1.

4 Unit Load Method to Determine the Deflection of Pin-J ointed Frames

The unit load method is an energy method which can be used to determine the deflection
at any node in a pin-jointed frame as follows:
= AE
PuL
where:
is the displacement of the point of application of any load, along the line of action of
that load,
P is the force in a member due to the externally applied loading system,
u is the force in a member due to a unit load acting at the position of and in the
direction of the desired displacement,
L/A is the ratio of the length to the cross-sectional area of the members,
E is the modulus of elasticity of the material for each member (i.e. Youngs modulus).
1.4.1 Example 1.2: Deflection of a Pin-J ointed Truss
A pin-jointed truss ABCD is shown in Figure 1.8 in which both a vertical and a horizontal
load are applied at joint B as indicated. Determine the magnitude and direction of the
resultant deflection at joint B and the vertical deflection at joint D.
Assume the crosssectional
area of all
members is equal to A
and all members are
made from the same
material, i.e. have the
same modulus of
elasticity E
Figure 1.8
Step 1: Evaluate the support reactions. It is not necessary to know any information
regarding the frame members at this stage other than dimensions as shown in Figure 1.8,
since only externally applied loads and reactions are involved.
The reader should follow the procedure given in Example 1.1 to determine the following
results:
Horizontal component of reaction at support A HA = + 20 kN
Vertical component of reaction at Support A VA = 4.29 kN
Vertical component of reaction at Support C VC = + 14.28 kN