Question: A 20-ft-tall post is used to support advertisement signs at various locations along its height, as shown in the accompanying figure. The post is made of structural steel with a modulus of elasticity of E = 29 x 106 Ib/in2. Not considering wind loading on the signs and using linear elements, we determined that the deflections of the post at the points of load application are
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Determine the deflection of point A, located at the midpoint of the middle member, using
(a) global shape functions,
(b) local shape functions, and
(c) natural shape functions.