AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Homework 2 – Stability and Determinacy +

Displacements of Determinate Trusses by Basic Analysis

Due Date: 16 February 2017

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Notes:
o HW is due at the beginning of class. Late submissions will not be accepted.
o Use FE paper, write neatly, and staple.
o You are allowed to discuss and work on homework problems collaboratively, but each student
should submit an individual homework.
o There is a ZERO-TOLERANCE policy on cheating and plagiarism.
o Keep a copy of your submitted HW; it may take time for graded HW to be returned. Solutions
will be posted on MOODLE.
o Bring your questions to Office Hours (Tu 4:30-6 pm, Th 2:30-4 pm)
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Important:

You are not required to solve for all of the structures shown. The required structures are
explicitly listed for each problem. The solution will be provided for all structures for your
reference and reviews.
AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Problem 1: 2D Beams and Frames

For the structures shown below, assume that the nodes (joints) are located at the locations of
supports, at elements ends, and where two or more elements intersect.

For structures (b), (c) and (e):

(1) Check stability and static determinacy; if statically indeterminate, specify the degree of
static indeterminacy
(2) Determine the number of free degrees of freedom, i.e., the degree of kinematic
indeterminacy.

(a) the supports are 2 hinges and a fixity (b)

(c) the supports are a roller and a hinge (d) the supports are a hinge and a roller
(rocker)

(e)
AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Problem 2: 2D Trusses

For the structures shown below, the nodes (joints) are internal hinges and are clearly depicted.

For structures (c) and (e):

(1) Check stability and static determinacy; if statically indeterminate, specify the degree of
static indeterminacy
(2) Determine the number of free degrees of freedom, i.e., the degree of kinematic
indeterminacy

(a) supports are a hinge and a roller (rocker) (b) supports are a hinge and a roller (rocker)

(c) supports are a hinge and a roller (d) supports are 2 hinges

(e) supports are 2 rollers (rockers)

AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Problem 3: 3D Frames (a,b,c) and Trusses (d,e)

For the frames shown below, assume that nodes are located at the supports, at element ends, and
where elements intersect.
For the trusses shown below, the nodes are denoted by capital letters.

For structures (a) and (e):

(1) Check stability and static determinacy; if statically indeterminate, specify the degree of
static indeterminacy
(2) Determine the number of free degrees of freedom, i.e., the degree of kinematic
indeterminacy

(a) supports are 2 fixities (b) supports are a fixity and a hinge (c) support are 3 fixities

(d) ball and socket at A, slotted roller at B, short link at C (e) reactions are indicated

(See Table 3-1, posted on moodle)

AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Problem 4: from Quiz 1 – Spring 2015

(1) Discuss stability and static determinacy for the structures shown in the figures below. If
stable and statically indeterminate, identify their degree of static indeterminacy.
(2) Compute their degree of kinematic indeterminacy (nodes/joints are clearly identified)

2D Truss

2D Frame

Frame element

Composite structure;

combination of frame and truss elements

Truss element
AMERICAN UNIVERISTY OF BEIRUT Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
CIVE 411 Instructor: Mayssa Dabaghi

Problem 5: (Textbook, 8th edition: p.362, Prob. 9-1)

For the truss shown in the figure below, each steel member has a cross-sectional area 𝐴𝐴 = 600
mm2 and Young’s modulus 𝐸𝐸 = 200 GPa.

Determine the vertical displacement 𝑣𝑣𝐴𝐴 of joint A using basic analysis.