Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

MODULE 7: Analysis of Structures

References:

Beer, F. P., Johnston , E., & Mazurek, D. F. (2016). Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics 11th Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Singer, F. L. (n.d.). Engineering Mechanics 2nd Ed. Harper & Row, New York, Evanston & London.
Kraige, L.G., & Meriam, J.L. (2012). Engineering Mechanics Statics 7th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Module Introduction:

Application of the mechanics of forces in the field of structures. Transforming structures into their
equivalent member-forces lead to some set of concurrent forces and/or of coplanar/parallel forces.
Not unlike the Roman dictum divide et impera, analysing a truss with many members is simplified
by dividing it into portions that allow analysis using mechanics of forces. This leads to the method
of joints and the method of sections analyses of trusses. The graphical method, on the other hand,
use the diagrammatic properties of forces to determine the bar forces in structural members by
drawing line-representations of these forces.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to:

ILO 1: Differentiate the attributes of forces and force derivatives.
ILO 2: Calculate the various effects and uses of forces
ILO 3: Examine the interplay of the attributes of forces in their various applications

Topic Outcomes:
This module aims that the students will be able to learn the following:
• Determination of the magnitudes and directions of forces in structural members by method
of joints.
• Determination of the magnitudes and directions of forces in structural members by method
of sections.
• Determination of the magnitudes and directions of forces in structural members by
graphical method.

Analysis of Structures is the process of determining how the loads applied are distributed
throughout the structure. The purpose is to determine the forces acting in the members and upon
the pins or hinges of the structure.

Internal Forces hold together the various parts of the structure. Consider the structure in
equilibrium shown in the figure below:

A crane is supporting a load W (a). It’s free-body diagram (b) and the free-body diagram of the
components of the crane (c) are also presented.

The force exerted at B by member BE on member AD is shown equal and opposite to the force
exerted at the same point by member AD on member BE. Similarly, the force exerted at E by BE
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

on CF is shown equal and opposite to the force exerted by CF on BE, and the components of the
force exerted at C by CF on AD are shown equal and opposite to the components of the force
exerted by AD on CF. These representations of forces agree with Newton’s third law.

Three Broad Categories of Engineering Structure

• Trusses, which are designed to support loads and

are usually stationary, fully constrained structures.
Trusses consist exclusively of straight members
connected at joints located at the ends of each
member. Members of a truss, therefore, are two-
force members, i.e., members acted upon by two
equal and opposite forces directed along the
member.

Truss Bridge

• Frames, which are also designed to support loads

and are also usually stationary, fully constrained
structures. However, like the crane in the previous
example, frames always contain at least one multi-
force member, i.e., a member acted upon by three
or more forces that, in general, are not directed
along the member.

Bicycle Frame

• Machines, which are designed to transmit and

modify forces and are structures containing moving
parts. Machines, like frames, always contain at least
one multi-force member.

Hydraulic Machine Arm

Analysis of Trusses

• The truss is one of the major types of engineering structures. It provides a practical and
economical solution to many engineering situations, especially in the design of bridges and
buildings.
• Truss members are connected at their extremities only; no member is continuous through
a joint.
• Most actual structures are made of several trusses joined together to form a space
framework. Each truss is designed to carry those loads that act in its plane and thus may be
treated as a two-dimensional structure.
• The members of a truss are slender and can support little lateral load; all loads, therefore,
must be applied at the various joints and not to the members themselves.
• When a concentrated load is to be applied between two joints or when the truss must
support a distributed load, as in the case of a bridge truss, a floor system must be provided.
The floor transmits the load to the joints through the use of stringers and floor beams.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

• The members are actually joined together by means of welded, bolted, or riveted
connections, it is customary to assume that the members are pinned together; therefore, the
forces acting at each end of a member reduce to a single force and no couple.
• This enables us to model the forces applied to a truss member as a single force at each end
of the member.
• We can then treat each member as a two-force member, and we can consider the entire
truss as a group of pins and two-force members.
• An individual member can be acted upon as shown in either of the two sketches. There are
forces that tend to pull the member apart, and that member is in TENSION (a). However,
there are forces that tend to push the member together, and that member is in
COMPRESSION (b).

Typical Trusses
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

Completely Constrained and Determinate Trusses

• Any simple truss that is simply supported is a completely constrained and determinate
truss.

• To determine whether any other truss is or is not completely constrained and

determinate, count the number m of its members, the number n of its joints, and the
number r of the reaction components at its supports. Compare the sum m + r representing
the number of unknowns and the product 2n represents the number of available
independent equilibrium equations.

a. If m + r < 2n, there are fewer unknowns than equations. Thus, some of the
equations cannot be satisfied, and the truss is only partially constrained.

b. If m + r > 2n, there are more unknowns than equations. Thus, some of the
unknowns cannot be determined, and the truss is indeterminate.

c. If m + r = 2n, there are as many unknowns as there are equations. This,

however, does not mean that all of the unknowns can be determined and
that all of the equations can be satisfied.

• To find out whether the truss is completely or improperly constrained, try to determine the
reactions at its supports and the forces in its members. If you can find all of them, the truss
is completely constrained and determinate.

The Method of Joints

This involves analyzing each joint of a structure to determine the bar forces in each of the member
meeting at that joint. Because forces in any joint will always be concurrent, the key in this method
is to begin with a joint with only two unknown bar forces. Then proceed with an adjacent joint
where there will only be two unknown members. This process is repeated until all joints have been
analyzed, meaning all member forces have been determined. [one at a time, with patience]

To determine the forces in the members of a simple truss; that is, a truss that can be constructed
from a basic triangular truss by adding two new members to it at a time and connecting them at a
new joint, the following steps must be done:
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

Steps:
1. Draw a free-body diagram of the entire truss, and use
this diagram to determine the reactions at the supports.

2. Locate a joint connecting only two members, and

draw the free-body diagram of its pin. Use this free-body
diagram to determine the unknown force in each of the two
members. If only three forces are involved (the two
unknown forces and a known one), you will probably find it
more convenient to draw and solve the corresponding force
triangle. If more than three forces are involved, you should
write and solve the equilibrium equations for the pin, ∑𝐹𝑥
=0 and ∑𝐹𝑦 =0, assuming that the members are in tension. A
positive answer means that the member is in tension, a
(a) FBD of the truss as a rigid body; negative answer means that the member is in compression.
(b) FBD of the five members and Once you have found the forces, enter their values on a
four pins that make up the truss. sketch of the truss with T for tension and C for compression.

3. Locate a joint where the forces in only two of the connected members are still unknown.
Draw the free-body diagram of the pin and use it as indicated in Step 2 to determine
the two unknown forces.

4. Repeat this procedure until you have found the forces in all the members of the truss.
Since you previously used the three equilibrium equations associated with the free-
body diagram of the entire truss to determine the reactions at the supports you will end
up with three extra equations. These equations can be used to check your computations.

5. Note that the choice of the first joint is not unique. Once you have determined the
reactions at the supports of the truss, you can choose either of two joints as a starting
point for your analysis.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

Free-body diagram and force polygons used in determining

the forces on the pins and in the members of the truss shown.

Joints under Special Loading Conditions

• The figure (a) shows a joint connecting four members lying along two intersecting
straight lines.
• The free-body diagram of the figure (b) shows that pin A is subjected to two pairs of
directly opposite forces.
• The corresponding force polygon, therefore, must be a parallelogram (c), and the forces
in opposite members must be equal.

• Consider the figure, in which a joint connects three members

and supports a load P. Two members lie along the same line,
and load P acts along the third member. The free-body diagram
of pin A and the corresponding force polygon are the same as
in figure (b) and c, with FAE replaced by load P. Thus, the
forces in the two opposite members must be equal, and the
force in the other member must equal P.

• The figure shows a particular case of special interest. Since, in

this case, no external load is applied to the joint, we have P =
0, and the force in member AC is zero. Member AC is said to
be a zero-force member.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

• In the case of the joint shown in the left (a),

which connects two members AB and AD lying
along the same line, the forces in the two
members must be equal for pin A to be in
equilibrium.
• In the case of the joint shown in left also (b), pin
A cannot be in equilibrium unless the forces in
both members are zero. Members connected as
shown (b), therefore, must be zero-force
members.

Illustrative Problems

Example 1: Using the method of joints, determine

the force in each member of the truss shown.

Example 2: Using the method of joints, determine the force in each member of the truss shown.
State whether each member is in tension or compression.

Method of Sections

This involves cutting the structure into sections, where the cutting plane must pass through the
members where the bar forces need to be computed, analyzing only one side of the cutting plane.
Diagrams in this method almost always result to coplanar force diagrams. This allows not only the
∑F equations used in the method of joints but also the ∑M equations making the computation of
the bar forces usually shorter.

This method is more efficient when you need to find the force in only one member or the forces in
a very few members of a truss. The following are the steps in performing the method of sections:

Steps:

1. Draw a free-body diagram of the entire truss, and use this diagram to determine the
reactions at the supports.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

2. Pass a section through three members of the truss, one of which is the member whose force
you want to find. After you cut through these members, you will have two separate portions
of truss.

3. Select one of these two portions of truss and draw its free-body diagram. This diagram
should include the external forces applied to the selected portion as well as the forces
exerted on it by the intersected members that were removed.

(a) We can pass a section nn through the truss, (b) Free-body diagram of portion ABC of the
dividing the three members BD, BE, and CE. truss. We assume that members BD, BE, and CE
are in tension.

4. You can now write three equilibrium equations that can be solved for the forces in the three
intersected members.

5. An alternative approach is to write a single equation that can be solved for the force in the
desired member. To do so, first observe whether the forces exerted by the other two
members on the free body are parallel or whether their lines of action intersect
.
• If these forces are parallel, you can eliminate them by writing an equilibrium
equation involving components in a direction perpendicular to these two forces.
• If their lines of action intersect at a point H, you can eliminate them by writing an
equilibrium equation involving moments about H.

6. Keep in mind that the section you use must intersect three members only. The reason is
that the equilibrium equations in Step 4 can be solved for only three unknowns. However,
you can pass a section through more than three members to find the force in one of those
members if you can write an equilibrium equation containing only that force as an
unknown.

Note: A section passed through a truss does not have to be a vertical or horizontal; it can be
diagonal as well. Choose the orientation that cuts through no more than three members of
unknown force and also gives you the simplest part of the truss for which you can write
equilibrium equations and determine the unknowns.

Illustrative Problems

Example 3: Determine the forces in

members EF and GI of the truss shown.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

Example 4: Determine the forces in

members FH, GH, and GI of the roof truss
shown.

Graphical Method

This method involves plotting all the applied forces in sequence of their application and according
to scale in both magnitude and direction (head-to-tail) to form a force polygon, naming each force
by letter for clarity of identification. The direction (inclination) of each structural member is then
plotted from the point of intersection of the forces adjacent to it, one at a time. Plot of the members
that serve as legs of the angle between them will meet in at a common point in the resulting
diagram. This point of meeting (intersection) will be the starting point of the plot for the next
member that serve as a leg of the angle between it and any of the member plotted before. The
process is repeated until all the members have been plotted. The magnitudes of the bar forces are
then determined by measuring their plots according to the same scale used in plotting the applied
forces.

Exercises:

Problem No. 1: Using the method of joints, determine

the force in each member of the truss shown. State
whether each member is in tension or compression.

Problem No. 2: Using the method of joints,

determine the force in each member of the
truss shown. State whether each member is in
tension or compression.

Problem No. 3: Determine the force in

each member of the Gambrel roof truss
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

shown. State whether each member is in

tension or compression.

Problem No. 4: Determine the force in each

member of the Pratt bridge truss shown. State
whether each member is in tension or compression.

Problem No. 5: Determine the force in

each of the members located to the left of
FG for the scissors roof truss shown. State
whether each member is in tension or
compression.

Problem No. 6: A Mansard roof truss

is loaded as shown. Determine the
force in members DF, DG, and EG.
Engg 407: Statics of Rigid Bodies

Problem No. 7: Determine the force in

members CD and DF of the truss shown.

Problem No. 8: A monosloped roof

truss is loaded as shown. Determine
the force in members CE, DE, and
DF.

Problem No. 9: Determine the force in members DG and FI

of the truss shown. (Hint: Use section aa.)

Exercises Key:

1. AB = 7.20 kN T, BC = 7.80 kN C, AC = 12 kN C
2. AD = 7 kN C, AB = 0, CF = 7 kN C, BC = 0, BD = 34 kN C, DE = 30 kN T, BF = 34 kN C,
EF = 30 kN T, BE = 8 kN T
3. AB = 5 kN C, AC = 4 kN T, BC = 0, CE = 4 kN T, BE = 0.2 kN C, BD = 4 kN C, FH = 5
kN C, HG = 4 kN T, EG = 4 kN T, FG = 0, DF = 4 kN C, EF = 0.2 kN C, DE = 0.24 kN T
4. AB = 7.5 kN C, AC = 4.5 kN T, CE = 4.5 kN T, BC = 4 kN T, BE = 2.5 kN T, BD = 6 kN
C, DE = 0, DF = 6 kN C, FH = 7.5 kN C, HG = 4.5 kN T, FG = 4 kN T, EG = 4.5 kN T, EF =
2.5 kN T
5. AC = 7.83 kN T, AB = 9.90 kN C, CE = 7.83 kN T, BC = 0, BE = 2 kN C, BD = 7.07 kN C,
EG = 5.59 kN T, DE = 1 kN T, DG = 0.56 kN C, DF = 5.03 kN C
6. DF = 5.45 kN C; DG = 1.000 kN T; EG = 4.65 kN T
7. CD = 20.0 kN C; DF = 52.0 kN C
8. CE = 7.20 kN T; DE = 1.047 kN C; DF = 6.39 kN C
9. DG = 3.75 kN T; FI = 3.75 kN C