A Direct Method of Moment Distribution

The Cross method of distributing fixed-end moments in the analysis of continuous frames has become recognized as such a convenient tool of structural design that it is unnecessary to state its importance, or its advantages over the older, classical methods. However, the necessity of going through a series of approximations is still disliked by many engineers. The purpose of this paper is to present a direct method of moment distribution, derived from the fundamental conceptions of the original method, but applied without the series of approximations. Designers of continuous frames will find that the method, being a direct corollary of the moment-distribution principle, is easy to learn.