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Truss

Frameworks - Analysis of Structures

Members of a truss are slender and not
capable of supporting large lateral loads.
Loads must be applied at the joints.

Component Parts

Trusses -Definition
Trusses are structures

Top Chord

composed of slender members

Diagonal

End Post

joined together at their end

points.

Hip Vertical

Deck

Vertical

Bottom Chord

They consists generally of

triangular sub-element and are

Support (Abutment)

constructed and supported so

as to prevent any motion.

What is a Truss?
A structure composed of members connected
together to form a rigid framework.

Standard Truss Configurations

Pratt

Parker

K-Truss

Howe

Camelback

Warren

Fink

Double Intersection Pratt

Warren (with Verticals)

Bowstring

Baltimore

Double Intersection Warren

Waddell A Truss

Pennsylvania

Lattice

Usually composed of interconnected triangles.

Members carry load in tension or compression.

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Planar Truss

Example of Planar Truss: Roof Truss

Planar Trusses - lie in a single plane and all applied loads

must lie in the same plane.

Types of Structural Members

The roof load is transmitted to the truss at the joints by

means of purlins.

Assumptions for design

There are four main assumptions made in the
analysis of truss
1 Truss members are connected together at their
ends only.

Solid Rod
Solid Bar

2 Truss are connected together by frictionless

pins.

Hollow Tube
-Shape

3 The truss structure is loaded only at the joints.

These shapes are called
cross-sections.

4 The weights of the members may be neglected.

Assumptions allow to idealize each truss member as a

two-force member (members loaded only at their
extremities by equal opposite and collinear forces)

Joint Connections
The joint connections are usually formed by
bolting or welding the ends of the members to a
common plate, called a gusset plate or by simple

member in
compression

passing a large bolt or pin through each of the

members.
member in tension
A typical truss structure

Connecting pin

Gusset plate

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Simple Truss

Truss
A truss consists of straight members connected at
joints. No member is continuous through a joint.

The basic building block of a truss

is a triangle. Large truss are
constructed by attaching several
triangles together A new triangle
can be added truss by adding two
members and a joint. A truss
constructed in this fashion is
known as a simple truss.

Most structures are made of several trusses joined

together to form a space framework. Each truss
carries those loads which act in its plane and may
be treated as a two-dimensional structure.
Bolted or welded connections are assumed to be
pinned together. Forces acting at the member ends
reduce to a single force and no couple. Only twoforce members are considered.
When forces tend to pull the member apart, it is in
tension. When the forces tend to compress the
member, it is in compression.

ANALYSIS and DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS

Simple Trusses

When designing both the member and the joints of a truss, first it is necessary
to determine the forces in each truss member. This is called the force analysis
of a truss. When doing this, two assumptions are made:

A rigid truss will not collapse

under the application of a
load.

1. All loads are applied at the joints. The weight of the truss members is
often neglected as the weight is usually small as compared to the forces
supported by the members.
2. The members are joined together by smooth pins. This assumption is
satisfied in most practical cases where the joints are formed by bolting
or welding.

A simple truss is constructed

by successively adding two
members and one
connection to the basic
triangular truss.

With these two assumptions, the members act as twoforce members. They are loaded in either tension or
compression. Often compressive members are made
thicker to prevent buckling.

Frames Which Cease To Be Rigid When Detached

From Their Supports
Some frames may collapse if removed from
their supports. Such frames can not be treated
as rigid bodies.
A free-body diagram of the complete frame
indicates four unknown force components which
can not be determined from the three equilibrium
conditions.

Analysis of Truss

It has been observed that the analysis of truss

can be done by counting the number member
and joints on the truss to determine the truss is
determinate, unstable or indeterminate.

The frame must be considered as two distinct, but

related, rigid bodies.
With equal and opposite reactions at the contact
point between members, the two free-body
diagrams indicate 6 unknown force components.
Equilibrium requirements for the two rigid
bodies yield 6 independent equations.

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What are we looking for?

Stability Criteria

The support reaction .

The force in each member.

How many equations are

available? How many unknowns?
Each joint- 2 equations
Unknowns- number of members+ support reaction.

m<2j-3

Truss unstable

m>2j-3

Statically indeterminate

Truss stable : m=2j-3

2j m3-

number of equations to be solved, (j = number of joints);

number of members;
number of support reaction.

Method of Joints -Truss

Example

The truss is made up of single bars, which are either in

compression, tension or no-load.

m (Number of members) = 13
j (Number of joints) = 8

m=2j-3

The means of solving force inside of the truss use

equilibrium equations at a joint. This method is known
as the method of joints.

Number of supports= 3

Method of Joints -Truss

Analysis of Trusses by the Method of Joints

Dismember the truss and create a free-body
diagram for each member and pin.

The method of joints uses the summation of

forces at a joint to solve the force in the
members.
It does not use the moment
equilibrium equation to solve the problem. In a
two dimensional set of equations,

The two forces exerted on each member are

equal, have the same line of action, and
opposite sense.
Forces exerted by a member on the pins or
joints at its ends are directed along the member
and equal and opposite.

In three dimensions,

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Method of Joints
Truss in Equilibrium => Each Joint in Equilibrium

Problem 1

Method of Joints
Truss in Equilibrium => Each Joint in Equilibrium

Problem 1

Determine the force in each member of the truss and state if the
members are in tension or compression. P1 = 800 kN and P2 =

Determine the force in each member of the truss and state if the
members are in tension or compression. P1 = 2 kN and P2 =

400 kN.

1.5 kN.

Problem 1
Determine the force in each member of the truss and state if the
members are in tension or compression.

ZERO-FORCE MEMBERS
If a joint has only two non-colinear
members and there is no external
load or support reaction at that joint,
then those two members are zeroforce members. In this example
members DE, CD, AF, and AB are
zero force members.
You can easily prove these results by
applying the equations of
equilibrium to joints D and A.
Zero-force members can be
removed (as shown in the
figure) when analyzing the
truss.

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ZERO FORCE MEMBERS (continued)

Zero-Force Members

If three members form a truss joint for

which two of the members are collinear
and there is no external load or reaction at
that joint, then the third non-collinear
member is a zero force member.
Again, this can easily be proven. One can
also remove the zero-force member, as
shown, on the left, for analyzing the truss
further.
Please note that zero-force members
are used to increase stability and
rigidity of the truss, and to provide
support for various different loading
conditions.

Zero-Force Members

Zero-Force Members

Joints Under Special Loading Conditions

Forces in opposite members intersecting in
two straight lines at a joint are equal.
The forces in two opposite members are
equal when a load is aligned with a third
member. The third member force is equal
to the load (including zero load).
The forces in two members connected at a
joint are equal if the members are aligned
and zero otherwise.
Recognition of joints under special loading
conditions simplifies a truss analysis.

Analysis of Trusses by the Method of Sections

When the force in only one member or the
forces in a very few members are desired, the
method of sections works well.
To determine the force in member BD, pass a
section through the truss as shown and create
a free body diagram for the left side.
With only three members cut by the section,
the equations for static equilibrium may be
applied to determine the unknown member
forces, including FBD.

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Method of Sections
Truss in Equilibrium => Each PART in Equilibrium

Method of Sections
Truss in Equilibrium => Each PART in Equilibrium

Efficient when forces of only a few

members are to be found

Method of Sections - Procedure

Free Body Diagram

Method of Sections Procedure (contd)

Free Body Diagram

Draw FBD of one part

Hint: Choose part with least number of forces
Determine external reactions of entire truss
Decide how to section truss
Hint: Three(3) unknown forces at the most

Method of Sections Procedure (contd)

Free Body Diagram

Establish direction of unknown forces

(a) Assume all forces cause tension in member
Numerical results: (+) tension (-) compression
(a) Guess Direction
Numerical results: (+) Guess is correct
(-) Force in opposite direction

Method of Sections Procedure (contd)

Equations of Equilibrium

F 0
F 0
M 0
x

Take moments about a point that

lies on the intersection of the
lines of action of two unknown
forces

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Problem 4

Trusses Made of Several Simple Trusses

Compound trusses are statically
determinant, rigid, and completely
constrained.
m 2n 3

Determine the force in members BC, HC, and HG of the bridge

truss, and indicate whether the members are in tension or
compression.

Truss contains a redundant member

and is statically indeterminate.
m 2n 3
Additional reaction forces may be
necessary for a rigid truss.

non-rigid
m 2n 3

Sample Problem

Necessary but insufficient condition

for a compound truss to be statically
determinant, rigid, and completely
constrained,
m r 2n

rigid
m 2n 4

Sample Problem
SOLUTION:

SOLUTION:

Take the entire truss as a free body.

Apply the conditions for static equilibrium to solve for the reactions at A and L.

Take the entire truss as a free body.

Apply the conditions for static equilibrium to solve for the reactions at A and L.

Pass a section through members FH,

GH, and GI and take the right-hand
section as a free body.
Apply the conditions for static
equilibrium to determine the desired
member forces.

M A 0 5 m 6 kN 10 m 6 kN 15 m 6 kN
20 m 1 kN 25 m 1 kN 25 m L
L 7.5 kN

F y 0 20 kN L A

Determine the force in members FH,

GH, and GI.

A 12.5 kN

Sample Problem

Sample Problem
Pass a section through members FH, GH, and GI
and take the right-hand section as a free body.

tan

FG 8 m

0.5333
GL 15 m
0

FFH 13.82 kN

Apply the conditions for static equilibrium to

determine the desired member forces.

MH 0
7.50 kN 10 m 1 kN 5 m FGI 5.33 m 0
FGI 13.13 kN

FGI 13.13 kN T

28.07

MG
7.5 kN 15 m 1 kN 10 m 1 kN 5 m
FFH cos 8 m 0

tan

GI
5m

0.9375
HI 2 8 m
3

FFH 13.82 kN C

43.15

ML 0
1 kN 10 m 1 kN 5 m FGH cos 10 m 0
FGH 1.371 kN

FGH 1.371 kN C

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1. Truss ABC is changed by decreasing its

height from H to 0.9 H. Width W and load
P are kept the same. Which one of the
following statements is true for the revised
truss as compared to the original truss?

F
H
C

A) Force in all its members have decreased.

B) Force in all its members have increased.

2. For this truss, determine the number of zero-force

members.

C) Force in all its members have remained

the same.
D) None of the above.

1. Using this FBD, you find that FBC = 500 N.

Member BC must be in __________.
A) tension

B) compression

B) thinner
C) the same size

B) 1

D) 3

E) 4

C) 2

An elementary space truss consists of 6 members

connected at 4 joints to form a tetrahedron.

FBD
BY

A) thicker

A) 0

Space Trusses

FBC

C) Cannot be determined
2. For the same magnitude of force to be
carried, truss members in compression
are generally made _______ as compared
to members in tension.

A simple space truss is formed and can be

extended when 3 new members and 1 joint are
added at the same time.
In a simple space truss, m = 3n - 6 where m is the
number of members and n is the number of joints.
Conditions of equilibrium for the joints provide 3n
equations. For a simple truss, 3n = m + 6 and the
equations can be solved for m member forces and
6 support reactions.
Equilibrium for the entire truss provides 6
additional equations which are not independent of
the joint equations.