Editing Structural engineering (section)

{{Short description|Sub-discipline of civil engineering dealing with the creation of man made structures}}
{{More footnotes|date=February 2009}}
[[File:Tour Eiffel Wikimedia Commons.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Eiffel Tower]] in Paris is a historical achievement of structural engineering.]]

'''Structural engineering''' is a sub-discipline of [[civil engineering]] in which [[structural engineer]]s are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made [[Structure#Load-bearing|structures]]. [[Structural engineers]] also must understand and calculate the [[structural stability|stability]], strength, [[structural rigidity|rigidity]] and earthquake-susceptibility of built structures for [[building]]s<ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2433e/i2433e04.pdf FAO online publication] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119191121/http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2433e/i2433e04.pdf |date=2016-11-19 }}</ref> and [[nonbuilding structure]]s. The structural designs are integrated with those of other designers such as [[architects]] and [[Building services engineering|building services engineer]] and often supervise the construction of projects by [[contractors]] on site.<ref name = IStructE/> They can also be involved in the design of machinery, medical equipment, and vehicles where structural integrity affects functioning and safety.  See [[glossary of structural engineering]].

Structural engineering theory is based upon applied [[physics|physical laws]] and [[empirical]] knowledge of the structural performance of different materials and geometries. Structural engineering design uses a number of relatively simple structural concepts to build complex [[structural system]]s. Structural engineers are responsible for making creative and efficient use of funds, structural elements and materials to achieve these goals.<ref name="IStructE">{{cite web|url = http://www.rmg-engineers.com/what-is-a-structural-engineer/|title = What is a structural engineer|access-date = 2015-11-30|date = 2015-11-30|website = RMG Engineers|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208052438/http://www.rmg-engineers.com/what-is-a-structural-engineer/|archive-date = 2015-12-08}}</ref>
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