Chapter 3 - Structural Theory
Chapter 3 - Structural Theory
Chapter 3 - Structural Theory
CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS OF STATICALLY DETERMINATE TRUSSES
- 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
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.”