ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES

I. CONSTRUCTION TRUSSES
A truss is a structure composed of members fastened together in such a way as to resist change in shape; it is
a rigid structure. The term ‘rigid’ being used here to indicate that the truss will not collapse. It is defined as a structure
that is made of straight, slender bars that are joined together to form a pattern of triangles. Trusses are usually
designed to transmit forces over relatively long spans such as roof and bridges.

The determination of the forces acting on the members of a truss is simplified by the following assumptions:
• The members are joined together at their ends by smooth pins. In practice, the members at each joint are
usually riveted or welded to a plate, called a gusset plate.
• The weight of the truss members is negligible in comparison with the applied loads.
• All applied loads act at the ends of the members

Note: Tension arrows are always indicated by an arrow away from the pin and compression by an arrow toward the
pin.

Simple Truss
The basic element of a plane truss is the triangle. Three bars joined by pins at their ends, constitute a rigid
frame. A simple truss is a planar truss which begins with a triangular element and can be expanded by adding two
members and a joint. For these trusses, the number of members (m) and the number of joints (j) are related by the
equation.
𝟐𝒋 = 𝒎 + 𝒓
𝐼𝑓 2𝑗 = 𝑚 + 𝑟 ; 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐷𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝐼𝑓 2𝑗 < 𝑚 + 𝑟 ; 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝐼𝑓 2𝑗 > 𝑚 + 𝑟 ; 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑈𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒

Redundant / zero force members

The only use of zero force members is to increase stability of the truss during construction or provide support
when applied loading is changed.

In general, if three members form a truss joint for which two of the members are collinear, the third member is
a zero-force member provided no external force or support reaction is applied to the joint.
Figure 4.1. (a) Joint A in a truss connects three members, two in a straight line and
the third along the line of a load. Force in the third member equals the load. (b) If
the load is zero, the third member is a zero-force member.

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METHOD OF JOINTS

In this method, free body diagrams of the joints or pins are constructed, usually after the reactions at the
supports have been determined. Each pin is in equilibrium under the action of a concurrent force system. Since there
are only two independent equations of equilibrium for a concurrent, coplanar force system, it is preferable to first
isolate those pins where the number of unknowns does not exceed two. Consistency must always be maintained using
Newton’s 3rd law of motion.

Examples:
Find the axial forces in the members of the truss shown.

Required: Force in each member of the truss

METHOD OF SECTIONS

Situations arise when we are only interested in determining the axial forces
in a few selected members of a truss. The method of sections permits us to
determine directly the force in almost any member instead of proceeding to that
member by a joint-to-joint analysis.
In this method, some members of the truss are imagined to be cut by
passing a section,, Figure 4.4, which divides the truss into two parts. One or
more of the members that are cut by the section must be the members whose
axial forces are to be determined. In rare instances, the cutting section may
have to divide the truss into more than two parts. One part of the truss is then
isolated and all forces acting on it are shown to obtain a free body diagram.
Among the forces that will appear in the FBD are the axial force in the
members that are cut. Unless all the bars that are cut are connected to a
common pin, the resulting force is non-concurrent, non-parallel and coplanar
for which there are three independent equations of equilibrium.
It is essential that the cutting section does not cut more than three
members whose internal forces are unknown, because the method of sections
is based on the equilibrium of coplanar force systems for which only three
independent equations of equilibrium are available to solve for three
unknowns.
The cutting section need not be straight; its purpose is to isolate the truss
segment selected as the free body without involving more than three unknowns.
Figure 4.2. (a) Cutting section through members FE, BE, and BC. (b) FBD of the
left side and the right side of the section.

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Example:
For the truss shown, determine each of the forces in bars BD, CD, and CE by means of an equilibrium equation that
determines it independently of the others.

FRAMES

A structure is called a frame or machine if at least one of its individual members is a multiforce member. A
multiforce member is defined as one with three or more forces acting on it, or one with two or more forces and one or
more couples acting on it. Frames are structures which are designed to support applied loads and are usually fixed in
position. Machines are structures which contain moving parts and are designed to transmit input forces or couples to
output forces or couples. Because frames and machines contain multiforce members, the forces in these members
in general will not be in the directions of the members. Therefore, we cannot analyze these structures by the method
of joints or the method of sections because these methods apply to simple trusses composed of two-force members
where the forces are in the directions of the members

Example:
The A-frame shown is supported by a hinge at E and a roller at A. Compute the horizontal and vertical components of
the hinge forces at B and C as they act upon member AC.

CABLES
Cables are used in many engineering applications, such as suspension bridges, transmission lines, aerial
tramways, guy wires for high towers, etc. Cables may be divided into two categories, according to their loading: (1)
supporting concentrated loads and (2) supporting distributed loads.
Cables with concentrated loads
When a flexible and inextensible cable is subjected to a series of concentrated forces, then the analysis of the
cable can be performed by using the equations of equilibrium applied to free-body diagrams of either segments or
points of application of the loading.
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 Figure 4.3 Cable with concentrated loads
Example:
Determine the tension in each segment of the cable and the cable’s total length.

Parabolic Cable
When the intensity of vertical loading w is constant, the condition closely approximates that of a suspension
bridge where the uniform weight of the roadway may be expressed by the constant w. The mass of the cable itself is
not distributed uniformly with the horizontal but is relatively small, and thus we neglect its weight.
➢ Consider a cable supporting a uniform, horizontally distributed load, e.g., support cables for a suspension
bridge.
➢ With loading on cable from lowest point C to a point D given by W = wx, internal force magnitude and direction
are
𝑇 = √𝑇𝑜 2 + 𝑤 2 𝑥 2
𝑤𝑥
tan 𝜃 =
𝑇𝑜
➢ Summing moments about D
𝑥
∑ 𝑀𝐷 = 0: 𝑤𝑥 ( ) − 𝑇𝑜 𝑦 = 0
2
𝑤𝑥 2
𝑦=
2𝑇𝑜
➢ The cable forms a parabolic curve

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Figure 4.4 (a) The shape of a parabolic cable is determined by its span L and sag h; (b) and (c) shows the span and
vertical distance between supports for cables with supports at different elevations.

𝑤𝑥 2
𝑆 = ∫ √1 + ( )
𝑇𝑂
S = length of the parabolic curve
L = horizontal distance between two points on the cable

Example:
Cable ACB supports a load uniformly distributed along the horizontal as shown. The lowest point C is located 9
m to the right of A. Determine (a) the vertical distance a, (b) the length of the cable, (c) the components of the reaction
at A.

Catenary Cable
A catenary cable carries a load uniformly distributed along the cable itself. Cables hanging under their own
weight are loaded in this way. It is assumed that the cable assumes a curved shape known as catenary. The vertical
force supported is equal to the weight of the section of cable of length s in place of the load distributed uniformly with
respect to the horizontal.

Figure 4.5. The FBD of a finite portion of the cable, length s, measured from the origin is shown. The total vertical
force is equal to the weight of the cable section of length s.

The following relationships may be used:

𝑇𝑜 𝜇𝑥
𝑦= (𝑐𝑜𝑠ℎ − 1)
𝜇 𝑇𝑜
𝑇𝑜 𝜇𝑥
𝑆 = sinh
𝜇 𝑇𝑜
𝜇𝑥
𝑇 = 𝑇0 𝑐𝑜𝑠ℎ
𝑇𝑜
𝑇 = 𝑇𝑂 + 𝜇𝑦
Where:
μ = weight of catenary cable per lineal
x = horizontal distance between two points on the cable
y = vertical distance between two-point s on the cable
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Example:
The 36 m cable shown weighs 1.5 kN/m. Determine the sag H and the maximum cable tension.

EXERCISES:
1. Use the method of joints to determine the force in each member of the truss shown. State whether the force is in
tension or compression. Tabulate your answers.

2. Use the method of sections to determine the forces in members AB and FG. State whether the forces are in tension
or compression.

3. A block with a mass of 150-kg is supported by a cable which passes over a 150-mm diameter pulley that is attached
to a frame as shown in the figure. Determine all forces acting on member BCD of the frame.

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4. The left support of the cable shown is located 10 m below the right support. The lowest point on the cable is 13 m
below the right support. If the maximum tension in the cable resulting from a uniformly distributed load w along the
horizontal is 400 kN, determine: a. The angle between the cable and the horizontal at the right support; b. The
magnitude of the distributed load w c. The length of the cable.

5. Use the method of joints to determine the force in each member of the roof truss shown. State whether each
member is in tension or compression.

6. Use the method of joints to determine the force in each member of the roof truss shown. State whether each
member is in tension or compression.

7. Solve for EG, GH, and HJ. Use the method of sections to determine the forces in the members indicated. State
whether the member is in tension or compression.

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8. Determine the force in members EH and GI. Use the method of sections to determine the forces in the members
indicated. State whether the member is in tension or compression.

9. Determine the horizontal and vertical components of force at C which member ABC exerts on member CEF.

10. Determine the horizontal and vertical components of force which the pins at A, B, and C exert on member ABC of
the frame.

11. Determine the maximum tension in the cable shown

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