Question

Explain how the garden swing, pictured below, works as a structural system. Be sure to consider all elements in the load path, starting where the load is applied and ending at the foundation.

Answer 1

● In the above picture the given garden swing acts as a structural system. In this system the load acting is the self weight of the structure, the self weight of the chair hanging below and the weight of the person sitting on the chair.

Due to chair hanging through the ropes or cable with or without a person sitting on the chair, the rope will be strethched due to the load acting below due to gravitational pull of chair. This pull will create tension in both the cable. This tension is then transferred to the upper horizontal chord member.

Then accordingly the force will get transferred to the bottom member from where it will get transferred to the earth via foundation. The horizontal member may actually like a beam and the vertical inclined member may actually be like an inclined strut or column.

Moreover this system may acts as a garden swing attached with a truss like structure. Please rate the answer.

Thank you.