Civil Engineering Department

Dr. Mustafa Maher Altayeb

STATICS
 • To show how to determine the forces in the
members of a truss using the method of joints
and the method of sections.
• To analyze the forces acting on the members of
frames and machines composed of
pin-connected members.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 TRUSSES – METHODS OF JOINTS
Today’s Objectives:
Students will be able to:
a) Define a simple truss.
b) Determine the forces in members of a simple truss.
c) Identify zero-force members.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 TRUSSES
■ What is truss?
◻ Truss is a structure whose members are connected at their
ends to form triangles.
■ Why triangle?
◻ Triangle is significant because it is stable & cannot collapse
as long as a member does not break of deform.
■ How can I design truss's members?
◻ When designing a truss, it is necessary to find the force in
each member of the truss & then select structural members
which are adequate to withstand the force
■ What we aim to do in this course?
◻ In this course we will learn how to find the internal force of
each member of the truss.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
5
6
 COMMON TYPES OF TRUSSES

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 EXAMPLES OF TRUSSES

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 APPLICATIONS

Trusses are commonly used to support a

roof.

For a given truss geometry and load, how

can we determine the forces in the truss
members and select their sizes?

A more challenging question is that for a

given load, how can we design the
trusses’ geometry to minimize cost?

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 APPLICATIONS (continued)

Trusses are also used in a variety of

structures like cranes and the frames
of aircraft or space stations.

How can we design a light weight

structure that will meet load, safety,
and cost specifications?

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 TRUSSES
■ Simple Truss
◻ Three bars joined by a pins at their ends are the
basic element of a plane truss

■ Force Analysis
◻ All members to be two-force members
◻ The two forces are applied at the ends of the
member & are necessarily equal, opposite and
collinear for equilibrium.
◻ The member may be in tension or compression.
◻ In most cases we assume that the weight of the
members is neglected as it’s small compare with
the force it supports.
◻ It is assumed that all the joints are connected by
means of frictionless pins.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 FORCE ANALYSIS
◻ There are two common methods for analysis of trusses which
are Method of Joints & Method of Sections.
◻ Both methods are based on principles of static equilibrium.
■ Determinacy
◻ In order to compute all the unknown forces in the truss by
using the equilibrium equations the truss has to be statically
determined.
◻ To satisfy this condition, the number of unknown has to be
equal to the number of equilibrium equations
b + r = 2j statically determinate
b + r > 2j statically indeterminate
b + r < 2j Unstable
b is number of truss’s member
r is the number of support’s reactions
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 DETERMINACY
■ Classify each of the trusses shown as stable, unstable, statically determinate
or statically indeterminate.
For truss a
b=9,r=3,j=6
then b + r = 2j or 12 = 12
therefore the truss is statically determinate & stable.
For truss b
(a)
b=6,r=3,j=5
then b + r < 2j or 9 < 10
therefore the truss is unstable.
For truss c
b=6,r=3,j=4
then b + r > 2j or 9 > 8
therefore the truss is statically indeterminate & stable.
(b)
(c)
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 DEFINING A SIMPLE TRUSS (Section 6.1)

A truss is a structure composed of slender members joined together at

their end points.
If a truss, along with the imposed load, lies in a single plane
(as shown at the top right), then it is called a planar truss.
A simple truss is a planar truss which begins
with a 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
M = 2 J – 3.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 ANALYSIS and DESIGN 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.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS (Section 6.2)
■ The Method of Joints
◻ If a truss is in equilibrium, then each of its joints must also be
in equilibrium.
◻ The method of joints consists of satisfying the equilibrium
conditions & for the forces exerted on the
pin at each joint of the truss.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS (Section 6.2)

In this method of solving for the forces in truss members, the

equilibrium of a joint (pin) is considered. All forces acting at the
joint are shown in a FBD. This includes all external forces
(including support reactions) as well as the forces acting in the
members. Equations of equilibrium (∑ FX= 0 and ∑ FY = 0) are
used to solve for the unknown forces acting at the joints.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS (Section 6.2)

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 STEPS FOR ANALYSIS
1. If the support reactions are not given, draw a FBD of the
entire truss and determine all the support reactions using the
equations of equilibrium.
2. Draw the free-body diagram of a joint with one or two
unknowns. Assume that all unknown member forces act in
tension (pulling the pin) unless you can determine by
inspection that the forces are compression loads.
3. Apply the scalar equations of equilibrium, ∑ FX = 0 and
∑ FY = 0, to determine the unknown(s). If the answer is
positive, then the assumed direction (tension) is correct,
otherwise it is in the opposite direction (compression).
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 at each joint in succession until all the
required forces are determined.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS
■ Example 2
◻ Compute the force in each member.

The supports reactions

T=80 kN

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS
■ Example 2 … continued

Joint A

Joint B

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 THE METHOD OF JOINTS
■ Example 2 … continued

Joint C

Joint E

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 ZERO-FORCE MEMBERS (Section 6.3)

If a joint has only two non-colinear

members and there is no external
load or support reaction at that joint,
then those two members are
zero-force members. In this example
members DE, CD, AF, and AB are
zero force members.
You can easily prove these results by
applying the equations of
equilibrium to joints D and A.
Zero-force members can be
removed (as shown in the
figure) when analyzing the
truss.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 ZERO – FORCE MEMBERS (continued)
If three members form a truss joint for
which two of the members are collinear
and there is no external load or reaction at
that joint, then the third non-collinear
member is a zero force member.
Again, this can easily be proven. One can
also remove the zero-force member, as
shown, on the left, for analyzing the truss
further.
Please note that zero-force members
are used to increase stability and
rigidity of the truss, and to provide
support for various different loading
conditions.
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 ZERO-FORCE MEMBERS

Using the method of joints, determine all the zero-force members of the Fink
roof truss shown in Fig. 6-13a. Assume all joints are pin connected.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING
Given: P1 = 240 lb and
P2 = 100 lb
Find: Determine the force in all the
truss members (do not forget
to mention whether they are
in T or C).
Plan:
a) Check if there are any zero-force members.
b) Draw FBDs of pins D and B, and then apply EE at those pins to
solve for the unknowns.

Solution:
Members AB and AC are zero-force members.

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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
 SOLUTION (continued)
Y

FDC 240 lb
D
X
13 5
Analyzing pin D: FDB
12 100 lb

↑ + ∑FY = – 100 – (5 / 13) FDB = 0

FDB = – 260 lb (C)
→ + ∑ FX = 240 – FDC – (12 / 13) (– 260) = 0
FDC = 480 lb (T)
Y
FBC 260 lb
Analyzing pin B: 13 5

↑+ ∑ FY = FBC – (5 / 13) 260 = 0 12

X
B
BX
FBC = 100 lb (T)
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Lecture 11 Chapter 6: Structural Analysis
Thank you