ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURE

TRUSS
• A truss is a structure that is made of straight, slender bars that are
joined together to form a pattern of triangles. Trusses are usually
designed to transmit forces over relatively long spans; common
examples are bridge trusses and roof trusses. A typical bridge truss is
shown BELOW.
For bridges and similar structures, plane
trusses are commonly utilized in pairs
with one truss assembly placed on each
side of the structure. A section of a
typical bridge structure is shown in
Figure. The combined weight of the
roadway and vehicles is transferred to
the longitudinal stringers, then to the
cross beams, and finally, with the weights
of the stringers and cross beams
accounted for, to the upper joints of the
two plane trusses which form the vertical
sides of the structure. A simplified model
of the truss structure is indicated at the
left side of the illustration; the forces L
represent the joint loadings.
Internal Stability
𝑚 < 2𝑗 − 3 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒

𝑚 ≥ 2𝑗 − 3 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 joint

Where :
member
𝑚 = 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠
𝑗 = 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠
 m = 20 j = 12 = 2 (j) – 3
= 2 (12) – 3
= 21
𝒎 < 𝟐𝒋 − 𝟑

𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆

 m = 21 j = 12 = 2 (j) – 3
= 2 (12) – 3
= 21
𝒎 ≥ 𝟐𝒋 − 𝟑

𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆

The analysis of trusses is based on the following three
assumptions:

• 1. The weights of the

members are negligible. A
truss can be classified as a
lightweight structure,
meaning that the weights of
its members are generally
much smaller than the loads
that it is designed to carry.
The analysis of trusses is based on the following three
assumptions:
2. All joints are pins. In practice, the members at each joint are usually
riveted or welded to a plate, called a gusset plate, as shown in Fig. b
below. However, if the members at a joint are aligned so that their
centroidal axes (axes that pass through the centroids of the cross-
sectional areas of the members) intersect at a common point, advanced
methods of analysis indicate that the assumption of pins is justified.
The analysis of trusses is based on the following three
assumptions:

3. The applied forces act at the joints. Because the

members of a truss are slender, they may fail in bending
when subjected to loads applied at locations other than
the joints. Therefore, trusses are designed so that the
major applied loads act at the joints. Although these
assumptions may appear to oversimplify the real
situation, they lead to results that are adequate in most
application
Each member of a truss is normally a straight link joining the two points of application of
force. The two forces are applied at the ends of the member and are necessarily equal,
opposite, and collinear for equilibrium. The member may be in tension or compression,
as shown in Figures below. When we represent the equilibrium of a portion of a two-
force member, the tension T or compression C acting on the cut section is the same for
all sections.
 Method of Joints
When using the method of joints
to calculate the forces in the
members of a truss, the
equilibrium equations are applied
to individual joints (or pins) of the
truss. Because the members are
two-force bodies, the forces in the
FBD of a joint are concurrent.
Consequently, two independent
equilibrium equations are
available for each joint.
Method of Joints

Given truss FBD @Joint A

Method of Joints

FBD and
the force
polygons.

Given truss
Method of Joints
Problem 1. Using the method of joints, determine the force in each members
AB, BC and AH of the truss shown in Fig. (a). Indicate whether the members
are in tension or compression.
Method of Joints

Problem 1.
Given:

Required: Using the method of joints, determine the force in each members AB, BC
and AH of the truss shown and indicate whether the members are in tension or
compression
Method of Joints

Solution:
FBD

Solving for the reactions:

෍𝑀 @ 𝐸 = 0 +
𝐴𝑦 24 𝑓𝑡 − 8000 𝑙𝑏 18𝑓𝑡 − 3000 12𝑓𝑡 = 0

𝐴𝑦 = 7,500𝑙𝑏
Method of Joints

Solution:
FBD

Solving for the reactions:

෍ 𝐹𝑦 = 0
+ ෍ 𝐹𝑥 = 0 +

7,500 + 𝑁𝐸 − 8000𝑙𝑏 − 3000 𝑙𝑏 = 0 𝐴𝑥 = 0

𝑁𝐸 = 3,500𝑙𝑏
Considering joint A.

𝑷𝑨𝑩 = 𝟗𝟑𝟕𝟓 𝒍𝒃 𝑪 𝒂𝒏𝒔.

𝑷𝑨𝑯 = 𝟓𝟔𝟐𝟓 𝒍𝒃. 𝑻 𝒂𝒏𝒔.
Method of Sections
• This method of sections has the basic advantage that the force in
almost any desired member may be found directly from an analysis of
a section which has cut that member. Thus, it is not necessary to
proceed with the calculation from joint to joint until the member in
question has been reached. In choosing a section of the truss, we
note that, in general, not more than three members whose forces are
unknown should be cut, since there are only three available
independent equilibrium relations.
Method of Sections

Given Truss
Method of Sections
Problem 1.
Determine the force in members GE, GC, and BC of the truss shown in figure
below using method of sections. Indicate whether the members are in
tension or compression.
Method of Sections

Given:

Required:
Determine the force in members GE, GC, and BC of the truss shown in the
figure above using method of sections and indicate whether the members
are in tension or compression.
Method of Sections

Solution:

Solving for the reactions:

෍ 𝐹𝑥 = 0 +
400 - 𝐴𝑥 = 0 ; 𝐴𝑥 = 400𝑁

෍𝑀 @ 𝐴 = 0 +
−1200 𝑁 8𝑚 − 400 𝑁 3𝑚 + 𝐷𝑦 12𝑚 = 0
𝐷𝑦 = 900𝑁
෍ 𝐹𝑦 = 0 + 𝐴𝑦 − 1200𝑁 + 900 𝑁 = 0 ; 𝐴𝑦 = 300𝑁
Free-Body Diagram. For the analysis the free-body diagram of the left portion of the
sectioned truss will be used, since it involves the least number of forces.

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝐵𝐶 :

෍𝑀 @𝐺 = 0 +
− 300𝑁 4𝑚 − 400𝑁 3𝑚 + 𝐹𝐵𝐶 3𝑚 = 0

𝐹𝐵𝐶 = 800 𝑁 𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑠.

Free-Body Diagram. For the analysis the free-body diagram of the left portion of the
sectioned truss will be used, since it involves the least number of forces.

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝐵𝐶 :

෍𝑀 @𝐺 = 0 +
− 300𝑁 4𝑚 − 400𝑁 3𝑚 + 𝐹𝐵𝐶 3𝑚 = 0

𝐹𝐵𝐶 = 800 𝑁 𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑠.

Free-Body Diagram. For the analysis the free-body diagram of the left portion of the
sectioned truss will be used, since it involves the least number of forces.

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝐺𝐸 :

෍𝑀 @𝐶 = 0 +
− 300𝑁 8𝑚 + 𝐹𝐺𝐸 3𝑚 = 0

𝐹𝐺𝐸 = 800 𝑁 𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑠.

Free-Body Diagram. For the analysis the free-body diagram of the left portion of the
sectioned truss will be used, since it involves the least number of forces.

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝐺𝐶 :

3
෍ 𝐹𝑦 = 0 + 300𝑁 − 𝐹𝐺𝐶 = 0
5

𝐹𝐺𝑐 = 500 𝑁 𝑇 𝑎𝑛𝑠.