Instructor: Dr. Arafa S.

Sobh
• Assistant Professor
• Mechanical Engineering Department
• Faculty of Engineering
• Helwan University
Introduction
• For the equilibrium of structures made of several
connected parts, the internal forces as well the external
forces are considered.

• In the interaction between connected parts, Newton’s 3rd

Law states that the forces of action and reaction
between bodies in contact have the same magnitude,
same line of action, and opposite sense.

• Three categories of engineering structures are considered:

a) Frames: contain at least, member acted upon by 3 or
more forces.

b) Trusses: formed from two-force members, i.e.,

straight members with end point connections

c) Machines: structures containing moving parts

designed to transmit and modify forces.
Definition of a Truss
• A truss consists of straight members connected at
joints. No member is continuous through a joint.

• Most structures are made of several trusses joined

together to form a space framework. Each truss
carries those loads which act in its plane and may
be treated as a two-dimensional structure.

• Bolted or welded connections are assumed to be

pinned together. Forces acting at the member ends
reduce to a single force and no couple. Only two-
force members are considered.

• When forces tend to pull the member apart, it is in

tension. When the forces tend to compress the
member, it is in compression.

6-3
 TRUSS - INTRODUCTION
A truss is a structure composed of members
fastened together in such a way to resist change in
shape and it is rigid structure.

Triangular
unit
TRUSS – INTRODUCTION CONTINUE
Node External forces and reactions to those
forces are considered to act only at the
nodes.

Moments (torques) are explicitly

excluded because, and only because, all
the joints in a truss are treated as pin
joint or hinge joint .

Result in forces in the members

Tie strut which are either tensile or
compressive forces.
Static Determinacy 2D
A statically determinate structure is one that can be
mathematically solved.

m = 2j - R
J = Number of Joints
M = Number of Members
R = Number of Reactions
 PLANE TRUSS VS SPACE TRUSS
Plane Truss Space Truss
All member of truss and applied load An elementary space truss consists
lie in a same plane. of 6 members connected at 4 joints to
form a tetrahedron.
In a simple truss, m = 2n - 3 where In a simple space truss, m = 3n - 6
m is the total number of members and where m is the number of members and
n is the number of joints. n is the number of joints.
 Truss Determinacy Formula for planar

m= 2n – 3 →for determinacy

„m = Number of truss bars or members

„n = Number of joints

m > 2n -3 →indeterminate

m < 2n -3 →unstable
Statically Indeterminate
B
Did you notice
the two pinned
connections?
A C
D

FD = 500 lb
A truss is considered statically indeterminate when the
static equilibrium equations are not sufficient to find the
reactions on that structure. There are simply too many
unknowns.
Try It
2J = M + R
Statically Determinate
B Is the truss
statically
determinate
now?
A C
D
FD = 500 lb
A truss is considered statically determinate when the
static equilibrium equations can be used to find the
reactions on that structure.
Try It 2J = M + R
Static Determinacy Example

Each side of the main street bridge in Brockport, NY has 19

joints, 35 members, and three reaction forces (pin and roller),
making it a statically determinate truss.

2J  M  R What if these

2 19   35  3
numbers were
different?

38  38
Analysis for Truss
Assumptions:
All members are perfectly straight.
All loads are applied at the joints.
All joints are pinned and frictionless.
Each member has no weight.
Members can only experience tension or
compression forces.
ROOF TRUSS TERMINOLOGY
ROOF TRUSS TYPE
BRIDGE TRUSS TERMINOLOGY
BRIDGE TRUSS TYPE
 Some renowned Trussed Structures

Eifel Tower
 Planar trusses: planar trusses lie in a
single plane and are often used to
support roofs and bridges.
In roof trusses, the roof load is
transmitted to the truss at the joints by
means of a series of purlins.
 Truss problems
Some important notes:
•When a force (F) is applied at the center of a
member of the truss, it must be divided into two
equal forces (F1 & F2) where: F1= F2= F/2 and F1& F2
are applied at the ends of the member as shown in
the following figure:
 Assumptions for design:
To design both the members and the connections of a
truss, it is first necessary to determine the force
developed in each member when the truss is
subjected to a given loading. In this regard, these
assumptions will be made:
1- Loads are applied at end points only.
2- Weight of the elements is neglected.
3- Elements are joined by pins only.
4- Axial loads only: if the force tends to elongate the
member, it is a tensile force; whereas if it tends to
shorten the member, it is a compressive force.
•When a force (F) is applied along the member but
not at the center, it is divided as follows:
•We will assume all the internal forces to be in
tension then after solving the problem, the
positive forces are tension and the minus forces
are compression.
•It is required to calculate the internal forces in
each member of the truss and state if the
members are in tension or compression using
two methods:
•Joints or nodes method. b) Sections
method.
Special cases:
•Zero force members:
When you look to the truss you can determine them as follows:

•Four members each pair are on the same straight line:

The previous two special cases can be proved by applying equilibrium on the forces.
 How to solve truss problems:
•Draw the free body diagram.
•Calculate the external forces and support reactions.
•For the method of nodes:
•Choose a node whose number of unknown forces
doesn’t exceed two then study its equilibrium using
static equilibrium equations to determine these
forces: ∑Fx=0 & ∑Fy=0 & ∑M=0
•Go to the next node and study its equilibrium using
the evaluated forces from the previous node then go
to the next node and so on.
•For the method of sections:
•Take an imaginary section to cut the truss into two
pieces in condition that the number of unknown
forces doesn’t exceed three.
•Apply equilibrium equations on one piece of the
truss
∑Fx=0 & ∑Fy=0 & ∑M=0
•After determining all the forces, the positive forces
are tension and the minus forces are compression.
26
27
28
29
30
31
Sample Problem
SOLUTION:
• Take the entire truss as a free body.
Apply the conditions for static equilib-rium
to solve for the reactions at A and L.

 M A  0  5 m 6 kN   10 m 6 kN   15 m 6 kN 

 20 m 1 kN   25 m 1 kN   25 m L
L  7.5 kN 
 Fy  0  20 kN  L  A
A  12.5 kN 

6 - 32
 • Pass a section through members FH, GH, and GI
and take the right-hand section as a free body.

• Apply the conditions for static equilibrium to

determine the desired member forces.

MH  0
7.50 kN 10 m   1 kN 5 m   FGI 5.33 m   0
FGI  13.13 kN
FGI  13.13 kN T

6 - 33
 FG 8 m
tan     0.5333   28.07
GL 15 m
 MG  0
7.5 kN 15 m   1 kN 10 m   1 kN 5 m 
  FFH cos 8 m   0
FFH  13.82 kN
FFH  13.82 kN C

GI 5m
tan   2  0.9375   43.15
HI
3
8 m 
ML  0
1 kN 10 m   1 kN 5 m   FGH cos  10 m   0
FGH  1.371 kN
FGH  1.371 kN C
6 - 34
 4 5 6

4m

1 2 3
2x4m=8m
 4 5 6

4m

1 2 3
2x4m=8m

SECTION 1-1
 4
F4-5

F4-2*cos(45)
4m

F4-2
F4-2*sin(45)

1 F1-2

SECTION 1-1
 4
F4-5

4m

F4-2

1 F1-2
2

SECTION 1-1
 4
F4-5

4m

F4-2

1 F1-2

SECTION 1-1
 4 5 6

4m

1 2 3
2x4m=8m

SECTION 2-2
 SECTION 2-2

4 F4-5

4m

1 2
 Section 1-1 4t 4t

4t 4t A
4t
2x2m=4m F3
F1 F3

B
F2
4 x 4 m = 16 m. F2
6.5 t Section 2-2 5.5 t 6.5 t Section 1-1

MA = 0  We get
F1 force F2
MB = 0  We get
force F3

F2
Section 2-2

Y = 0  We get
force F1
 8t

F3
Section 2-2
2t

2m
2t

F1 F2

2m
3.75 t 4.25 t

4 x 4 m. = 16 m.
Section 1-1

F3
F1
Y = 0  We get
force F2 F2

Section 1-1
A 4.25 t
Y = 0  We get MA = 0  We get
force F1 force F3
Section 2-2
F1 = Zero Member
 4t
F2
Section 1-1 2t

F2
2 m.
F3
F3
2 m. A
F1 B
2t
11 t 5t

11 t 5t 10 t 5t 13 t Section 1-1
4x2m=8m
Section 2-2 MA = 0  We get
force F3
MB = 0  We get
F1
force F2
Y = 0  We get
force F1
5t
F1 = 5 t (T)
Section 2-2
 Section 4-4 Section 3-3
4t 4t 4t 4t
2t F4

F3
Section 1-1 3m
F2
1t F1

10 t Section 2-2 10 t 19 t 3m
3t

17 t
5 x 3 m = 15 m F4
2t

4t 4t
1t F1

1t F3
F1 10 t
F2
3t

10 t 19 t 17 t
Section 1-1 Section 2-2 Section 3-3 Section 4-4
 8t 4t

11 t 6t 7t
Example# 1:
mark zero members for the truss shown below

5t 5 (C) 5 (C)

5t
4m

5t

5t
4m 4m
Example# 2:
mark zero members for the truss shown below

5t

5 (C) 4m

4m 4m

5t
Example# 3:
mark zero members for the truss shown below

5t
5 (T) 5 (T)

5t
4m

4m 10 t 4m
Example# 4:
mark zero members for the truss shown below

5t 5t
1 (T) 3.5 (T)
4t
3.5 t
7.5 (C) 4m
5t

4t
4m 18.5 t 4m