Calculating the actual

internal force in truss

bridge members
EGN1006

Learning Goals:
The student WILL be able to:

Calculate the components of a force vector.

Add two force vectors together.
Draw a free body diagram.
Calculate whether a truss is statically determinate
or indeterminate.
Write and solve a force vector equilibrium equation.
Use the Method of Joints to calculate the internal
force in every member in a truss.
Evaluate a truss, to determine if it can carry a given
load safely by calculating factors of safety for
individual members.

Static Determinacy and

Stability
A structure that cannot be analyzed using the
equations of equilibrium alone is called statically
indeterminate. A structure that can be analyzed
using the equations of equilibrium alone is called
statically determinate. Only statically determinate
trusses can be analyzed with the Method of Joints.
A statically determinate truss with two reactions must
satisfy the mathematical equation

Where j is the number of joints and m is

the number of members.

Static Determinacy and

Stability

How many joints does this bridge

6have?
How many members does this bridge
10 have?

Is this bridge statically determinate? In

other words does 2j = m+3?

No , 2(6) = 12 and 10
Thus 2J does NOT equa

Static Determinacy and

Stability

How many joints does this bridge

6have?
How many members does this bridge
9 have?

Is this bridge statically determinate? In

other words does 2j = m+3?

Yes , 2(6) = 12 and 9

Thus 2J does equal m+3

Free Body Diagram

A free body diagram is a
pictorial representation of all
of the forces which act on an
object. Suppose we have a box
being pushed by an applied
force to the right. What forces
act on the box?

Weight, aka, the Force due to gravity , - This force is ALWAYS

drawn straight down.
Normal Force The force that a SURFACE applies on an object.
Always drawn PERPENDICULAR to the surface
Applied Force - Either a PUSH or a PULL
Friction force the force that ALWAYS opposes the motion. Drawn
at the surface.

Free Body Diagrams

Often times the free body diagram is drawn using

what is called a POINT MODEL. The object is
drawn as a single point with the forces labeled as
F. A subscript is added according to the type of
force it is.

Free Body Diagrams

FT1

FT2
Fg

In the case of bridge members and ropes,

we have a special type of force called
TENSION. Since you cant PUSH a rope,
the tension is ALWAYS drawn as if your
are pulling the object. In other words, it is
always drawn AWAY from the object. If
there are multiple ropes, subscripts must

Equations of Equilibrium
When an object is at rest, the SUM of all of the
FORCE vectors must be equal to zero.

F
F

So when you write your equations they MUST equal ZER

What is a vector?
A vector is any quantity which has both MAGNITUDE
(# and a unit) and DIRECTION. The vector is
always represented as an ARROW. Suppose the
vector below represents a displacement of 10m.

10 m, NORTH-EAST
MAGNITUDE

DIRECTION

A vectors direction
Direction is best described by using a Cartesian Coordinate
system. Forces on the negative x or negative y axis must
have a negative sign. Using this idea allows us to write
the equation of equilibrium. Assume the object is at rest.

FA1 ( FA 2 ) 0
FA1 FA 2 0

10 FA 2 0
FA 2 10 N

Fa2=? N

Fa1=+10 N

Lets look at JOINT B on our

truss

FBI

FAB
Assume all forces are TENSION!

FBC

Joint B Equations of
Equilibrium

Fy 0
FBI 0

FBI

FAB

FBC

FBC ( FAB ) 0
If you knew the FORCE in member AB, you would be
able to solve for the FORCE in member BC. Isolating
just ONE JOINT to analyze the force is called the
METHOD OF JOINTS.

Some Basic Concepts from Trigonometry

A truss is a structure composed of members arranged in
interconnected triangles. For this reason, the geometry of
triangles is very important in structural analysis.

This diagram shows a right triangle

a triangle with one of its three
angles measuring exactly 90o. Sides
a and b form the 90o angle. The
other two angles, identified as 1
and 2, are always less than 90o.
Side c, the side opposite the 90o
angle, is always the longest of the
three sides. It is called the
hypotenuse of the right triangle.
Thanks to an ancient Greek
mathematician named Pythagoras,
we can easily calculate the length of
the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
The Pythagorean Theorem tells us
that:

Some Basic Concepts from Trigonometry

The Pythagorean Theorem shows how the lengths of the
sides of a right triangle are related to each other. But
how are the lengths of the sides related to the angles?
The sine of an angle (abbreviated
sin) is defined as the length of the
opposite side divided by the length of
the hypotenuse. For example, the
sine of the angle 1 would be
calculated as:

The cosine of an angle (abbreviated

cos) is defined as the length of the
adjacent side divided by the length of
the hypotenuse. Applying this
definition to our example, we have:

Breaking a Vector into its

Components

Once the coordinate axis system is established, we can represent

the direction of any vector as an angle measured from either
the x-axis or the y-axis. For example, the force vector at right
has a magnitude (F) of 20 Newtons and a direction () of 50
degrees, measured counterclockwise from the x-axis.

This force can also be represented as

two equivalent forces, one in the xdirection
and one in the y-direction. Each of
these forces is called a component of
the vector F.

What if a member is at an
angle?

Calculating the Vectors

Components

Lets get started

The required load our bridge must
withstand is 49N or 5-kg.
Since there are TWO trusses held
together by lateral bracings, HOW
much load does ONE truss bridge
24.5 N
hold?

Lets get started

The load acts downward at joints J, K, and L. How much force
acts at each one of these locations?

8.17 N

Lets get started

The two upward forces are both force normals.
The R in this case stands for REACTION as
they are a reaction to the load. How much
force does each REACTION FORCE(force
normal) support?

12.25 N

Joint A

RA

FAI
FAB

Force AI must be broken into

components
RA

FAI

FAI

FAB

What is the VALUE of the angle THETA?

LengthAI

opp
1 opp
tan
tan (
)
Length
adj
adj
BI

LengthAB

What other angle are also equal to t

Where is theta?

Force AIs Components

RA

FAI

FAI

FAB

FAIcos

Lets now REDRAW the FBD!

RA

FAIsin
FAIcos
FAB

FAIsin

Joint As Equations of
Equilibrium
F 0
y

RA

FAIsin
FAIcos
FAB

RA FAI sin 0

RA
FAI (
) A negative # ?
sin
What does this mean?
This force is COMPRESSION and NOT
tension, thus it is a TUBE!

FAB FAI cos 0

FAB ( FAI cos )

Your task
Use the Method of Joints to solve for
the rest of the internal forces. Use
the calculation guide for reference
and to keep organized.

Wait, there is ONE last thing..

Factor of Safety
When an engineer designs a structure, he or she must
consider many
different forms of uncertainty. There are three major
types of uncertainty that affect a structural design:

1.There is always substantial uncertainty

in predicting the loads a structure might
experience at some time in the future.
2.The strengths of the materials that are
used to build actual bridges are also
uncertain.
3.The mathematical models we use for
structural analysis and design are never
100% accurate.

Factor of Safety
The engineer accounts for all forms of uncertainty
by making the structure somewhat stronger than
it really needs to beby using a factor of safety
in all analysis and design calculations. In general,
when it is used in the analysis of an existing
structure, the factor of safety is a defined as

In a truss, the actual force in a member is called the

internal member force, and the force at which failure
occurs is called the strength. Thus we can rewrite the
definition of the factor of safety as

Factor of Safety
For example, if a structural member has an internal force of 5000 pounds
and a strength of 7500 pounds, then its factor of safety, FS, is

If the factor of safety is less than 1, then the member or

structure is clearly unsafe and will probably fail. If the factor of
safety is 1 or only slightly greater than 1, then the member or
structure is nominally safe but has very little margin for error
for variability in loads, unanticipated low member strengths, or
inaccurate analysis results.
Most structural design codes specify a factor of safety of
1.6 or larger (sometimes considerably larger) for
structural members and connections.

The next step

Calculate the internal member force
Use the previously found strengths to
calculate the factors of safety for
each bridge member