structural engineering, the tube is the name given to the systems where in order to resist lateral loads a building is designed to act like a three-dimensional hollow tube, cantilevered perpendicular to the ground. The system was introduced by Fazlur Rahman Khan while at Skidmore, Owings and...