Abstract

The objective of this experiment is to study the internal forces produced by the truss members which
could be in the form of tension or compression. The experiment is conducted using an apparatus with
seven truss members with load cells on each truss member. By applying force on the structure, the
readings for the internal forces can be obtained from the load cells. After compiling the results of the
experiment, the graphs drawn allow us to conclude that the truss force is directly proportional to the
loading force. The results obtained show that truss members 1, 2 and 6 are under tension while truss
members 3, 4 and 7 and under compression. When the experimental results are compared to
theoretical results, the maximum percentage error obtained is 11.10%. This error could be caused by an
error in the apparatus used or human error when carrying out the experiment. While error is present it
is of a reasonably low amount. Therefore, the experimental results are deemed to be accurate.