Equilibrium
analysis in its
simplest form is a mechanical process of hang weights from strings to represent
the
mass and geometry of a
structure. In this form it was used from the days of
Hook and Wren, but found its greatest exponent in Gaudi. The advent of
microcomputers and spreadsheets offers the opportunity to build such models
much more quickly. They are, of course, virtual models but the nodes can be
moved with much greater ease. The view of flow of force, which comes from a
calculated model, is more complex and more complete than that from a physical
string model. A complex structure, one that does not lie in a single vertical
plane, is examined in some detail to explore some of these complications.