STATICS

BDA 10203
FINAL PROJECT

TITLE: Effect of forces and endurance of the billboard using statics analysis

NAME:
AIMAN HAIKAL BIN ZAHARUDIN (AD150193)
LEE ZHEN HOOI (AD150285)
MUHAMMAD AMIR AIMAN BIN DESA (AD150284)
NUR HALIZZAH BINTI CHE WAHAB (AD150119)
NURAINA BINTI RAMLI (AD150143)
NURUL ELYNA ASYIQEN BINTI MOHD ZAKI (AD150123)
 ABSTRACT

This project is about building a billboard that can be used for advertising purpose alongside
the road. The main idea of this design is to build a billboard that have high strength against
wind and forces applied on it. It also can be used for a longer period and relatively safe.
Billboards is a form of outdoor communication medium that is still relevant and effective due
to their ability to target a wide audience. In this project analysis strength of the billboard have
been made. Rough sketch of billboard is made. Simulation of by using ANSYS analysis and
Solid Work analysis are used to determine the forces acted on the billboard and it is
compared with the theoretical calculation. From the predicted force results shown that the
billboard is not stable due its design. Thus the improvement of the billboard design is
suggested to make it suitable and safe.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure which basically located in high traffic areas such as
alongside busy roads. Billboard present large advertisement to the pedestrian. Typically showing
large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible in the top
designated market areas. The oldest billboard was known located at the city of Thebes which offers a
runaway slave. Prior to the late 1700s, the predecessor to the modern day billboard billposting was
prevalent throughout Europe, but only as an informal source of information. It wasn't until the
invention of lithography in the late eighteenth century that billboards as a medium expanded into an
art form. The first art poster was created in 1871 by Englishman Frederick Walker, who was
commissioned to create the playbill for the play "Lady in White" in London. By the early 1900s,
schools for poster art were being formed and artists like Talouse Lautrec were making names for
themselves.
The main objective in this project is to build a billboard which could withstand maximum load and
maximum force applied on the billboard by using statics of equilibrium technique. In order to achieve
the objective from hypothesis, we need to consider curtain external force such as wind, momentum
collision, and impact. Furthermore, the physical condition most likely has little effect on the income
stream however its not be particularly important due to effective of the material. Hence , choosing a
suitable materials which has high resistance to the weather and other possible problems by
determining the tensile strength of each materials. The billboard consist of three main components;
steels are used to construct and support the frame, artwork that conveys the advertising message, and
electrical equipment for lighting and other special effects. Rectangular shape of billboard are chosen
with area of measurement of one billboard is 27.5 2 . The area is wide enough to display the
advertisement clearly to the pedestrian. The moment and reaction forces at each pillar is been analyse
to prevent it from collapsing and afford to support the burden. Solid work and ANSYS software are
used to analyse the moment and force applied on the billboard by analysing the change in colour and
calculation made from the results. Theoritical calculation is made to compare with the actual results in
ANSYS calculation. Hence the best design is determined by considering the safety and endurance.
The result from the analysis will be discussed in the result and discussion section.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Basic Pattern of Outdoor Billboard

A board is a huge outside publicizing structure, commonly found in high- traffic regions, for
example, close by occupied streets. Announcements introduce extensive ads to passing
people and drivers. Normally demonstrating expansive, apparently witty trademarks, and
particular visuals, announcements are exceptionally unmistakable in the top assigned
business sector zones. Nowadays, to build a billboard many safety factors must be included.
Either visual or environmental concerns, road safety factor even its structure.

Various types of structure are made based on certain purpose such as soil and angle of
elevation. For assessment purposes, billboards are grouped into 4 structural categories based
on the building materials used and the underlying support system. The four categories include
wood, steel frame, multi-mast steel, and monopole (Revenue, 2009). Based on Billboard
Structures Valuation Guide produced by North Carolina Department of Revenue Property
Tax Division, at a minimum, each billboard includes the following class.
The first class is wood structure billboards that be constructed with wood post or pole
supports with dimensional lumber as the secondary support (A frame) with a wood or metal
catwalk and a single display panel. Supports may be imbedded in the ground. There may be a
foundation of concrete or gravel. Lighting, if present, is either fluorescent or mercury vapor.

Second class is steel A-frame construction billboards. This billboard is constructed with angle
iron or steel supports with metal framing, catwalk, and a single display panel. Supports may
be imbedded in the ground. There may be a foundation of concrete or gravel. Lighting, if
present, is either fluorescent or mercury vapor.

For multi-mast structure this class of billboards is constructed with steel pole, I-beam or
equivalent as primary support, with a catwalk, and a single display panel. Lighting is
fluorescent or mercury vapor.

The last class is monopole billboard and this class of billboards is constructed with tubular
steel support (of various circumferences), tubular steel framing, metal catwalk and a single
display panel. The foundation is concrete. Lighting is fluorescent or mercury vapor.
(Revenue, 2009))

The design of the billboard actually came after deciding the class of the billboard.

This is basics design of a billboard.

Figure 1: Wooden Billboards

Figure 2: Steel A-Frame Construction

 Figure 3: Monopole

2.2 Soil and Foundation

To create a solid and strong structure we need to considered about its soil and foundation.
Different soil comes with different foundation due to its structure and impact by the soil
itself.

Rocks comes in several types such as limestone, granite, sandstone, shale and hard solid chalk have a
high bearing capacity. The rock may simply need to be stripped back and levelled off to build from.
Rock can be impervious, so topsoil is likely to require drainage as it is not possible to build
soakaways to dispose of rainwater or surface water. Off-mains drainage options will also be very
limited (Holmes, 2009).

Strip foundations are commonly used in chalk. Providing the chalk is not too soft, widths of 450mm
for low-rise buildings are generally acceptable. The depth of the foundation must be below any frost
action (700mm) (Holmes, 2009). For the soft surface at chalk need to be excavated until main chalk is
reached. Chalk soils can be prone to erosion so be wary of hollows or caves.
Dry compact gravel, or gravel and sand subsoils are usually adequate for strip foundations. Generally
a depth of 700mm is acceptable, as long as the ground has adequate bearing capacity. It is important
to keep the foundations as high as possible. A shallow, reinforced, wide strip foundation may be
suitable. Sand holds together reasonably well when damp, compacted and uniform, but trenches may
collapse and so sheet piling is often used to retain the ground in trenches until the concrete is poured
(Holmes, 2009).

The first 900-1,200mm layer of clay is subject to movement due to expansion and shrinkage
depending on moisture content, so it is generally necessary to excavate foundations to a depth where
the moisture content of the clay remains stable (Holmes, 2009). In clay, prior to concreting the
foundations, the trench is often protected from heave by lining it with a compressible layer (e.g.
Clayboard).

Where ground has previously been excavated and filled, it is generally necessary to dig down to a
level beneath the area of the fill.

2.3 External Force

Since the billboard will build outdoor so wind is one of the factor that affect the billboard.
The pressure of wind loads acting on outdoor panels can be modelled as a resultant force normal on
the panel. There two types of forces come from wind which are wind force and wind moment. The
force come from the speed of the wind. When the wind hit the billboard it will left an impulsive force
that may made the billboard in not equilibrium state. This force was produced from the change of
momentum of an air current striking the surface of the billboard. The frames considered were
therefore those in which the wind moments bend the columns only about their major axes.

Furthermore, every moving object actually possesses kinetic energy,but if the body collides
with something with another forces and convert the lose force into impulsive force. Example
of impulsive force that may occur is car impact and heavy rain impact.
3.0 MATERIAL AND METHOD

3.1 Billboard Design

Generally the shape of a billboard is rectangular with supports below the rectangular
structure. The supports can either be cylindrical or cuboid. So in order to make it easier in
analysing, we choose a structural steel as the main material of the billboard. The other
materials strength is less comparable to the high-strength steel structure because the strength
is still less than the structural steel even when is enhanced by steel reinforcing. Structural
steel is typically 50 ksi material indicating that the steel has a yield stress of 50,000 pounds
per square inch in both compression and tension.

Besides, structural steel is well-known for its sustainability. Structural steel is the most
recycled material on our planet todays structural steel is made of 88% recycled product, is
fully recyclable in the future and can be reused without further processing. The recycling rate
of structural steel and automobiles at the end of their life is greater than 100%. Rather than
utilizing land for quarrying operations to provide aggregates or as landfills for construction
material waste, structural steel is emptying salvage yards allowing that land to be used for
other purposes.

Structural steel can be modified in the future for new applications, loading conditions,
vertical expansions and changes in owner desires in ways that other framing systems can
never accomplish. Existing steel columns and beams can be strengthened through the
attachment of steel plate to the flanges or web of sections allowing for greater loads.

Figure () below shows the design of the billboard that we chose. The billboard was designed
with detailed dimensions using the Solidwork software.

Figure ()
 Start

Brainstorming

Preliminary design

Detailed design

No good
Static analysis

Fabrication process

Validation

Finish
 Start

Rough sketch of the billboard

design is made complete with the
planned dimensions.

The billboard is designed

following the sketched plan using
Solid Work software.

The assumed forces applied on

the structure of the billboard are
calculated manually and using
simulation software ANSYS.

Analysis had been made based on

the results of the forces
calculated.
3.2 Analysis Method

In order to make the analysis about our billboard, two methods had been used to do all the
calculations on the forces that acted on the structures of the billboard. The forces are
manually calculated and also were calculated using the simulation from the ANSYS software.

Resultant force and resultant moment

Based on the billboard design in Figure (), there were two main forces that acted on the
structure of the billboard which are the resultant force and the resultant moment. To analyse
the acting resultant force, all the forces acted on the structure of the billboard are all summed
while the resultant moment was calculated by multiplying the resultant force FR and the
perpendicular distance, d.

Distributed loading acting on the billboard

One other forces that we consider acting on the billboard is the distributed loading by the
wind on the structure of the billboard. In our calculation, we assumed that the wind is blown
in rectangular shape, so that the equivalent force of the wind can be calculated as stated in
Equation 1 below:

Force, F = A x p Cd ..............................................................................................(1)

where;

A = projected area of the billboard m2

x = centroid

P = wind pressure [0.00256 x V2]

V = wind speed (m/s2)

Cd = drag coefficient, 2.0 for flat plates (billboard)

Table 1 below shows the average daily wind speed throughout the year 2015 around Parit
Raja, Johor.

Month Average daily wind speed(mph)

January 5

February 5

March 3

April 2

May 3

June 3

July 3

August 3

September 3

October 3

November 3

December 4

Table 1

Using the data, the average speed of the wind in year 2015 could be obtained so that the
equivalent force of the wind can be determined using the Equation 1 stated before.
Impulsive force

Other force that we consider in our analysis calculation was the impulsive force as if the
body of a moving object the collides with something with another forces it will convert the
lose force into impulsive force. In our calculation we considered that the impulsive force
came from the impact from the vehicle that we assumed hit the pole of the billboard. We
calculate the impulsive force by multiplying the average mass of vehicles, the average speed
of vehicles and the time impact. Thus, the impact force act by vehicles on base supports is
shown as the Equation 2 below:

Force, F = m a (2)

=m

where;

F = Impulsive Force

m = average mass of vehicle (kg)

v = average speed of vehicles (m/s)

t = time of impact (s)

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Based on the analysis, there were few problems that we encountered in the simulation of our
billboard. The weight of our billboard was too heavy that causes high stress that caused the
deformation to occur faster even without any load or external forces applied on the structure
of the billboard. The suggestion to improve our billboard is to reduce the volume of the
structure. One of the ways is to create a truss as our support in the billboard design. This is
because truss is known to lighten the structure. Truss reduces the total weight of material and
improves the facade structure efficiency. Even though the weight is reduced, the strength of
the structure is still the same as it consists of two-force members, where the members are
organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object. A "two-force
member" is a structural component where force is only applied to two points.

Other problems that we faced throughout our analysis was the platforms to carry the billboard
were too thin that they cannot afford the weight of the billboard panels and causes great
deformation. The solution to our problem should be by increasing the thickness and the
surface area of the platforms. This is because when the surface area of the supports are
increased, the force acting of the structure will be reduced and this will make the billboard
stronger and can withstand more load and external forces applied on it.

Last but not least, the problem that occurred was the billboard was made up by too many
components that have greatly increased the weight of the billboard to cause great
deformation. So to overcome this problem, we should change the design to a simpler design
with lesser components.
Data analysis
In any structural object, there must be external forces and internal forces acting on the object.
If the object is in static, the external forces and internal forces was equal to each other. So, to
build a billboard, we have to calculate and analyse the forces acting on it in order to prevent
collapsing and accidents.

There are a few types of external forces we assume in making a billboard such as moment at
the base supports, impact force act on the base supports by vehicles and distributed loads
cause by wind on the billboard.

First, the billboard had been tested by using 5m/s2 average wind speed. Assume that the wind
is blown in rectangular shape, the equivalent force of the wind. This force was being assumed
by distributed load method. After calculating the total force of wind load on the billboard was
35.2kgm/s2. This load gave effect on the plane of the billboard. The plane has band backward
due to drag between the both boards. After analyzing back the design, the flaws of the
billboards were its lack of support between the two boards.

The billboard was also being tested on the base part. Most of the parts were assumed being
made by steel. The density of steel was 7850kg/m3. The design show that the poles were in
cylinder support and the force act by cylindrical support was 299870N. The force also acted
on the platform by 83210N and Force act by 2 billboard loads and 4 backbones are
9066750N. After applied these forces, the force gives a big impact on the platform. The
platform bent due to the height of the support poles.

The billboard also exposed to impulsive forces. For an example, assume that mean weight of
vehicles in Malaysia 6000kg. Thus, impact force act by vehicles on base supports 60000N.
When this forces were applied on the billboard and they did not give any deformation to the
poles.

Lastly, each fixed joint are exposed to tendency of moment. For this analysis, the resultant
force at the base supports was 9509830N / 9.5MN. Since there are three poles, we divide to
support A, B and C. For moment at base support A have tendency to spin at 10.5MNm
clockwise and for support B and C it give 10.5MNm and -10.5MNm (Positive moment when
clockwise moment).
ANSYS analysis

Figure

Figure 1 shows that the analysis of total deformation of the billboard after being acted by the
forces calculated above. The resultant force Fy acts at exactly the center of the billboard.
Therefore, the highest deformation occurs at the centre of the platform of the billboard. This
is due to the thickness of the platform is not strong enough to afford the weight above it.

There is moment at the base supports at both left and right hand side because there is a
perpendicular distance between the base supports and the position the of the resultant force
Fy. However, there is only deformation but no moment at the base supports at the middle.
This is because there is no perpendicular distance between the base support and the position
of resultant force Fy.
 Figure 2

Figure 2 shows the equivalent stress in the billboard. From the figure above, the stress in the
billboard is quite average distributed with a high magnitude. High stress in the billboard is
caused by the heavy load act on the center of mass of the billboard.

High stress may cause an easy deformation and fracture over a short period of time. So, the
weight of the billboard has to be reduced in order to provide a more stable and safer
billboard.
CONCLUSION

The following static analysis has established. The design of billboard was not completely
success due to several factors that affect the stability of the billboard. In order to overcome
this problem, we had stated the ways to approve outcome in term of safety. Hence it was
suitable and safe enough to be placed along the pedestrian side.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is gratefully acknowledge En Muhammad Farid Bin Shaari for all his guidance
and help on completing this project.

REFERENCE

[1] Revenue, N.C, Billboard Structures Valuation Guide, (2009)

[2] Mic Patterson, Structural Glass Facades and Enclosures, Copyright (2011)

[3] Holmes, M.(2009, January 16). Foundation Systems and Soil Types. Retrieved from
Homebuilding and Renovation:
http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/2009/01/16/foundation-systems-and-soil-types/

[4] Information on www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Billboard.html

[5] Information on www.midweststeel.com/structural-steel-advantages-over-

concrete.html

[6] Information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard

APPENDIX

Average wind speed in a year = (5+5+3+2+3+3+3+3+3+3+3+4)/12

= 3.33mph

= 5m/s2

Assume that the wind is blown in rectangular shape, the equivalent force of the wind can be
defined as

Force, F = A x p Cd ..............................................................................................(1)

where;

A = projected area of the billboard m2

x = centroid

P = wind pressure [0.00256 x V2]

V = wind speed (m/s2)

Cd = drag coefficient, 2.0 for flat plates (billboard)

Force of wind load on the billboard = 27.5 0.0256 52 2.0

= 35.2kgm/s2

Forces act on base supports

(Density of steel = 7850kg/m3)

Force act by cylindrical support = r 2 h 7850 10N

= 3.82 7850 10N

= 299870N

Force act by platform = l w h 7850 10N

= 1.06 7850 10N

= 83210N

Force act by 2 billboard loads and 4 backbones =2(l w h)+4(l w h) 7850 10N

= 2(13.75)+4(22) 7850 10N

= 9066750N

Assume that mean weight of vehicles in Malaysia = 6000kg

Thus, impact force act by vehicles on base supports = 6000 10N

= 60000N
Moment at the base supports

FR = 299870+83210+9066750+60000N

= 9509830N / 9.5MN

(Positive moment when clockwise moment)

Moment at base support A = 9509830N 1.1m

= 10.5MNm

Moment at base support B = 0 (since there is no perpendicular distance)

Moment at base support C = -MA

= -10.5MNm