Common Types of Trusses

 A truss is one of the major types of engineering structures which

provides a practical and economical solution for many engineering
constructions, especially in the design of bridges and buildings that
demand large spans.
 A truss is a structure composed of slender members joined together at
their end points
 The joint connections are usually formed by bolting or welding the ends
of the members to a common plate called gusset
 Planar trusses lie in a single plane & is often used to support roof or
bridges
 Common 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
 Common Types of Trusses
 Roof Trusses
 Common Types of Trusses
 Bridge Trusses
 The main structural elements of a typical
bridge truss are shown in figure. Here it
is seen that a 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
sidesway 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.
 Common Types of Trusses
 Bridge Trusses
 In particular, the Pratt, Howe, and
Warren trusses are normally used for
spans up to 61 m in length. The most
common form is the Warren truss with
verticals.
 For larger spans, a truss with a polygonal
upper cord, such as the Parker truss, is
used for some savings in material.
 The Warren truss with verticals can also
be fabricated in this manner for spans up
to 91 m.
 Common Types of Trusses
 Bridge Trusses
 The greatest economy of material is
obtained if the diagonals have a slope
between 45° and 60° with the
horizontal. If this rule is maintained,
then for spans greater than 91 m, the
depth of the truss must increase and
consequently the panels will get longer.
 This results in a heavy deck system and,
to keep the weight of the deck within
tolerable limits, subdivided trusses have
been developed. Typical examples
include the Baltimore and subdivided
Warren trusses.
 The K-truss shown can also be used in
place of a subdivided truss, since it
accomplishes the same purpose.
 Common Types of Trusses
 Assumptions for Design
 The members are joined together by smooth pins
 All loadings are applied at the joints

 Due to the 2 assumptions, each truss member acts as an

axial force member
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Simple , Compound or Complex Truss
 Simple Truss
 To prevent collapse, the framework of a truss must be rigid
 The simplest framework that is rigid or stable is a triangle
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Simple Truss
 The basic “stable” triangle element is ABC
 The remainder of the joints D, E & F are established in
alphabetical sequence
 Simple trusses do not have to consist entirely of triangles
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Compound Truss
 Itis formed by connecting 2 or more simple truss together
 Often, this type of truss is used to support loads acting over a
larger span as it is cheaper to construct a lighter compound
truss than a heavier simple truss
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Compound Truss
 Type 1
 The trusses may be connected by a common joint & bar
 Type 2
 The trusses may be joined by 3 bars
 Type 3
 Thetrusses may be joined where bars of a large simple truss, called
the main truss, have been substituted by simple truss, called
secondary trusses
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Compound Truss
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Complex Truss
A complex truss is one that cannot be classified as being either
simple or compound
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Determinacy
 The total number of unknowns includes the forces in b number
of bars of the truss and the total number of external support
reactions r.
 Since the truss members are all straight axial force members
lying in the same plane, the force system acting at each joint is
coplanar and concurrent.
 Consequently, rotational or moment equilibrium is automatically
satisfied at the joint (or pin).
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Determinacy
 Therefore only
 Fx  0 and  Fy  0

 Bycomparing the total unknowns with the total number of

available equilibrium equations, we have:

b  r  2 j statically determinate
b  r  2 j statically indeterminate
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Stability
 Ifb + r < 2j => collapse
 A truss can be unstable if it is statically determinate or
statically indeterminate
 Stability will have to be determined either through inspection
or by force analysis
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Stability
 External Stability
A structure is externally unstable if all of its reactions are concurrent
or parallel
 The trusses are externally unstable since the support reactions have
lines of action that are either concurrent or parallel
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Internal Stability
 The internal stability can be checked by careful inspection of the
arrangement of its members
 If it can be determined that each joint is held fixed so that it cannot
move in a “rigid body” sense with respect to the other joints, then the
truss will be stable
 A simple truss will always be internally stable
 If a truss is constructed so that it does not hold its joints in a fixed
position, it will be unstable or have a “critical form”
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Internal Stability
 To determine the internal stability of a compound truss, it is
necessary to identify the way in which the simple truss are connected
together
 The truss shown is unstable since the inner simple truss ABC is
connected to DEF using 3 bars which are concurrent at point O
 Classification of Coplanar Trusses
 Internal Stability
 Thus an external load can be applied at A, B or C & cause the truss
to rotate slightly
 For complex truss, it may not be possible to tell by inspection if it is
stable
 The instability of any form of truss may also be noticed by using a
computer to solve the 2j simultaneous equations for the joints of the
truss
 If inconsistent results are obtained, the truss is unstable or have a
critical form
 Example 3.1

Classify each of the trusses as stable, unstable, statically determinate or

statically indeterminate. The trusses are subjected to arbitrary external
loadings that are assumed to be known & can act anywhere on the trusses.
 Solution

For (a),
 Externally stable
 Reactions are not concurrent or parallel
 b = 19, r = 3, j = 11
 b + r =2j = 22
 Truss is statically determinate
 By inspection, the truss is internally stable
 Solution

For (b),
 Externally stable
 b = 15, r = 4, j = 9

 b + r = 19 >2j

 Truss is statically indeterminate

 By inspection, the truss is internally stable

 Solution

For (c),
 Externally stable
 b = 9, r = 3, j = 6

 b + r = 12 = 2j

 Truss is statically determinate

 By inspection, the truss is internally stable

 Solution

For (d),
 Externally stable
 b = 12, r = 3, j = 8

 b + r = 15 < 2j

 The truss is internally unstable

 Determination of the member forces

 The Method of Joints

 The Method of Sections (Ritter Method)
 The Graphical Method (Cremona Method)
 The Method of Joints
 Satisfying the equilibrium equations for the forces exerted
on the pin at each joint of the truss
 Applications of equations yields 2 algebraic equations
that can be solved for the 2 unknowns
 The Method of Joints
 Always assume the unknown member forces acting on the
joint’s free body diagram to be in tension
 Numerical solution of the equilibrium eqns will yield
positive scalars for members in tension & negative for
those in compression
 The correct sense of direction of an unknown member force
can in many cases be determined by inspection
 The Method of Joints
 A positive answer indicates that the sense is correct,
whereas a negative answer indicates that the sense shown
on the free-body diagram must be reversed