DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

IIT (BHU) VARANASI

ME: 102: Engineering Mechanics
Assignment#3
“Truss”
Problem No. 6.6: Roof trusses such as the one shown arc spaced 6 m apart in a long,
rectangular building. During the winter, snow loads of up to 1 kN/m2 (or 1 kPa)
accumulate on the central portion of the roof. Find the force in each member for a
truss not at the ends of the building.

(Hint: Note that the load of snow per unit area is for the actual available area, not
for the projected area. If you load a horizontal plate with a certain load per unit
area, the value of load per unit area would still remain same if you tilt the plate. The
direction of load with respect to the plate will, of course, change. Also interpret the
meaning of “... for a truss not at the ends of the building”. The member GF will be
in tension; the answer incorrectly mentions “C”.)
Problem No. 6.8: Find the force, in the straight members of the truss
(Hint: Note that even a curved link
can be a two-force member. The
force will act along the line
joining the two end points. See
Figure 6.24. This force cannot,
however, be called a tensile or
compressive force in the curved
beam. Bending moments will also
be present in the beam.)
Problem No. 6.10: In Example 6.1. include the weights of the members
approximately. Each member weighs 100 lb./ft.
[Ex. No.6.1: A simple plane truss is shown in figure. Two 1000-lb loads are shown
acting on pins C and E. We are to determine the force transmitted by each member.
Neglect the weight of the members.]

(Hint: The complete

answer is not given in
the book. The
remaining answers
are: FCE = 4914, FDE
= 2500, FBD = 4914,
FDF = 6949 and FEF
= 4914)

Problem No. 6.11: Determine the forces in the members. The pulley at C and F
each weigh 300 N. Neglects all other weights. Be sure you have a check on your
solution.

(Hint: To calculate
the force on the pin,
due to a loaded
pulley, make the FBD
of the pulley to find
out the force applied
on it by the pin. If you
choose to use the
method of sections,
there is no need to
calculate the force
applied by a pulley on
the pin. Let the
section plane cut the
string and show the tension in the string in the FBD, as is done for other members
which get cut. You also have to show the weight of the pulley as an external force.)
Problem No. 6.32: Find the force in members HE, FH, FE, and FC of the
truss.

(Hint: Solve this problem using the method

of sections. Two sections will have to be
taken – the first section plane cutting
members GF, HF and HE, and the second
section plane cutting members FD, FC, FE
and HE.)

Problem No. 6.33: Find the force in member JF in the truss.

(Hint: Though this problem can be easily solved by the method of joints, it will take
a lot of time. After finding the support reactions, you have to make FBD’s and write
the equations for several joints, in the order – A, H, I, B, G, J. The method of sections
also is not of much help, because just one or two sections will not give you the
answer. Several different sections are needed. However, if you combine the two
methods, just two equations will give you the answers. First make the FBD of pin J.
The force balance in the vertical direction will indicate that FFJ=-FCJ Then, let a
section cut members BC, CJ, JF and FG. Consider the FBD of the upper part of the
truss and balance the forces in the horizontal direction. This will give you an
equation in terms of FFJ and FCJ. These two equations will give you FFJ = 3536 N.
Note that there is no need to find even the support reactions. Now, having done this,
can you guess the effect of the horizontal force at H on the forces developed in
various members of the truss, without writing any equation? Will your conclusion
change if A becomes a hinged support and H a roller support? Use your intuition!)