STRUCTURAL THEORY

CE-PC 313, Schedule (TTH- 9-12:00 A.M)

BSCE-3A

CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS OF STATICALLY DETERMINATE TRUSSES

3.1 COMMON TYPE OF TRUSSES

 A truss is a structure composed of slender members joined
together at their end points.
 The members commonly used in construction consist of
wooden struts, metal bars, angles, or channels.
 The joint connections are usually formed by bolting or welding
the ends of the members to a common plate, called a gusset
plate
Roof Trusses - the roof load is transmitted to the truss at the joints by means of a series of purlins.
Bridge Trusses - the roof load is transmitted to the
truss at the joints by means of a series of purlins.
 Here it is seen that a load on the deck is first
transmitted to stringers, then to floor beams, and
finally to the joints of the two supporting side
trusses.
 The top and bottom cords of these side trusses
are connected by top and bottom lateral bracing,
which serves to resist the lateral forces caused by
wind and the sidesway caused by moving vehicles
on the bridge.
 As in the case of many long-span trusses, a roller
is provided at one end of a bridge truss to allow for
thermal expansion.
Assumption for design - the roof load is transmitted to the truss at the joints by
means of a series of purlins.
 To design both the members and the connections of a truss, it is first
necessary to determine the force developed in each member when the truss
is subjected to a given loading.
1. The members are joined together by smooth pins.
 The bending stress developed in the members is called secondary stress,
whereas the stress in the members of the idealized truss, having pin-
connected joints, is called primary stress
2. All loadings are applied at the joints.

- Because of these two assumptions, each truss member acts as an axial force
member, and therefore the forces acting at the ends of the member must be
directed along the axis of the member.

- If the force tends to elongate the member, it is a tensile force (T), whereas if the
force tends to shorten the member, it is a compressive force (C)
- In the actual design of a truss it is important to state whether the force is tensile
or compressive
 - Most often, compression members must be made thicker than tension members,
because of the buckling or sudden instability that may occur in compression members

Classification of Coplanar Trusses

- Before beginning the force analysis of a truss, it is important to
classify the truss as simple, compound, or complex, and then to be
able to specify its determinacy and stability.
SIMPLE TRUSS

For this method of construction, however, it is important to realize that

simple trusses do not have to consist entirely of triangles
COMPOUND TRUSS - A compound truss is formed by connecting two or more simple
trusses together. This type of truss is used to support loads acting over a large span, since
it is cheaper to construct a somewhat lighter compound truss than to use a heavier single
simple truss.
- The trusses may be connected by a common joint and bar
- The trusses may be joined where bars of a large simple truss, called the main truss, have
been substituted by simple trusses, called secondary trusses
COMPLEX TRUSS - A complex truss is one that cannot be
classified as being either simple or compound.

DETERMINACY - A complex truss is one that cannot be

classified as being either simple or compound.

Where
b = number of bars of the truss
r = total number of external support reactions
STABILITY- If a truss will be unstable, that is, it will collapse, since there will be an
insufficient number of bars or reactions to constrain all the joints
External Stability - a structure (or truss) is externally unstable if all of its reactions are
concurrent or parallel

Internal Stability - The internal stability of a truss can often be checked by careful
inspection of the arrangement of its members
Bear in mind, however, that if a truss is unstable, it does not matter whether it is statically
determinate or indeterminate. Obviously, the use of an unstable truss is to be avoided in practice.
METHOD OF JOINTS
ZERO FORCE MEMBERS-
 members that support no loading
 zero-force members may be necessary for the stability of the truss during construction and to
provide support if the applied loading is changed
Case 1. The two members at joint C are connected together at a right angle and there is no external load
on the joint.
Case 2. Zero-force members also occur at joints having a geometry as joint D in Fig. 3–
23a. Here no external load acts on the joint, so that a force summation in the y
direction, Fig. 3–23b, which is perpendicular to the two collinear members, requires
that FDF = 0.
- If the forces in only a few members of a truss are to be found, the method of sections generally provides the most direct
means of obtaining these forces.
- The method of sections consists of passing an imaginary section through the truss, thus cutting it into two parts

- There are two ways in which one can determine the correct sense of an unknown member
force.
1. Always assume that the unknown member forces at the cut section are in tension, i.e.,
“pulling” on the member
2. The correct sense of an unknown member force can in many cases be
determined “by inspection.”