Final answer:
The method involves Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), using separate factors for different types of loads and for resistance to ensure structural safety. It includes complex calculations of loads, resistances, and simulations to understand resistance variables.
Step-by-step explanation:
This method of structural analysis you're referring to likely involves the concept of Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), which uses separate factors for different types of loads (such as live loads, dead loads, wind loads, etc.) and for resistance. This ensures that for each scenario, structures have sufficient strength and do not fail under the various load combinations that could possibly occur during their lifetime. This type of analysis often involves using separate factors of safety for loads (load factors) and resistance factors to reduce the chances of underestimating the load or overestimating the capacity of the structure. The process includes complex calculations, where you might have to find the current through the resistance considering internal resistance or calculate power based on resistance and other parameters.
When analyzing circuits, as described in your question, finding the equivalent resistance of a complex circuit can be done by identifying combinations of resistors in series and parallel, and then reducing these to a single resistance. The same is done with different voltage sources in series to find the current. Resistance can be further examined using simulations to understand how different variables affect it, such as in the 'Resistance in a Wire' PhET simulation exercise.