TRUSSES AND LATTICE GIRDERS Trusses and lattice girders are made up of small members acting in tension and compression, and sometimes bending. They are usually used to carry roofs and are more economical than beams or girders (particularly over 20 m) because of the large span/load ratio. The depth of a truss is greater than a beam but is lighter because of its skeletal configuration. TRUSS TERMINOLOGY Trusses are used for spans over 6 m, with a typical spacing between trusses of 5 to 10 m. The members consist of single or double angles, tees and channels, or structural hollow sections (SHS). SHS are finding an increasing use in modem structures because of their efficiency as struts and ties, their aesthetic appearance and ease of maintenance. However, it must be noted that circular SHS connections in particular often require specialist fabrication and are therefore more expensive. 1 OT m7 OO TYPICAL TRUSS MEMBERS, The truss is set out on the centroidal axes of the members which should be arranged such that the axes of these members are concurrent at joints to avoid eccentricities. A large lattice girder or truss is usually fabricated and transported in several sections which are assembled together on site. The site connection positions and details should be determined at the design stage since their presence may affect member sizes. Splice plates should be designed symmetrically about the member's centroid axis. Avoid positioning a splice at the middle of a compression member. Ift is not possible to have symmetrical splice plates or have member axes concurrent at a joint, then the resulting bending moment must be designed for.(i) TYPICAL TRUSSES SAW 2) IVAVAVAVAVAVAVAV/ () (d) Warren girder with verticals TYPICAL LATTICE GIRDERSThe intemal members of trusses and lattice girders usually consist of single angles or hollow sections which are welded at the ends or connected with at least two connectors. ‘This means a value of KL = 1,0 x member length between node points. The top and bottom members are usually made continuous. It is often convenient to use double ‘angles or tee sections, and to weld the intemal members directly to one or both sides of the stalks of the tees. This negates the use of gusset plates and simplifies construction. All loading conditions must be considered in the design of trusses (dead, live, wind) so that the ultimate force in each member does not exceed the resistance force for the loading condition. Wind loading can cause reversals of forces in members of trusses ‘carrying lightweight roof sheeting on exposed sites. DESIGN METHOD FOR CONTINOUS RAFTERS: (@) Effective lengths: XX axis YY axis: 1= Le L, = length between panel points (nodes) on the top chord L:= spacing of the roof purlins _ x x Buckling in the plane of the roof truss (about X-X axis) is reduced by joints and gussets. Buckling about Y-Y: purlins are pin connected to the top chord with the spacing of the purlins used as the effective length. (b) Loads applied at nodes: ‘Some members may be continuous but the truss is assumed to be pin-jointed. The members carry axial forces only and are designed accordingly. (©) Purlin loads not at nodes: Purlin spacing is dependant on the allowable span of the sheeting used and the imposed loading. This spacing often does not coincide to the truss node points and will result in bending in the chord members. The analysis is as follows: (i) Proportion puriin loads between nodes. Analyse the frame to determine the axial forces in the members. (i) The top chord is now considered as a continuous beam with fixed ends. The normal components N of the puriin loads acting at purlin positions. The bending moment diagram is drawn. The supports on the continuous beam are the internal members of the truss.1rd is designed for the worst combination of axial irticular members. The largest (iii), _ Each member of the chor whole of the chord force and moment which occurs in the pal member size then obviously determines the size for the length. a ; 1 zt cag —> t (J) Proportion purlin loads (i) Analyse for load N as continuous beam hg CHORD BMD