Back to Engineering of Structures: Tension
Dartmouth College

Engineering of Structures: Tension

This course deals with tension. Tension is one of the easiest forces to understand. It is a pulling force. When we tend to pull an object, it is in tension. Different elements that resist tension in buildings are ropes, cables, and funicular forms. You will study different structures and identify what role tension plays in their designs. The first module explores tension and its importance in building structures. The second module explores funicular forms, angles, and bridges. You will understand the role of funicular forms in sustaining tension, how to best design elements and systems that resist tensile forces. You will also recognize the similarities and differences between suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges. The third module explores how to build a cable-stayed bridge. You'll also study the structures of different bridges and share a report on them.

Status: Structural Engineering
Status: Civil Engineering
BeginnerCourse13 hours

Featured reviews

ZK

Reviewed May 1, 2025

Very useful and clearly explained of tension definition.

LC

Reviewed Jan 21, 2025

Professor Vicki makes it easy to understand all the concepts, she's great!

SA

Reviewed Sep 27, 2023

helpful for revising the concept of Tension, Tension members, Cable-stayed bridge, suspension bridge. helpful for stuctural engineers.

VL

Reviewed Jul 6, 2023

The Way to teaching makes better understanding easily...

MP

Reviewed Jul 23, 2023

Hello, thank you for your efforts in the course. It was very useful and beautiful. I hope you will always be healthy and happy. Mohammad Pakzad from Iran.

AK

Reviewed Mar 31, 2024

It was a great experience. The concept of 'tension' is explained excellently using some very common, real-life examples.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 24

aayaha
Reviewed Jan 9, 2024
Ahmed
Reviewed Mar 7, 2024
Syed
Reviewed Feb 19, 2023
Chaeyun
Reviewed Jan 26, 2026
Daniel
Reviewed Sep 29, 2024
Mohammad
Reviewed Jul 24, 2023
Shah
Reviewed Sep 28, 2023
Ans
Reviewed Apr 1, 2024
José
Reviewed May 12, 2023
Luis
Reviewed Jan 22, 2025
Zhanybek
Reviewed May 1, 2025
Vivek
Reviewed Jul 7, 2023
Kaumal
Reviewed Apr 16, 2023
Raymond
Reviewed Dec 15, 2023
sohil
Reviewed Jun 3, 2023
RAJESH
Reviewed Apr 8, 2023
Mohammed
Reviewed Mar 14, 2025
Pushpendra
Reviewed Jan 14, 2024
josss
Reviewed Feb 3, 2026
Clara
Reviewed Nov 28, 2024