THEORY OF STRUCTURES 2

CHAPTER 1 – APPROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF STATICALLY INDETERMINATE STRUCTURES

Use of Approximate Methods

When a model is used to represent any structure, the analysis of it must satisfy both the conditions of equilibrium and
compatibility of displacement at the joints. As will be shown in later chapters of this text, the compatibility conditions for a
statically indeterminate structure can be related to the loads provided we know the material’s modulus of elasticity and the
size and shape of the members.

For an initial design, however, we will not know a member’s size, and so a statically indeterminate analysis cannot be
considered. For analysis a simpler model of the structure must be developed, one that is statically determinate. Once this
model is specified, the analysis of it is called an approximate analysis.

By performing an approximate analysis, a preliminary design of the member of structure can be made, and when this is
complete, the more exact indeterminate analysis can then be performed and the design refined. An approximate analysis also
provides insight as to a structure’s behavior under load and is beneficial when checking a more exact analysis or when time,
money, or capability are not available for performing the more exact analysis.

In a general sense, all methods of structural analysis are approximate, simply because the actual conditions of loading,
geometry, material behavior, and joint resistance at the supports are never known in an exact sense. However, the statically
indeterminate analysis of a structure will be referred to as an exact analysis, and the simpler statically determinate analysis
will be referred to as the approximate analysis.

TRUSSES

A common type of truss often used for lateral bracing of a building or for the top and bottom chords of a bridge is shown in Fig.
7-1a.

Fig. 7-1a
When used for this purpose, this truss is not considered a primary element for the support of the structure, and as a result is
often analyzed by approximate methods. In the case shown, it will be noticed that if a diagonal is removed from each of the
three panels, it will render the truss statically determinate. Hence, the truss is statically determinate to the third degree.

Determinacy

For any problem in truss analysis, it should be realized that the total number of unknowns includes the forces in “b” number
of bars of the truss and the total number of external support reactions “r”. Since the truss members are all straight axial force
members lying in the same plane, the force system acting at each joint is coplanar and concurrent. Consequently, rotational or
moment equilibrium is automatically satisfied at the joint (or pin), and it is only necessary to satisfy ∑Fx = 0 and ∑Fy = 0 to
ensure translational or force equilibrium. Therefore, only two equations of equilibrium can be written for each joint, and if
there are “j” number of joints, the total number of equations available for solution is “2j”. By simply comparing the total
number of unknowns “(b+r)” with the total number of available equilibrium equations, it is therefore possible to specify the
determinacy for either a simple, compound, or complex truss. We have:

𝑏 + 𝑟 = 2𝑗 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒

𝑏 + 𝑟 > 2𝑗 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒

In particular, the degree of indeterminacy is specified by the difference in the numbers:

(𝑏 + 𝑟) − 2𝑗

Stability

If:

𝑏 + 𝑟 < 2𝑗

Then the truss in unstable, that is, it will collapse, since there will be an insufficient number of bars or reactions to constrain all
the joints. Also, a truss is unstable if it is statically determinate or statically indeterminate. In this case the stability will have to
be determined either by inspection or by a force analysis.

From fig. 7-1a

𝑏 = 16, 𝑟 = 3, 𝑗 = 8

16 + 3 > 8(2)

19 > 16

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆

(16 + 3) − 2(8) = 3

𝑫𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 = 𝟑

And therefore we must take three assumptions regarding the bar forces in order to reduce the truss to one that is statically
determinate. These assumptions can be made with regard to the cross-diagonals, realizing that when one diagonal in a panel
is in tension the corresponding cross-diagonal will be in compression. This is evident from figure 7-1b

Fig. 7-1b
Where the “panel shear” V is carried by the vertical component of tensile forces in member “a” and the vertical component of
compressive force in member “b”. Two methods of analysis are generally acceptable.

Method 1:

If the diagonals are intentionally designed to be long and slender, it is reasonable to assume that they cannot support a
compressive force; otherwise, they may easily buckle. Hence the panel shear is resisted entirely by the tension diagonal,
whereas the compressive diagonal is assumed to be a zero-force member.

Method 2:

If the diagonal members are intended to be constructed from large rolled sections such as angles or channels, they may be
equally capable of supporting a tensile and compressive force. Here we will assume both tension and compression diagonals
each carry half the panel shear.

Both of these methods of approximate analysis are illustrated numerically in the following examples.

EXAMPLES:

1. Determine (approximately) the forces in the members of the truss shown in fig. 7-2a. The diagonals are to be designed to
support both tensile and compressive forces, and therefore each is assumed to carry half the panel shear.

SOLUTION:

𝑏 = 11, 𝑟 = 3, 𝑗 = 6

11 + 3 > 2(6)

𝟏𝟒 > 𝟏𝟐

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆

11 + 3 − 2(6) = 2

𝑫𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 = 𝟐
 ∑ 𝑴𝑭 = 𝟎

20(4) − 𝐶𝑦(8) = 0

𝑪𝒚 = +𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝑵

∑𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

−𝐹𝑦 − 10 − 20 + 𝐶𝑦 = 0

−𝐹𝑦 − 10 − 20 + 10 = 0

𝑭𝒚 = −𝟐𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (since negative, the force is upward)

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂 − 𝒂

 𝑽 = 𝟐𝟎 − 𝟏𝟎 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅)

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠,

𝑭𝑭𝑩 = 𝑭𝑨𝑬 = 𝑭

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

3
20 − 10 − 2 ( ) 𝐹 = 0
5

𝑭 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒:

𝑭𝑭𝑩 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑭𝑨𝑬 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑴𝑨 = 𝟎

4
8.33 ( ) 3 − 𝐹𝐹𝐸 (3) = 0
5

𝑭𝑭𝑬 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕 𝒌𝑵 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑴𝑭 = 𝟎

4
8.33 ( ) 3 − 𝐹𝐴𝐵 (3) = 0
5

𝑭𝑨𝑩 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

3
𝐹𝐴𝐹 − 8.33 ( ) − 10 = 0
5

𝑭𝑨𝑭 = 𝟏𝟓 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃 − 𝒃

𝑽 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅)

𝑭 = 𝑭𝑫𝑩 = 𝑭𝑬𝑪

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

3
10 − 2 ( ) 𝐹 = 0
5

𝑭 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵

𝑭𝑫𝑩 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑭𝑬𝑪 = 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 𝒌𝑵 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑴𝑫 = 𝟎

4
−8.33 ( ) 3 + 𝐹𝐵𝐶 (3) = 0
5

𝑭𝑬𝑫 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕 𝒌𝑵 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑴𝑪 = 𝟎

4
−8.33 ( ) 3 + 𝐹𝐷𝐵 (3) = 0
5

𝑭𝑩𝑪 = 𝟔. 𝟔𝟕 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑫

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

𝟑
𝑭𝑫𝑪 − 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 ( ) = 𝟎
𝟓
 𝑭𝑫𝑪 = 𝟓. 𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (𝑪)

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑬

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

𝟑
−𝑭𝑬𝑩 + 𝟐 ( ) 𝟖. 𝟑𝟑 = 𝟎
𝟓

𝑭𝑬𝑩 = 𝟏𝟎 𝒌𝑵 (𝑻)

𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂:

Member Force (kN) Tension or Compression

FB 8.33 Tension
AE 8.33 Compression
FE 6.67 Compression
AB 6.67 Tension
AF 15 Tension
DB 8.33 Tension
EC 8.33 Compression
ED 6.67 Compression
BC 6.67 Tension
DC 5 Compression
EB 10 Tension

2. Determine (approximately) the forces in the members of the truss shown in figure. Assume the diagonals are slender and
therefore will not support a compressive force.

𝑏 = 21, 𝑟 = 3, 𝑗 = 10

21 + 3 > 2(10)
 24 > 20

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆

21 + 3 − 2(10) = 4

𝑫𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 = 𝟒

𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠

∑ 𝑴𝑨 = 𝟎

−4(15) − 4(30) − 4(45) − 2(60) + 𝐸𝑦(60) = 0

𝑬𝒚 = 𝟖 𝒌

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

𝐴𝑦 − 2 − 4 − 4 − 4 − 2 + 𝐸𝑦 = 0

𝐴𝑦 − 2 − 4 − 4 − 4 − 2 + 8 = 0

𝑨𝒚 = 𝟖 𝒌

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂 − 𝒂

 𝑽=𝟖−𝟐=𝟔𝒌

𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑖 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐹𝐴𝐼 = 0

∑ 𝐹𝑦 = 0

8 − 2 − 𝐹𝐽𝐵 𝑠𝑖𝑛45° = 0

𝑭𝑱𝑩 = 𝟖. 𝟒𝟗 𝒌 (𝑻)

∑ 𝑀𝐴 = 0

8.49𝑠𝑖𝑛45°(15) − 𝐹𝐽𝐼 (15) = 0

𝑭𝑱𝑰 = 𝟔 𝒌 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑭𝒙 = 𝟎

𝐹𝐴𝐵 − 𝐹𝐽𝐼 + 𝐹𝐽𝐵 𝑐𝑜𝑠45° = 0

𝐹𝐴𝐵 − 6 + 8.49𝑐𝑜𝑠45° = 0

𝑭𝑨𝑩 = 𝟎

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑨

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

𝑭𝑱𝑨 = 𝟖 𝒌 (𝑪)
 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃 − 𝒃

𝑉 = 8−2−4 =2𝑘

𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐽𝐵𝐻 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐽𝐵𝐻 = 0

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

8 − 2 − 4 − 𝐹𝐼𝐶 𝑠𝑖𝑛45° = 0

𝑭𝑰𝑪 = 𝟐. 𝟖𝟑 𝒌 (𝑻)

∑ 𝑴𝑩 = 𝟎

8(15) − 2(15) + 2.83𝑐𝑜𝑠45°(15) − 𝐹𝐼𝐻 (15) = 0

𝑭𝑰𝑯 = 𝟖 𝒌 (𝑪)

∑ 𝑴𝑰 = 𝟎

8(15) − 2(15) − 𝐹𝐵𝐶 (15) = 0

𝑭𝑩𝑪 = 𝟔 𝒌 (𝑻)

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑩

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

−𝐹𝐵𝐼 + 8.49𝑠𝑖𝑛45° = 0

𝑭𝑩𝑰 = 𝟔 𝒌 (𝑪)
 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑱𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑪

∑ 𝑭𝒚 = 𝟎

2(2.83𝑠𝑖𝑛45°) − 𝐹𝐶𝐻 = 0

𝑭𝑪𝑯 = 𝟒 𝒌 (𝑪)

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒚

𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂:

Member Force (k) Tension or Compression

AI, GE 0 -
JB, DF 8.49 Tension
JI, GF 6 Compression
AB, DE 0 -
JA, EF 8 Compression
BH, DH 0 -
IC, CG 2.83 Tension
IH, HG 8 Compression
BC, CD 6 Tension
BI, DG 6 Compression
CH 4 Compression