Advanced Structural Mechanics and Steel Structures

for Transportation Engineers:

Applications in Logistics and Infrastructure

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO STRENGTH OF

MATERIALS
Course Lecturer: Mrs.Laila HFA,
Eng & Phd Candidate
 Ground rules for this course
1 2
Punctuality: Arrive on time. Put away your cell phones and laptops
Arriving late is a sign of unless they are part of the class
disrespect to the course lecturer and activities.
to your colleagues.

3 4
Private conversations during class are Remember, you are your most valuable
inappropriate, especially when others resource. The success of this course
are speaking. relies on it being a two-way exchange
where everyone engages actively.
 The chapter’s objectives
● The main objective of this chapter is to build a strong foundation and to acquaint the
engineering students with;
 What are trusses and where are they used?
 What are the benefits and dangers of simple trusses?
 How can we determine the forces acting within simple truss systems?
 For a truss in equilibrium, why is every individual member, joint, and section cut
from the truss also in equilibrium?
 How do we identify zero-force members in a truss and use their presence to simplify
the analysis?
 What is the method of joints?
 What is the method of section?
01.

TRUSSES
 WHY ?

● Trusses alow to create strong structures while using materials

in an efficient and cost effective way.
● Trusses provide a stable, reliable structure that can withstand
significant loads while remaining true to its form over a large
span with the component parts stressed primarily in
axial tension or compression.
 TRUSSES
Truss : is a rigid structure that’s formed from an assembly of straight members
(slender members) joined together at their end points to support stationary of
moving load.

Each member of a truss is usually of uniform cross section along its length.

Joints: are usually formed by bolting or welding the ends to a common plate
called the gusset plate. The joints are modeled by smooth pin connections and
forces acting at those ends reduce to a single force and no couple.

Most structures are made of several trusses joined together to form a space
framework.

Calculations and designs are usually based on the following assumptions

 Loads must be applied at the joints.

 Weights are assumed to be distributed to joints.
 Members are either under tension of compression
TYPES OF TRUSSES
 ROOF TRUSSES
 They are often used as part of an industrial building frame.
 Roof load is transmitted to the truss at the joints by means of a series of purlins.
 To keep the frame rigid & thereby capable of resisting horizontal wind forces, knee braces are sometimes used
at the supporting column.
ROOF TRUSSES
ROOF TRUSSES
 BRIDGE TRUSSES
 In a bridge formed from a truss structure, the
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 sides way caused by
moving vehicles on the bridge.

 Additional stability is provided by the portal and

sway bracing. 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.
BRIDGE TRUSSES
BRIDGE TRUSSES
BRIDGE TRUSSES
BRIDGE TRUSSES
PYLONS TRUSSES ( POWER LINES)
 TYPES OF TRUSSES
Plane trusses: wherein the external load and the members lie in the same plane.
Built out of two dimensional triangular elements.

Space trusses: in which members are oriented in three dimensions in space and loads
may also act in any direction. The basic unit is a tetrahedron.
 SIMPLE TRUSSES
 In this section, we will examine a simplified model of a planar truss known as a simple truss,
focusing on the forces each member individually supports when the truss carries a load.
 Truss members are connected either by welding or by attaching their ends to a gusset plate,
creating rigid joints. However, this rigidity also increases the complexity of analysis. To simplify the
mathematical challenges, we will limit our discussion to simple trusses, which provide an effective
approximation for initial evaluations.
 SIMPLE TRUSSES
 Simple trusses consist entirely of two-force members, with all joints modeled as frictionless
pins.
 By design, simple trusses are statically determinate, meaning the number of equations is
sufficient to solve for all unknowns.
 The structure of simple trusses relies on triangular configurations, which ensure rigidity even
when detached from their supports.
 A simple truss is held in position by the supports and the loads are applied only at joints.
 The free body diagram of a member shows that it is acted upon by two equal and opposite
forces.
 The joints permit members to rotate with respect to each other and hence the members are
subjected to purely axial forces.

02.

SOLVING
TRUSSES
 SIMPLE TRUSSES ASSUMPTIONS
 When designing both the member and the joints of a truss, first it is necessary to determine the
forces in each truss member. This is called the force analysis of a truss. When doing this, two
assumptions are made:
1. All loads are applied at the joints. The weight of the truss members is often neglected as the weight
is usually small as compared to the forces supported by the members.
2. The members are joined together by smooth pins. This assumption is satisfied in most practical
cases where the joints are formed by bolting or welding.
 With these two assumptions, the members act as two-force members.
They are loaded in either tension or compression. Often compressive members are made thicker to
prevent buckling.
 The convention for internal forces, i.e., the action of forces in the members on the joints is shown.
T T
Tension Member
C C
Compression Member
 STATICAL DETERMINACY OF TRUSSES
 A truss is considered statically determinate when all its internal forces and support reactions can
be calculated using the equations of static equilibrium alone, without requiring additional
information or assumptions. These equations include:

 For a planar truss, the condition for statical determinacy is given by: m + r = 2 j
Where:
 m = number of truss members,
 r = number of external reactions (supports),
 j = number of joints.

 If this equation is satisfied, the truss is statically determinate.

 If m+r >2j  the truss is statically indeterminate, requiring advanced methods for analysis.
 If m+r <2j  the truss is unstable.
STATICAL DETERMINACY OF TRUSSES

Q: Is this truss determinate statically or not ?

 ANALYSIS OF TRUSSES
TRUSS ANALYSIS

External equilibrium Internal equilibrium

To find the forces in each

To find the reaction forces member

Method of joints Method of sections

 ZERO FORCE MEMBERS
● Zero-force member is a member that carries no force and
thus supports no load.

● Zero force members can easily be identified by inspection

with two rules:

 Rule 1: If two non-collinear members meet at an

unloaded joint, then both are zero-force members.

 Rule 2: If three members meet at an unloaded joint

and two are collinear, then the third is a zero-force
member.
 ZERO FORCE MEMBERS
● In the simplified example problems, zero force members are unnecessary, but in the real
world, zero-force members are important for several reasons:

● We have assumed that all members have negligible weight or if not, applied half the weight
to each pin. The actual weight of real members invalidates the two-force body assumption
and leads to errors. Consider a vertical member the internal forces must at least support the
member’s weight.

● Truss members are not actually rigid, and long slender members under compression
will buckle and collapse. The zero-force member will be engaged to prevent this buckling.

● Trusses are often used over a wide array of loading conditions. While a member may be
zero-force for one loading condition, it will likely be engaged under a different condition.
 ZERO FORCE MEMBERS

Q: Eliminate all the zero force members and draw the remaining truss.
ZERO FORCE MEMBERS
 METHOD OF JOINTS
 The method of joints is a process used to solve for the unknown forces acting on members of a
truss. The method centers on the joints or connection points between the members, and it is
most useful when you need to solve for all the unknown forces in a truss structure.

 Procedure:
 Determine if the structure is a truss and if it is determinate.
 Identify and remove all zero-force members. This is not
required but will eliminate unnecessary computations.
 Draw the FBD of the entire truss system
 Find the external reactions. Using equilibrium equations.
 Chose a joint and draw its FBD with at least one known force
and at most two unknown forces
 The internal forces are determined
 Chose another joint.
 METHOD OF JOINTS

Q: Determine the axial force in each member of the truss.

 METHOD OF SECTIONS
 The method of sections is used to solve for the unknown forces within specific members of a truss
without solving for them all. The method involves dividing the truss into sections by cutting through the
selected members and analyzing the section as a rigid body
 Procedure:
 Determine if the structure is a truss and if it is determinate.
 Identify and remove all zero-force members.
 Find the external reactions. Using equilibrium equations.
 Try to cut the truss into two pieces by cutting through some or all
of the members you are interested in. The cut does not need to
be a straight line
 Select the easier of the two halves of the truss and draw its free-
body diagram
 Write out and solve the equilibrium equations for your chosen
section.
 Repeat the process using another imaginary cut or proceed with
the method of joints if it is more convenient
METHOD OF SECTIONS
 METHOD OF SECTIONS

Q: Determine the internal forces in the members HG, DG and DC.

 03

Applications
 Thanks!
See you next
week !
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