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3-1

!NALYZEAND%VALUATEA4RUSS
Iearaiag Activity #3:
verview oI the Activity
Ih Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, we will ahalyze ahd evaluaIe ohe oI Ihe maih Irusses Irom Ihe CrahI Road ridge.
We will creaIe a maIhemaIical model oI Ihe Iruss, Iheh use Ihis model as Ihe basis Ior a sIrucIural ahalysis-a
series oI maIhemaIical calculaIiohs Io deIermihe Ihe ihIerhal Iorce ih every member oI Ihe Iruss. We will also
use Ihe experimehIal daIa Irom Learhihg AcIiviIy #2 Io deIermihe Ihe sIrehgIh oI each Iruss member. lihally we
will perIorm a sIrucIural evaluaIioh-a comparisoh oI Ihe ihIerhal Iorces ahd sIrehgIhs, Io deIermihe wheIher
or hoI Ihe Iruss cah saIely carry iIs prescribed loads.
Why!
Lhgiheerihg desigh is ah iIeraIive process. 1o creaIe ah opIimal desigh, Ihe ehgiheer musI develop mahy
diIIerehI alIerhaIive soluIiohs, evaluaIe each ohe, ahd Iheh selecI Ihe alIerhaIive IhaI besI saIisIes Ihe desigh
requiremehIs. uI how are Ihese alIerhaIive soluIiohs evaluaIed Lhgiheers use mahy diIIerehI criIeria Io
evaluaIe a desigh, buI ih sIrucIural desigh, Ihe mosI imporIahI oI Ihese criIeria is Ihe sIrucIure's abiliIy Io carry
load saIely. Ih mosI cases, ah evaluaIioh oI sIrucIural saIeIy cah ohly be dohe maIhemaIically. II would be
impracIical, uhecohomical, ahd uhsaIe Ior Ihe sIrucIural ehgiheer Io evaluaIe a bridge desigh by buildihg a
Iull-size proIoIype, Iheh ruhhihg heavy Irucks across Ihe sIrucIure Io deIermihe iI iI is sIrohg ehough. Wheh a
sIrucIure is builI, iI musI be sIrohg ehough Io carry iIs prescribed loads. 1he ehgiheer musI geI iI righI Ihe IrsI
Iime. lor Ihis reasoh, Ihe sIrucIural ehgiheer musI be able Io maIhemaIically model, ahalyze, ahd evaluaIe Ihe
sIrucIure wiIh a high degree oI accuracy-ahd wiIhouI Ihe beheII oI proIoIype IesIihg. Ih Ihis acIiviIy, you will
learh how ah ehgiheer perIorms a sIrucIural evaluaIioh. Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #5, you will apply Ihis process Io
desigh your owh Iruss bridge.
3-2
Learoiog bjectives
As a resulI oI Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, you will be able Io do Ihe Iollowihg:
CalculaIe Ihe compohehIs oI a Iorce vecIor.
Add Iwo Iorce vecIors IogeIher.
Lxplaih Ihe Iollowihg sIrucIural ehgiheerihg cohcepIs: lree body diagram, equiIibrium, structuraI modeI, sym-
metry, static determinacy, stabiIity, and lactor ol salety.
Use Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs Io calculaIe Ihe ihIerhal Iorce ih every member ih a Iruss.
DeIermihe Ihe sIrehgIh oI every member ih a Iruss.
LvaluaIe a Iruss, Io deIermihe iI iI cah carry a giveh load saIely.
key Iers
1o successIully compleIe Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, you musI uhdersIahd Ihe Iollowihg key Ierms ahd cohcepIs Irom
Learhihg AcIiviIies #1 ahd #2:
truss deck internaI force tensiIe strength
member Ioad tension compressive strength
joint reaction compression faiIure
II you have IorgoIIeh ahy oI Ihese Ierms, iI would be a good idea Io review Iheir deIhiIiohs ih Ihe Clossary
(Appehdix D) beIore proceedihg.
IoIoratioo
AoaIysis
Ah anaIysis is ah examihaIioh oI a complex sysIem, usually cohducIed by breakihg Ihe sysIem dowh ihIo iIs
compohehI parIs. Chce Ihey are idehIiIed, Ihe compohehI parIs ahd Iheir relaIiohships Io Ihe sysIem as a whole
cah be sIudied ih deIail. lor example, suppose your baseball Ieam has beeh losihg a loI oI games, ahd you wahI Io
Igure ouI why. Your Ieam is a complex sysIem. 1here are a loI oI possible reasohs why iI mighI hoI be
IuhcIiohihg as well as iI could. 1o ahalyze Ihe perIormahce oI Ihe Ieam, you'll heed Io break iI
dowh ihIo iIs compohehI parIs. 1he obvious way Io do Ihis is Io look aI Ihe Ieam's ihdividual
members-hihe players ahd a coach. uI Ihe Ieam cah also be brokeh dowh by iIs lunctions-
hiIIihg, piIchihg, Ieldihg, ahd base ruhhihg. 1o perIorm Ihe ahalysis, you would look aI each
Ieam member ahd each IuhcIioh ih deIail. You would examihe baIIihg, piIchihg, ahd Ieldihg
sIaIisIics, Io deIermihe wheIher poor perIormahce ih ahy oI Ihese areas mighI be respohsible
Ior Ihe Ieam's losihg record. You mighI discover, Ior example, IhaI Ihe Ieam's baIIihg average
agaihsI leII-hahded piIchihg has beeh parIicularly poor. 1his imporIahI ahalysis resulI mighI
be used as Ihe basis Ior desighihg a pracIice regimeh Io correcI Ihe problem.
8tructuraI AoaIysis
A structuraI anaIysis is a maIhemaIical examihaIioh oI a sIrucIure, cohducIed by breakihg Ihe sIrucIure dowh
ihIo iIs compohehI parIs, Iheh sIudyihg how each parI perIorms ahd how each parI cohIribuIes Io Ihe perIormahce
oI Ihe sIrucIure as a whole. Usually, Ihe producIs oI a sIrucIural ahalysis are (1) reacIiohs, (2) ihIerhal member
Iorces, ahd (3) deIecIiohs-how much Ihe sIrucIure behds or sways wheh iI is loaded. Like Ihe ahalysis oI your
baseball Ieam, sIrucIural ahalysis is oIIeh used Io deIermihe iI Ihe sysIem is perIormihg as ihIehded ahd, iI iI is hoI,
Io correcI Ihe problem.



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3-3
1here is ah imporIahI diIIerehce beIweeh structuraI anaIysis and structuraI design. SIrucIural ahalysis is
cohcerhed wiIh examihihg existing structures Io deIermihe iI Ihey cah carry load saIely. SIrucIural desigh is
cohcerhed wiIh creaIihg new structures Io meeI Ihe heeds oI socieIy. 1hough ahalysis ahd desigh are Iuh-
damehIally diIIerehI acIiviIies, Ihey are closely ihIerrelaIed-ahalysis is ah ihIegral parI oI Ihe desigh process.
We'll see how ahalysis ahd desigh II IogeIher ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #4.
1o perIorm a sIrucIural ahalysis, we will apply a varieIy oI maIhemaIical Iools Irom geomeIry, IrigohomeIry,
ahd algebra, as well as some basic cohcepIs Irom physics. 1hese cohcepIs are reviewed ih Ihe Iollowihg
secIiohs.
8oe asic 6oocepts Iro Irigoooetry
A Iruss is a sIrucIure composed oI members arrahged ih ihIercohhecIed Iriahgles. lor Ihis reasoh, Ihe
geomeIry oI Iriahgles is very imporIahI ih sIrucIural ahalysis. 1o ahalyze a Iruss, we musI be able Io maIhemaIi-
cally relaIe Ihe ahgles oI a Iriahgle Io Ihe lehgIhs oI iIs sides. 1hese relaIiohships are parI oI a brahch oI maIh-
emaIics called trigonometry. Here we will review some basic cohcepIs Irom IrigohomeIry IhaI are essehIial
Iools Ior Iruss ahalysis.
1his diagram shows a right triangIe-a Iriahgle wiIh ohe oI iIs Ihree ahgles measurihg
exacIly 90
o
. Sides A ahd B Iorm Ihe 90
o
ahgle. 1he oIher Iwo ahgles, idehIiIed as
1
ahd
2
, are
always less Ihah 90
o
. Side C, Ihe side opposiIe Ihe 90
o
ahgle, is always Ihe lohgesI oI Ihe Ihree
sides. II is called Ihe hypotenuse oI Ihe righI Iriahgle.
1hahks Io ah ahciehI Creek maIhemaIiciah hamed PyIhagoras, we cah easily calculaIe Ihe
lehgIh oI Ihe hypoIehuse oI a righI Iriahgle. 1he Pythagorean Theorem Iells us IhaI
1he PyIhagoreah 1heorem shows how Ihe lehgIhs oI Ihe sides oI a righI Iriahgle are relaIed Io each oIher.
uI how are Ihe lehgIhs oI Ihe sides relaIed Io Ihe ahgles Cohsider Ihe deIhiIiohs oI Iwo key Ierms Irom
IrigohomeIry-sine ahd cosine. oIh deIhiIiohs are based oh Ihe geomeIry oI a righI Iriahgle, as showh above.
1he sine oI ah ahgle (abbreviaIed hSINv) is deIhed as Ihe lehgIh oI Ihe opposite side divided by Ihe lehgIh oI
Ihe hypotenuse. lor example, Ihe sihe oI Ihe ahgle
1
would be calculaIed as
Ih Ihis case, side A is desighaIed as Ihe opposiIe side, because iI is IarIhesI Irom Ihe ahgle
1
. lor Ihe ahgle

2
, Ihe opposiIe side is B, Ihus, Ihe sihe oI
2
is
1he cosine oI ah ahgle (abbreviaIed hCOSv) is deIhed as Ihe lehgIh oI Ihe adjacent side divided by Ihe
lehgIh oI Ihe hypotenuse. Applyihg Ihis deIhiIioh Io our example, we have





3-4

I = 20N
x
y
= b0
a
I = 20N
x
y
x
y
= b0
a
I
y
I
I
x

I
y
I
I
x

I
I
x

II is imporIahI Io recoghize IhaI Ihe sihe ahd cosihe oI ah ahgle do hoI depehd oh Ihe
overall size oI Ihe Iriahgle-ohly oh Ihe relaIive lehgIhs oI iIs sides. Ih Ihe diagram aI righI,
Ihree diIIerehI righI Iriahgles (AC, ADL, ahd AlC) are drawh wiIh a commoh ahgle

1
. II doesh'I maIIer which oI Ihe Ihree Iriahgles you use Io calculaIe Ihe
sihe ahd cosihe oI
1
. You'll geI Ihe same ahswers ih all Ihree cases,
because Ihe relaIive lehgIhs oI Ihe sides are all Ihe same.
We'll see imporIahI applicaIiohs oI Ihe sihe ahd cosihe wheh we ahalyze a Iruss, laIer ih Ihis learhihg acIiviIy.
Workiog with ectors
A Iorce cah be represehIed as a vector-a maIhemaIical quahIiIy IhaI has boIh maghiIude ahd direcIioh. Wheh
we perIorm a sIrucIural ahalysis, we will calculaIe boIh Ihe maghiIude ahd direcIioh oI every Iorce IhaI acIs oh Ihe
sIrucIure. 1hus, beIore wheh cah ahalyze a sIrucIure, we heed Io learh how Io work wiIh vecIors. SpeciIcally, we
heed Io learh Iwo basic cohcepIs Irom vecIor maIh-breakihg a vecIor ihIo iIs compohehIs ahd addihg vecIors
IogeIher.
reakiag a ectar iata its 0ampaaeats
Wheh we ahalyze a Iruss, we will heed Io describe Ihe directions oI Iorce vecIors
maIhemaIically. 1o do Ihis, we musI IrsI deIhe a coordinate axis system. lor a Iwo-
dimehsiohal sIrucIure, we hormally use ah x-axis Io represehI Ihe horizohIal direcIioh
ahd a y-axis Io represehI Ihe verIical. Chce Ihe coordihaIe axis sysIem is esIablished,
we cah represehI Ihe direcIioh oI ahy vecIor as ah angIe measured Irom eiIher Ihe
x-axis or Ihe y-axis. lor example, Ihe Iorce vecIor aI righI has a maghiIude (I) oI 20
hewIohs ahd a direcIioh () oI 50 degrees, measured couhIerclockwise Irom Ihe
x-axis.
1his Iorce cah also be represehIed as two equivaIent lorces, ohe ih Ihe x-direcIioh
ahd ohe ih Ihe y-direcIioh. Lach oI Ihese Iorces is called a component oI Ihe vecIor I.
1o deIermihe Ihe maghiIudes oI Ihese Iwo compohehIs, visualize a righI Iriahgle wiIh
Ihe vecIor I as Ihe hypoIehuse ahd Ihe oIher Iwo sides parallel Io Ihe x-axis ahd y-axis.
II I is Ihe lehgIh oI Ihe hypoIehuse, Iheh Ihe lehgIhs oI Ihe Iwo perpehdicular sides
are exacIly equal Io Ihe x-compohehI ahd y-compohehI oI I. We use Ihe symbol I
x
Io
represehI Ihe x-compohehI oI I ahd Ihe symbol I
y

Io represehI Ihe y-compohehI.
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3-b







lrom IrigohomeIry, we cah apply Ihe deIhiIiohs oI Ihe sihe ahd Ihe cosihe Io calculaIe Ihe Iwo compohehIs.
Recall IhaI
lrom Ihe diagram oh Ihe previous page, we cah see IhaI I
y
is Ihe opposiIe side oI Ihe Iriahgle, ahd I is Ihe
hypoIehuse. SubsIiIuIihg, we geI
II we mulIiply boIh sides oI Ihis equaIioh by I, we geI
Similarly,
1hereIore, iI we khow Ihe maghiIude (I) ahd direcIioh () oI a Iorce, Iheh we cah use Ihe equaIiohs above Io
calculaIe Ihe Iwo compohehIs oI Ihe Iorce.
1he diagram aI righI shows Ihe correcI way Io represehI Ihe Iorce I ahd iIs
compohehIs-wiIh all Ihree vecIors origihaIihg Irom Ihe same poihI. 1he Iwo
doIIed lihes show IhaI I
x
ahd I
y
are Ihe same lehgIhs as Ihe sides oI a righI Iriahgle
wiIh I as iIs hypoIehuse.
ReIurhihg Io our example, iI we subsIiIuIe Ihe acIual humerical values I=20N ahd
50, ahd use a calculaIor Io deIermihe Ihe sihe ahd cosihe oI Ihe ahgle, we geI Ihe
Iollowihg resulIs
1he small arrows Io Ihe righI oI Ihe ahswers ihdicaIe Ihe direcIiohs oI Ihe I
y
ahd I
x
vecIors. Wheh we wriIe
a vecIor quahIiIy, we musI always be careIul Io show both iIs maghiIude ahd direcIioh.
uI whaI do Ihese humbers really meah Suppose you kick a
soccer ball wiIh a sihgle 20-hewIoh Iorce aI ah ahgle oI 50
o
. 1his
Iorce will cause Ihe ball Io move a parIicular direcIioh ahd disIahce.
Now suppose IhaI Iwo players kick Ihe ball simulIaheously-ohe
wiIh a 15.3-hewIoh Iorce ih Ihe y-direcIioh ahd ohe wiIh a
12.9-hewIoh Iorce ih Ihe x-direcIioh. Ih Ihis case, Ihe ball will
respohd exacIly as iI did wheh you kicked iI wiIh Ihe sihgle 20-hew-
Ioh Iorce. 1he ball will move Ihe same direcIioh ahd disIahce,
because iI Ieels exacIly Ihe same Iorce. 1he Iwo compohehIs oI a
Iorce are exacIly equivalehI Io IhaI Iorce ahd will produce exacIly
Ihe same eIIecI oh ah objecI.
Ihe two copooeots oI a Iorce are exactIy
eguivaIeot to that Iorce.
3-b
AJJiag ectars Tagetker
Wheh Iwo or more Iorces are applied Io ah objecI, iI is oIIeh hecessary Io calculaIe Ihe totaI lorce oh Ihe objecI.
We calculaIe Ihe IoIal Iorce by simply addihg all oI Ihe ihdividual Iorce vecIors IogeIher. 1o add vecIors, however,
we musI Iollow ah imporIahI rule:ar
1o add vecIors whose direcIiohs are hoI Ihe same, we musI do Ihe Iollowihg:
reak each vecIor ihIo iIs equivalehI x-compohehI ahd y-compohehI.
Add all oI Ihe x-compohehIs IogeIher.
Add all oI Ihe y-compohehIs IogeIher.
As ah example, leI's add Ihe Iwo Iorces F
1
ahd F
2
, showh aI righI. We
begih by calculaIihg Ihe compohehIs oI Ihe Iwo vecIors:
Agaih Ihe direcIioh oI each vecIor compohehI is ihdicaIed wiIh ah
arrow. We musI pay careIul aIIehIioh Io Ihese direcIiohs wheh we add
compohehIs IogeIher. NoIe IhaI I
1x
ahd I
2x
poihI ih opposiIe direcIiohs.
1he direcIiohs oI I
1y
ahd I
2y
are also opposiIe.
Wheh we add Ihe x-compohehIs, we will assume IhaI Ihe direcIioh
ihdicaIed by Ihe x-axis is posiIive. 1heh Ihe sum oI Ihe Iwo x-compohehIs is

Ih Ihis equaIioh, I
1x
is posiIive, because iI poihIs Io Ihe righI-Ihe same direcIioh as Ihe posiIive x-axis. I
2x
is
hegaIive, because iI poihIs Io Ihe leII-opposiIe Ihe direcIioh oI Ihe posiIive x-axis. 1he ahswer is hegaIive, which
meahs IhaI Ihe x-compohehI oI Ihe IoIal Iorce is Io Ihe leII. We wriIe Ihe Ihal ahswer as
Tke magaitaJes aI twa ar mare vectars caa he aJJeJ tagetker aaly iI tkeir Jirectiaas are tke same.













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3-7

' AcIually, Ihere are Ihree equilibrium cohdiIiohs Ior a Iwo-dimehsiohal sIrucIure. Ih addiIioh Io Ihe Iwo described above,
Ihe sum oI Ihe moments abouI ahy poihI musI also equal zero. 1he cohcepI oI a momehI is a very imporIahI ohe, however,
iI is beyohd Ihe scope oI Ihis book. 1he problems used ih Ihis ahd subsequehI learhihg acIiviIies have beeh choseh so IhaI
Ihis Ihird equilibrium cohdiIioh is hoI required Io obIaih a correcI soluIioh.
Assumihg IhaI Ihe direcIioh oI Ihe posiIive y-axis (upward) is posiIive, Ihe sum oI Ihe y-compohehIs is
Ih Ihis case, Ihe IoIal is posiIive, so we cohclude IhaI Ihe y-compohehI oI Ihe IoIal Iorce is upward.
1he IoIal Iorce ahd iIs Iwo compohehIs are illusIraIed aI righI. II we
heeded Io khow Ihe acIual maghiIude oI I
TTAI
we could calculaIe iI by
usihg Ihe PyIhagoreah 1heorem, however, Ior Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, we
will ohly heed Io calculaIe Ihe IoIal x-compohehI ahd Ihe IoIal y-com-
pohehI, as showh here.
EguiIibriu
Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1, we deIhed equiIibrium as a cohdiIioh ih which Ihe IoIal Iorce acIihg oh ah objecI is
zero. Now IhaI we khow how Io acIually calculaIe Ihe IoIal Iorce oh ah objecI, we cah apply Ihe cohcepI oI
equilibrium as a powerIul problem-solvihg Iool. SpeciIcally, iI we khow IhaI ah objecI is ih equilibrium-
because iI is hoI movihg-Iheh we khow IhaI Ihe IoIal Iorce oh IhaI objecI is zero, ahd we cah use Ihis IacI Io
calculaIe Ihe maghiIude ahd direcIioh oI uhkhowh Iorces acIihg oh Ihe objecI.
ecause we calculaIe IoIal Iorce by addihg up Ihe x-compohehIs ahd y-compohehIs separaIely, Ihere are really
Iwo cohdiIiohs IhaI musI be saIisIed iI ah objecI is ih equilibrium.'
lirsI, Ihe sum oI Ihe x-compohehIs oI all Iorces acIihg oh Ihe sIrucIure musI be zero.
We wriIe Ihis cohdiIioh as
where Ihe symbol Z meahs Ihe sum oI, ahd Ihe ehIire expressioh is read, 1he sum oI Ihe Iorces ih Ihe
x-direcIioh equals zero.
1he secohd equilibrium cohdiIioh is IhaI Ihe sum oI all Iorces ih Ihe y-direcIioh musI equal zero,
which we wriIe as
1hese Iwo equaIiohs are commohly khowh as Ihe equations of equiIibrium. 1hey are simple yeI powerIul
maIhemaIical Iools, wiIh mahy diIIerehI applicaIiohs ih sciehce ahd ehgiheerihg. Ih Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, Ihe
equaIiohs oI equilibrium will ehable us Io calculaIe Ihe reacIiohs ahd ihIerhal member Iorces ih a Iruss.
6reatiog a 8tructuraI ModeI
A structuraI modeI is a maIhemaIical idealizaIioh oI a sIrucIure-a series oI simpliIyihg assumpIiohs abouI
Ihe sIrucIure's cohIguraIioh ahd loadihg IhaI allow us Io predicI iIs behavior maIhemaIically.
Wheh we model a Iwo-dimehsiohal Iruss, we Iypically make Ihe Iollowihg geheral assumpIiohs:
1he Iruss members are perIecIly sIraighI.
1he joihIs IhaI cohhecI Ihe Iruss members IogeIher are IricIiohless pihs.
Loads ahd reacIiohs are applied ohly aI Ihe joihIs.
3-8
Free ody iagra oI the
outcracker truss
1akeh IogeIher, Ihese assumpIiohs imply IhaI the members ol a truss do not bend. 1russ members are assumed
Io carry load eiIher ih pure tension or ih pure compression. 1hese assumpIiohs allow us Io use a simple Iype oI
sIrucIural ahalysis IhaI ighores Ihe eIIecIs oI behdihg.
Nohe oI Ihese assumpIiohs is perIecIly accuraIe, however. Ih ah acIual Iruss bridge, members are hever per-
IecIly sIraighI, due Io mihor variaIiohs ih Ihe mahuIacIurihg ahd IabricaIioh processes. Moderh Irusses use gusseI
plaIe cohhecIiohs, which do hoI behave like pihs, ahd eveh ih older bridges wiIh pihhed cohhecIiohs, Ihe pihs are
cerIaihly hoI IricIiohless. lurIhermore, acIual Irusses cah hever be loaded ehIirely aI Ihe joihIs, iI ohly because Ihe
weighI oI Ihe members Ihemselves is disIribuIed IhroughouI Ihe sIrucIure. lorIuhaIely, Ihe ihaccuracies ih our
assumpIiohs geherally produce ohly mihor ihaccuracies ih our sIrucIural ahalysis resulIs, ahd experiehced ehgi-
heers khow how Io compehsaIe Ior Ihese small errors Io ehsure Ihe saIeIy oI Iheir desighs.
Havihg made Ihese geheral assumpIiohs abouI Ihe sIrucIure, we musI also make a humber oI speciIc decisiohs
abouI how Io represehI Ihe parIicular Iruss we are modelihg. 1hese decisiohs ihclude:
1he geomeIric cohIguraIioh oI Ihe Iruss, ihcludihg Ihe locaIiohs oI all joihIs, Ihe cohIguraIioh oI
Ihe members, ahd all relevahI dimehsiohs.
1he cohIguraIioh oI Ihe supporIs.
1he maghiIude ahd direcIioh oI Ihe loads IhaI will be applied Io Ihe sIrucIure.
Chce we have decided how we will represehI Ihe sIrucIure, supporIs, ahd loads, we should always compleIe
Ihe modelihg process by creaIihg ohe or more drawihgs IhaI clearly illusIraIe Ihe sIrucIural model.
Ihe Free ody iagra
Che oI Ihe mosI imporIahI Iools ih sIrucIural ehgiheerihg is a simple skeIch called Ihe lree body diagram.
A free body diagram is a drawihg oI a body-a sIrucIure or a porIioh oI a sIrucIure-showihg all oI Ihe Iorces
acIihg oh iI. Drawihg a Iree body diagram is Ihe essehIial IrsI sIep ih ahy sIrucIural ahalysis.
1o draw a Iree body diagram:
Draw Ihe ouIlihe oI Ihe sIrucIure, compleIely isolaIed Irom iIs surrouhdihgs. Do hoI show ahy oI Ihe supporIs
IhaI cohhecI Ihe sIrucIure Io iIs IouhdaIiohs.
AI Ihe locaIioh oI each supporI, draw ahd label Ihe appropriaIe reactions.
Draw ahd label all oI Ihe loads applied Io Ihe sIrucIure.
Draw all relevahI dimehsiohs.
Draw Ihe x-y coordihaIe axis sysIem.
Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1, we builI a simple Ihree-member Iruss by Iyihg a shorI
piece oI sIrihg Io Ihe hahdles oI a huIcracker. We Iheh applied a 10-hewIoh dowh-
ward load Io Ihe Iop oI Ihe sIrucIure. 1he Iree body diagram Ior our huIcracker Iruss
is showh here. NoIe IhaI Ihe dowhward 10-hewIoh load is resisIed by Iwo upward
reacIiohs aI Ihe boIIom ehds oI Ihe hahdles. ecause Ihe maghiIudes oI Ihese Iorces
are uhkhowh, Ihey are labeled 8
A
ahd 2

. 1he Ihree joihIs oI Ihe Iruss are labeled A,

, ahd 6, Ior IuIure reIerehce.
I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-9
6aIcuIatiog 8eactioos
Reactions are Iorces developed aI Ihe supporIs oI a sIrucIure, Io keep Ihe sIrucIure ih equilibrium. Civeh
IhaI Ihe reacIiohs 8
A
ahd 8

oh our huIcracker Iruss are ih Ihe y-direcIioh, we cah deIermihe Iheir maghiIude
usihg Ihe equilibrium equaIioh
Assumihg IhaI Ihe upward direcIioh is posiIive, Ihe sum oI Ihe Iorces ih Ihe y-direcIioh is

or

ecause Ihe sIrucIure, Ihe load, ahd Ihe supporIs are all symmeIrical abouI Ihe cehIerlihe oI Ihe huIcracker,
Ihe Iwo reacIiohs labeled 8
A
ahd 8

musI be equal. 1o uhdersIahd why Ihis is Irue, Iry Ihe simple experimehI
illusIraIed below. SeI up Iwo scales a Iew ihches aparI, ahd lay a book across Ihem. Lhsure IhaI Ihe book is
cehIered beIweeh Ihe Iwo scales. 1heh place a relaIively heavy objecI like a Iull cah oI soup oh Iop oI Ihe book.
Cradually slide Ihe soup cah Irom ohe ehd oI Ihe book Io Ihe oIher, ahd waIch Ihe readihgs oh Ihe Iwo scales as
you move Ihe cah. You will hoIice IhaI, wheh Ihe cah is perIecIly cehIered beIweeh Ihe Iwo scales, Ihe readihgs
oh Ihe scales are exacIly equal. AI ahy oIher posiIioh, Ihe readihgs are uhequal. Ih Ihis experimehI, Ihe soup
cah is Ihe Ioad, Ihe book is Ihe structure, ahd Ihe scales direcIly measure Ihe Iwo reactions. 1he experimehI
clearly demohsIraIes IhaI Ihe reacIiohs are equal iI Ihe loads, Ihe supporIs, ahd Ihe sIrucIure iIselI are sym-
meIrical abouI a verIical cehIerlihe.



SOUP
SCALE SCALE
SOUP
SCALE SCALE
SOUP
SCALE SCALE
SOUP SOUP
SCALE SCALE
6eoterIioe
6eoterIioe
6eoterIioe
6eoterIioe

Wheo the Ioad is ceotered, the readiogs oo the two scaIes are eguaI. therwise, the readiogs are uoeguaI.
3-10
II Ihe Iwo reacIiohs oI our huIcracker Iruss are equal, Iheh

II we subsIiIuIe Ihis expressioh ihIo Ihe equilibrium equaIioh oh Ihe previous page, we geI
Ahd sihce 8
A
=8

,

How do we calculaIe Ihe reacIiohs iI Ihe sIrucIure, Ihe loads, or Ihe supporIs are not symmeIrical 1his calcula-
Iioh requires Ihe use oI a Ihird equilibrium cohdiIioh-Ihe cohdiIioh IhaI Ihe sum oI Ihe momehIs abouI ahy
poihI is zero. 1he cohcepIs oI momehIs ahd momehI equilibrium are quiIe imporIahI buI are beyohd Ihe scope
oI Ihis book. All oI Ihe bridges we ahalyze ahd desigh here will be symmeIrical.
6aIcuIatiog IoteroaI Meber Forces
Chce Ihe reacIiohs have beeh calculaIed, we cah use a Iechhique called Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs Io calculaIe Ihe
ihIerhal member Iorces ih a Iruss. 1o use Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs, we will use Ihe Iollowihg procedure:
IsolaIe ohe joihI Irom Ihe Iruss.
Draw a Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI.
WriIe ahd solve Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium Io deIermihe Ihe member Iorces.
{ RepeaI Ihe process Ior Ihe remaihihg joihIs.
LeI's use our huIcracker Iruss Io illusIraIe how Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs is used Io ahalyze a sIrucIure.
3tep 1: Isalate aae jaiat Iram tke trass.
We'll begih our ahalysis wiIh JoihI A, aI Ihe lower leII-hahd corher oI Ihe Iruss.
Wheh you isolaIe a joihI, imagihe IhaI you are physically cuIIihg iI ouI oI Ihe Iruss
wiIh a sharp scissors. You musI cuI Ihrough aII oI Ihe members IhaI cohhecI Ihe
joihI Io Ihe remaihder oI Ihe sIrucIure. 1o isolaIe JoihI A, you'll heed Io cuI Ihrough
Members AC (Ihe hahdle) ahd A (Ihe sIrihg), as showh aI righI.
3tep 2: raw a Iree haJy Jiagram aI tke jaiat.
Now IhaI we have cuI JoihI A ouI oI Ihe Iruss, we will draw a Iree body diagram
oI Ihe joihI iIselI. Like Ihe diagram oI Ihe ehIire Iruss, Ihis Iree body diagram musI
ihclude ahy loads ahd reacIiohs acIihg oh Ihe body. 1hus Ihe upward reacIioh 8
A
is ihcluded, alohg wiIh iIs khowh maghiIude oI 5 hewIohs.
Ih addiIioh Io Ihe externaI loads ahd reacIiohs, Ihe Iree body diagram oI JoihI A musI
also ihclude Ihe internaI member Iorces I
A
ahd I
A0
. Wheh we isolaIed Ihe joihI, we cuI
Ihrough Members AC ahd A, Ihus exposihg Ihe ihIerhal Iorces ih Ihese members. We
doh'I khow Ihe maghiIudes oI Ihe Iwo ihIerhal Iorces, so we simply label Ihem wiIh Ihe
variables I
A
ahd I
A0
. We also doh'I khow Ihe direcIiohs oI Ihese Iorces. lor how, we will
simply assume IhaI Ihey are ih tension. Wheh a member is ih Iehsioh, iI pulls oh Ihe joihI,
Ihus, we ihdicaIe Iehsioh by showihg Ihe I
A
ahd I
A0
vecIors poihIihg away lrom the joint,
B A
R R
10 R 2 R R R R
B B B B A
+ +
T + . . 5 5 R
B

T . 5 R
A

I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-11
alohg Ihe cehIerlihes oI Iheir respecIive members. Remember IhaI we have ohly assumed I
A
ahd I
A0
Io be ih
Iehsioh. We will check Ihis assumpIioh wheh we solve Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium ih SIep 3.
3tep 3: Write aaJ salve tke eqaatiaas aI eqailihriam.
Wheh a sIrucIure is ih equilibrium, every parI oI IhaI sIrucIure musI also be ih equilibrium. We khow IhaI
our huIcracker Iruss is ih equilibrium, because iI ish'I movihg, IhereIore, JoihI A musI be ih equilibrium as well.
ecause JoihI A is ih equilibrium, we cah wriIe iIs Iwo equilibrium equaIiohs. LeI's sIarI wiIh Ihe sum oI Iorces
acIihg ih Ihe y-direcIioh. 1o wriIe Ihis equaIioh, look aI Ihe Iree body diagram oI JoihI A, ahd idehIiIy every
Iorce IhaI acIs ih Ihe y-direcIioh or has a compohehI ih Ihe y-direcIioh. Lach oI Ihese Iorces musI appear ih Ihe
equilibrium equaIioh. Assumihg IhaI Ihe upward direcIioh is posiIive,
1o wriIe Ihis equaIioh, iI was hecessary Io break Ihe Iorce vecIor I
A0
ihIo iIs
x-compohehI ahd y-compohehI, as showh aI righI. 1he y-compohehI is I
A0
siobb, ahd
because iI poihIs upward, iI is posiIive. 1he x-compohehI is I
A0
cosbb, buI Ihis com-
pohehI does hoI appear ih Ihe ZI
y
equilibrium equaIioh, because iI does hoI acI ih
Ihe y-direcIioh.
Sihce Ihis equaIioh has ohly ohe uhkhowh variable, we cah calculaIe siobb ahd
solve Ior I
A0
direcIly:
ecause Ihe ahswer is hegaIive, our ihiIial assumpIioh abouI Ihe direcIioh oI I
A0
musI have beeh ihcorrecI.
We assumed IhaI Ihe Iorce I
A0
is ih Iehsioh, Ihe hegaIive ahswer Iells us iI is ih compressioh. We cah how wriIe
Ihe Ihal ahswer as

NoIe IhaI, Ior ihIerhal Iorces, we do hoI show Ihe direcIioh oI Ihe Iorce vecIor wiIh ah arrow, raIher we
simply label Ihe Iorce as eiIher Iehsioh or compressioh.
Now we cah wriIe Ihe secohd equilibrium equaIioh-Ihe sum oI Ihe Iorces ih Ihe x-direcIioh-Ior JoihI A.
Agaih look aI Ihe Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI, ahd idehIiIy every Iorce IhaI acIs ih Ihe x-direcIioh or has a
compohehI ih Ihe x-direcIioh. Ihclude each oI Ihese Iorces ih Ihe equilibrium equaIioh:

NoIe IhaI Ihe x-compohehI oI Ihe Iorce I
A0
appears ih Ihis equaIioh, while Ihe y-compohehI does hoI.
1o solve Ihe equaIioh, we musI calculaIe cosbb, subsIiIuIe Ihe value oI I
A0
we calculaIed above, ahd Iheh
solve Ior I
A
.










3-12
3tep 4: 8epeat tke pracess Iar tke remaiaiag jaiats.
NexI we will apply Ihe same soluIioh process Io JoihI C. We begih by isolaIihg Ihe
joihI-cuIIihg Ihrough Ihe Iwo hahdles, AC ahd C. Wheh we cuI Ihrough Ihese Iwo
members, we expose Iheir ihIerhal Iorces I
A0
ahd I
0
. 1hus Ihese Iwo Iorces musI be
ihcluded oh Ihe Iree body diagram, alohg wiIh Ihe 10-hewIoh load.
NoIe IhaI boIh ihIerhal Iorces are agaih showh poihIihg away Irom Ihe joihI, ihdicaIihg
Iehsioh. 1his mighI appear Io be ihcorrecI, sihce we already khow IhaI I
A0
is ih compres-
sioh. Ih IacI, iI is hoI ah error buI a Iechhique Io help prevehI errors. 1o ehsure IhaI Ihere
is maIhemaIical cohsisIehcy wheh we move Irom joihI Io joihI, iI is besI Io aIways show
ihIerhal member Iorces acIihg ih Iehsioh. Wheh our calculaIiohs show IhaI a Iorce is
acIually ih compressioh, we wriIe iIs maghiIude as a hegaIive humber. 1he mihus sigh
ehsures IhaI iI is maIhemaIically represehIed as a compressioh Iorce ih Ihe equilibrium
calculaIioh. (We'll see how Ihis works shorIly.)
Ch Ihe Iree body diagram, we cah see IhaI Ihe Iwo hahdles are cohhecIed IogeIher aI ah ahgle oI 50. II is also
imporIahI Io recoghize IhaI each hahdle Iorms ah ahgle oI 65 measured Irom horizohIal. II you have sIudied plahe
geomeIry, you should be able Io prove IhaI Ihis is Irue.
Agaih, ohce we have careIully drawh Ihe Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI, we cah wriIe ah equilibrium equaIioh Io
deIermihe Ihe uhkhowh member Iorce I
0
. Ih Ihis case, eiIher equaIioh will do Ihe job. LeI's use Ihe sum oI Ihe
Iorces ih Ihe y-direcIioh:

Now we cah subsIiIuIe Ihe calculaIed value oI I
A0
ahd solve Ior I
0
. Remember IhaI I
A0
is ih compressioh, so
Ihe value you subsIiIuIe musI have a mihus sigh.
We shouldh'I be surprised IhaI I
0
Iurhs ouI Io be exacIly Ihe same as I
A0
. Civeh IhaI Ihe sIrucIure, loads, ahd
reacIiohs are all symmeIrical, iI cerIaihly makes sehse IhaI Ihe compressioh Iorces ih Ihe Iwo hahdles are also Ihe
same. NoheIheless, iI is reassurihg IhaI our maIhemaIical equaIiohs ahd our commoh sehse boIh produce Ihe
same resulI. lor IurIher reassurahce, Iry wriIihg Ihe secohd equilibrium equaIioh, ZI
x
=0, Ior JoihI C. 1his calcula-
Iioh will also show IhaI I
0
=-5.52 hewIohs. II you wriIe Ihe equilibrium equaIiohs Ior JoihI , you will agaih Ihd IhaI
I
0
=5.52 hewIohs (compressioh) ahd I
A
=2.33 hewIohs (Iehsioh).
8tatic eterioacy aod 8tabiIity
1he MeIhod oI JoihIs is a simple, powerIul Iool Ior calculaIihg Ihe Iorces ih Iruss members. UhIorIuhaIely, Ihe
meIhod does hoI work Ior all Irusses. II a sIrucIure has more uhkhowh member Iorces ahd reacIiohs Ihah Ihe
humber oI available equilibrium equaIiohs, Iheh Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs is hoI suIIciehI Io perIorm Ihe sIrucIural
ahalysis. A sIrucIure IhaI cahhoI be ahalyzed usihg Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium alohe is called staticaIIy inde-
terminate. A sIrucIure IhaI can be ahalyzed usihg Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium alohe is called staticaIIy determinate.
Chly sIaIically deIermihaIe Irusses cah be ahalyzed wiIh Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs.
A sIaIically deIermihaIe Iruss wiIh Iwo reacIiohs musI saIisIy Ihe maIhemaIical equaIioh







I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-13
A staticaIIy iodeterioate truss.
A staticaIIy deterioate truss.
Ao uostabIe truss.
Ihe Ioads appIied to structures are highIy uopredictabIe.
where j is Ihe humber oI joihIs ahd m is Ihe humber oI members. lor example,
our huIcracker Iruss has 3 members ahd 3 joihIs. SubsIiIuIihg Ihese humbers
ihIo Ihe equaIioh above, we Ihd IhaI 2j ahd m+3 are boIh equal Io 6, so Ihe
maIhemaIical cohdiIioh Ior sIaIic deIermihacy is saIisIed. II 2j is less tkaa m+3,
Iheh Ihe Iruss is staticaIIy indeterminate. lor example, Ihe Iruss aI righI has 6
joihIs ahd 10 members. 1hus 2j is 12, ahd m+3 is 13. Sihce 2j is less Ihah m+3, Ihe
sIrucIure is ihdeIermihaIe. Such a sIrucIure cahhoI be ahalyzed usihg Ihe
equaIiohs oI equilibrium alohe. II you Iried Io use Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs Io
ahalyze Ihis Iruss, you would Ihd IhaI you have more uhkhowh Iorces Ihah you
have equaIiohs available Io solve Ior Ihem. II is possible Io ahalyze a sIaIically
ihdeIermihaIe sIrucIure, buI Ihe soluIioh process requires advahced ehgiheer-
ihg cohcepIs IhaI are beyohd Ihe scope oI Ihis book.
II 2j is greater tkaa m+3, Iheh Ihe Iruss is unstabIe. Ah uhsIable Iruss does hoI
have ehough members Io Iorm a rigid Iramework. Such a sIrucIure cahhoI carry
ahy load.
Ih geheral, a Iruss is sIable iI all oI iIs members are arrahged ih a heIwork oI
ihIercohhecIed Iriahgles. lor example, Ihe simple Iruss aI righI is composed oI 6
joihIs ahd 9 members, which IogeIher Iorm Iour ihIercohhecIed Iriahgles (Al,
Cl, CLl, ahd CDL). 1his Iruss also saIisIes Ihe maIhemaIical cohdiIioh Ior
deIermihacy, sihce boIh 2j ahd m+3 are equal Io 12.
II member Cl is removed, however, Ihe Iruss becomes uhsIable. WiIhouI iIs
diagohal member, Ihe cehIer pahel oI Ihe Iruss how cohsisIs oI a recIahgle
(CLl) Iormed by Iour members, raIher Ihah Iwo Iriahgles (Cl ahd CLl). 1his
cohIguraIioh is uhsIable because Ihere is hoIhihg Io prevehI Ihe recIahgle CLl
Irom disIorIihg ihIo a parallelogram, as showh below. (Remember IhaI we
assume all Iruss joihIs Io be IricIiohless pihs.) lor Ihis Iruss, 2j is sIill 12, while
m+3 is ohly 11. Sihce 2j is greaIer Ihah m+3, Ihe maIhemaIical IesI cohIrms our
observaIioh IhaI Ihe Iruss is uhsIable.
As you mighI expecI Irom Ihis example, ah uhsIable Iruss cah geherally be
made sIable by simply addihg members uhIil ah appropriaIe arrahgemehI oI
ihIercohhecIed Iriahgles is achieved.
Factor oI 8aIety
Wheh ah ehgiheer desighs a sIrucIure, he or she musI cohsider mahy
diIIerehI Iorms oI uncertainty. 1here are Ihree major Iypes oI uhcerIaihIy IhaI
aIIecI a sIrucIural desigh:
1here is always subsIahIial uhcerIaihIy ih predicIihg Ihe
loads a sIrucIure mighI experiehce aI some Iime ih Ihe
IuIure. Wihd, show, ahd earIhquake loads are highly
uhpredicIable. 1he ehgiheer cah hever be cerIaih oI
Ihe maximum humber oI people IhaI mighI occupy ah
aparImehI buildihg or Ihe weighI oI Ihe heaviesI Iruck
IhaI mighI cross a bridge. 1ruck weighIs are regulaIed
by law ih Ihe UhiIed SIaIes, buI illegally heavy Irucks
occasiohally do drive our highways, ahd iI ohly Iakes
ohe oI Ihem Io collapse a bridge. You cah posI a 20-Ioh
Load LimiI sigh oh a bridge, buI IhaI doesh'I meah Ihe
driver oI a 30-Ioh Iruck woh'I Iry Io cross iI ahyway.
3-14

1he sIrehgIhs oI Ihe maIerials IhaI are used Io build acIual bridges are also uhcerIaih. MahuIacIurers oI coh-
sIrucIioh maIerials geherally pay careIul aIIehIioh Io Ihe qualiIy oI Iheir producIs, hoheIheless, iI is always
possible Ior a baIch oI subsIahdard sIeel or cohcreIe Io be used ih a sIrucIure. Lveh Ihe mosI cohsciehIious
cohsIrucIioh cohIracIors occasiohally make misIakes oh a projecI, ahd some cohsIrucIioh errors cah reduce Ihe
abiliIy oI a sIrucIure Io carry load.
1he maIhemaIical models we use Ior sIrucIural ahalysis ahd desigh are hever 100% accuraIe. We have already
seeh Ihis ih our discussioh oI sIrucIural models-acIual Irusses do hoI have perIecIly sIraighI members or
IricIiohless pihhed cohhecIiohs. YeI we musI make Ihese sorIs oI simpliIyihg assumpIiohs, or Ihe Iruss ahalysis
simply cahhoI be perIormed.
1he ehgiheer accouhIs Ior all Iorms oI uhcerIaihIy by makihg Ihe sIrucIure somewhaI sIrohger Ihah iI really
heeds Io be-by usihg a factor of safety ih all ahalysis ahd desigh calculaIiohs. Ih geheral, wheh iI is used ih Ihe
ahalysis oI ah exisIihg sIrucIure, Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is a deIhed as
Ih a Iruss, Ihe actuaI Iorce ih a member is called Ihe internaI member lorce, ahd Ihe Iorce aI which laiIure occurs
is called Ihe strength. 1hus we cah rewriIe Ihe deIhiIioh oI Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy as
lor example, iI a sIrucIural member has ah ihIerhal Iorce oI 5000 pouhds ahd a sIrehgIh oI 7500 pouhds, Iheh iIs
IacIor oI saIeIy, I3, is
II Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is less Ihah 1, Iheh Ihe member or sIrucIure is clearly uhsaIe ahd will probably Iail. II Ihe
IacIor oI saIeIy is 1 or ohly slighIly greaIer Ihah 1, Iheh Ihe member or sIrucIure is homihally saIe buI has very liIIle
margih Ior error-Ior variabiliIy ih loads, uhahIicipaIed low member sIrehgIhs, or ihaccuraIe ahalysis resulIs. MosI
sIrucIural desigh codes speciIy a IacIor oI saIeIy oI 1.6 or larger (someIimes cohsiderably larger) Ior sIrucIural
members ahd cohhecIiohs.
Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #5, we'll see how Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is applied ih Ihe desigh process.
o ao ActuaI ridge Froject
Load aod 8esistaoce Factor esigo
1be Iactor oI saIety bas been used in structural engineering Ior over a century. !n recent years, bowever, a new
design pbilosopby called load and resistance Iactor design (lRfD) bas become increasing popular. lRfD is
based on tbe idea tbat tbe largest loading a structural member experiences in its liIetime must be less tban tbe
smallest possible strengtb oI tbat member. !n an lRfD-based design, tbe engineer estimates tbis largest
loading by ad|usting tbe loads used in tbe structural analysis. All loads are multiplied by a code-speciued load
Iactora number tbat is always greater tban 1. 1be actual magnitude oI tbe load Iactor depends on bow
uncertain tbe loads are. 1be selI-weigbt oI a structure can be predicted accurately, so it bas a relatively low
load Iactor (normally 1.2 to 1.4). Wind, traIuc, and eartbquake loads are mucb more unpredictable, so tbeir
load Iactors are usually mucb bigber. 1o estimate tbe smallest possible strengtb oI a member, tbe engineer
multiplies tbe nominal member strengtb by a code-speciued resistance Iactora number tbat is always less
tban 1. 1be resistance Iactor accounts Ior tbe possibility oI understrengtb materials, Iabrication errors, and
otber uncertainties tbat may cause a member to be weaker tban tbe engineer intended. Ultimately load
Iactors and resistance Iactors serve tbe same Iunction as tbe Iactor oI saIetytbey ensure tbe saIety oI a
structure by providing a margin Ior error. Many experts view tbe lRfD as a superior design pbilosopby,
because it more accurately represents tbe sources oI uncertainty in structural design.
I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-1b
Ihe FrobIe
Ihe Need
Che year aIIer Ihe compleIioh oI Ihe hew CrahI Road ridge, Ihe HaupIville 1owh Lhgiheer ihspecIs Ihe
sIrucIure ahd Ihds IhaI iI is perIormihg well. 1hough Ihe bridge has beeh carryihg a loI oI IraIIc, iIs sIrucIural
members show ho sighs oI disIress or deIerioraIioh. NoheIheless, Ihe 1owh Lhgiheer is sIill somewhaI coh-
cerhed abouI Ihe bridge. ecause oI a major cohsIrucIioh projecI hearby, mahy heavily loaded dump Irucks
have beeh usihg CrahI Road recehIly. WhaI iI ohe oI Ihese Irucks is heavier Ihah Ihe legal weighI limiI How
much oI ah overload would cause Ihe sIrucIure Io collapse 1he 1owh Lhgiheer decides Io perIorm a compleIe
sIrucIural evaluaIioh Io deIermihe Ihe overall level oI saIeIy oI Ihe CrahI Road ridge. He begihs by hirihg
Uhiversal SIrucIural MaIerials AssessmehI, Ihc. Io IesI Ihe sIrehgIh oI Ihe sIrucIural members used ih Ihe
bridge. (We did Ihis parI oI Ihe sIrucIural evaluaIioh ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2.) Chce Ihe Lhgiheer has received
Ihe IesI resulIs Irom Uhiversal, he is ready Io begih his ahalysis.
our Job
You are Ihe 1owh Lhgiheer oI HaupIville. Your job is Io ahalyze Ihe CrahI Road ridge ahd evaluaIe iIs
overall level oI saIeIy. SpeciIcally, you musI calculaIe Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy Ior every member ih ohe oI Ihe maih
Irusses, Iheh deIermihe Ihe overall saIeIy IacIor Ior Ihe sIrucIure.
As Ihe 1owh Lhgiheer, you have Ihe proIessiohal respohsibiliIy Io proIecI Ihe healIh ahd saIeIy oI Ihe
people who use Ihis bridge. You IulIll Ihis respohsibiliIy by perIormihg Ihe sIrucIural evaluaIioh cohsci-
ehIiously-by usihg good judgmehI, by perIormihg calculaIiohs careIully ahd accuraIely, ahd by askihg a col-
league Io check your work.
Ihe 8oIutioo
Ihe FIao
Cur plah Io cohducI Ihe sIrucIural ahalysis ahd evaluaIioh oI Ihe CrahI Road ridge
cohsisIs oI Ihe Iollowihg Iasks:
CreaIe Ihe sIrucIural model.
Check Ihe sIrucIural model Ior sIaIic deIermihacy ahd sIabiliIy.
CalculaIe Ihe reacIiohs.
CalculaIe Ihe ihIerhal member Iorces.
DeIermihe Ihe sIrehgIhs oI Ihe members
CalculaIe Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy Ior every member ih Ihe sIrucIure
LvaluaIe Ihe saIeIy oI Ihe sIrucIure.
Check our assumpIiohs.
Tke Iearaiag Activity
3-1b
6reate the 8tructuraI ModeI
1o model Ihe CrahI Road ridge, we musI deIhe (1) Ihe geomeIry oI Ihe sIrucIure, (2) Ihe loads, ahd (3) Ihe
supporIs ahd reacIiohs. We begih by idealizihg Ihe Ihree-dimehsiohal bridge sIrucIure as a pair oI Iwo-dimehsiohal
PraII Irusses. Sihce Ihese Iwo Irusses are idehIical, we ohly heed Io ahalyze ohe oI Ihem. 1he geomeIry oI Ihe Iruss
is showh below. 1he dimehsiohs ihdicaIe Ihe locaIiohs oI Ihe centerIines oI Ihe members. JoihIs are idehIiIed wiIh
leIIers-Ihe same leIIer desighaIiohs IhaI were used oh Ihe bridge plahs provided ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1. 1o Iacili-
IaIe Ihe ahalysis, we will assume IhaI Ihe Iruss members are perIecIly sIraighI, Ihe joihIs are IricIiohless pihs, ahd
Ihe loads are applied ohly aI Ihe joihIs. We will also assume IhaI Ihe weighI oI Ihe Iruss iIselI is zero.
1
1
1
Why did we assue that the weight oI the truss is tero!
ObviousIy, the actuaI weight of the truss is not zero. Why did we
make this assumption, when we know it is not true! How do you
think it wiII affect the accuracy of our structuraI anaIysis!
We wiII assue that the top chord Ioadiog is ore severe,
theo check the botto-chord Ioadiog Iater.

Wheh we load-IesIed Ihe CrahI Road ridge ih Learhihg
AcIiviIy #1, we applied Ihe load ih Iwo diIIerehI ways-wiIh a
sIack oI books placed oh Ihe Iop chord ahd wiIh a buckeI oI
sahd suspehded Irom Ihe Ioor beams. eIore we cah deIhe
Ihe loads Ior our sIrucIural model, we heed Io decide which
oI Ihese Iwo loadihg cohIguraIiohs Io use. As a geheral
rule, a sIrucIural evaluaIioh should be based oh Ihe mosI
severe loadihg cohdiIioh-Ihe ohe IhaI produces Ihe highesI
member Iorces. II Ihe ahalysis shows IhaI Ihe Iruss is saIe
Ior Ihe mosI severe loadihg, Iheh Ihe sIrucIure will cerIaihly
be saIe Ior less severe ohes. UhIorIuhaIely, ih Ihis case, iI is
hoI immediaIely obvious which oI Ihe Iwo loadihg coh-
IguraIiohs is more severe. 1he besI we cah do is Io make ah
assumpIioh ahd check iI laIer. lor how, we will assume IhaI
Ihe Iop-chord loadihg, showh here, is more severe.
Havihg decided oh Ihe locaIioh oI Ihe load, we musI
how deIermihe iIs maghiIude. Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2, we
applied Ihe equaIioh W=mg Io deIermihe IhaI Ihe weighI oI a
5-kilogram mass is 49.05 hewIohs. Wheh we placed Ihe sIack oI books ohIo Ihe Iop chord oI Ihe Iruss, Ihe weighI oI
Ihe sIack was supporIed oh joihIs J, J', K, K', L, ahd L'. We cah reasohably assume IhaI Ihe weighI oI Ihe books is
disIribuIed equally Io Ihese six joihIs. 1hereIore, Ihe dowhward Iorce applied Io each joihI is
I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-17
6heck 8tatic eterioacy aod 8tabiIity
eIore we cah use Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium Io ahalyze Ihis Iruss, we musI IrsI veriIy IhaI iI is sIaIically
deIermihaIe ahd sIable. 1he maIhemaIical cohdiIioh Ior sIaIic deIermihacy ahd sIabiliIy is
where j is Ihe humber oI joihIs ahd m is Ihe humber oI members. Cur Iruss Irom Ihe CrahI Road ridge has
12 joihIs ahd 21 members. SubsIiIuIihg Ihese humbers ihIo Ihe equaIioh above, we Ihd IhaI 2j ahd m+3 are boIh
equal Io 24, so Ihe maIhemaIical cohdiIioh Ior sIaIic deIermihacy ahd sIabiliIy is saIisIed. lurIhermore, we hoIe
IhaI Ihe Iruss is composed ehIirely oI ihIercohhecIed Iriahgles, which cohIrms our cohclusioh IhaI Ihe sIruc-
Iure is sIable.
6aIcuIate 8eactioos
Ch Ihe Iree body diagram above, Ihe Iorces 8
A
ahd 8

are Ihe uhkhowh reacIiohs aI JoihIs A ahd C.

We khow IhaI Ihe Iruss is ih equilibrium, IhereIore, Ihe sum oI all Iorces acIihg oh Ihe sIrucIure musI be zero.
Sihce all oI Ihe Iorces-loads ahd reacIiohs-are acIihg ih Ihe y-direcIioh, ohly ohe oI our Iwo equilibrium
equaIiohs is relevahI Io Ihe calculaIioh oI reacIiohs:
Sihce Ihere are Iwo maih Irusses, Ihree 8.17bN loads will be applied Io each Iruss. Sihce all oI Ihe loads
are dowhward, ahd Ihe bridge is supporIed ohly aI iIs ehds, we will add upward reacIiohs 8
A
ahd 8

aI
joihIs A ahd C.
A compleIe Iree body diagram oI Ihe Iruss looks like Ihis:

A
6 E F

I J k L M
8.17bN 8.17bN 8.17bN
8
A
8

10 c = 0 c
12.5 c
x
y
A
6 E F

I J k L M
8.17bN 8.17bN 8.17bN
8
A
8

10 c = 0 c
12.5 c
x
y
x
y



3-18
Sihce Ihe sIrucIure, Ihe loads, ahd Ihe reacIiohs are all symmeIrical abouI Ihe cehIerlihe oI Ihe Iruss, Ihe Iwo
reacIiohs 8
A
ahd 8

musI be equal. (1he cehIerlihe oI Ihe Iruss is a verIical lihe passihg Ihrough Member DK).
SubsIiIuIihg 8
A
= 8

ihIo Ihe equilibrium equaIioh above, we geI

Ahd sihce 8
A
= 8

, Iheh
6aIcuIate IoteroaI Meber Forces
We will use Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs Io calculaIe Ihe ihIerhal Iorce ih each member oI Ihe Iruss. 1o apply Ihis
meIhod, we will isolaIe a joihI Irom oI Ihe sIrucIure, cuIIihg Ihrough Ihe aIIached members ahd exposihg Iheir
ihIerhal member Iorces. We will draw a Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI, Iheh use Ihe equaIiohs oI equilibrium Io
deIermihe Ihe uhkhowh member Iorces. We will repeaI Ihe process Ior successive joihIs, uhIil we have calculaIed
all oI Ihe ihIerhal member Iorces ih Ihe sIrucIure.
Joiot A
We'll sIarI by isolaIihg JoihI A ahd drawihg a Iree body diagram oI iI. 1he Iree body
diagram musI show aII Iorces acIihg oh Ihe joihI. 1hus Ihe reacIioh 8
A
is showh, alohg wiIh
iIs khowh maghiIude oI 12.26N. 1he member Iorces I
AI
ahd I
A
are also ihcluded oh Ihe
diagram. ecause we do hoI khow Ihe maghiIudes or direcIiohs oI Ihese Iorces, we simply
show Ihem ih variable Iorm, ahd we assume Iheir direcIiohs Io be ih Iehsioh. 1o ihdicaIe IhaI
a member Iorce is ih Iehsioh, we draw Ihe Iorce vecIor poihIihg away Irom Ihe joihI, alohg
Ihe cehIerlihe oI Ihe member.
eIore we cah wriIe Ihe equilibrium equaIiohs Ior Ihis joihI, we heed Io Igure ouI whaI
Ihe ahgle is. AcIually, we doh'I really heed Io khow Ihe ahgle iIselI, raIher, we ohly really
heed Io khow Ihe sihe ahd cosihe oI Ihe ahgle-sio ahd cos. We cah deIermihe Ihe sihe
ahd cosihe direcIly Irom Ihe geomeIry oI Ihe Iruss. NoIe IhaI Members A, AI, ahd I Iorm a
righI Iriahgle, wiIh Member AI as Ihe hypoIehuse. We cah apply Ihe PyIhagoreah 1heorem Io
calculaIe Ihe lehgIh, I
AI
, as Iollows:
Now we cah apply Ihe basic deIhiIiohs oI Ihe sihe ahd cosihe Io Ihd sio ahd cos.







I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-19









We are Ihally ready Io wriIe Ihe equilibrium equaIiohs Ior JoihI A. We will sIarI wiIh Ihe equaIioh Ior Ihe
sum oI Iorces ih Ihe y-direcIioh. Assumihg IhaI Ihe upward direcIioh is posiIive,
1o wriIe Ihis equaIioh, we had Io represehI Ihe Iorce I
AI
ih Ierms oI iIs x-compohehI
ahd y-compohehI. 1he y-compohehI is I
AI
sio, ahd iIs direcIioh is upward, so iI is
posiIive ih Ihe equilibrium equaIioh. 1he x-compohehI is I
AI
cos, however, Ihis com-
pohehI is hoI ihcluded ih Ihe ZI
y
equilibrium equaIioh, because iI does hoI acI ih Ihe
y-direcIioh.
We cah how subsIiIuIe Ihe khowh value oI sio ihIo Ihe equilibrium equaIioh, ahd solve Ior Ihe uhkhowh
Iorce I
AI
.
ecause Ihe ahswer is hegaIive, our ihiIial assumpIioh abouI Ihe direcIioh oI I
AI
was ihcorrecI. We assumed
IhaI I
AI
is ih Iehsioh. 1he hegaIive member Iorce ihdicaIes IhaI iI is ih compressioh. 1hus our Ihal ahswer is

Now we cah wriIe Ihe equilibrium equaIioh Ior Iorces ih Ihe x-direcIioh. Assumihg IhaI Ihe posiIive direc-
Iioh is Io Ihe righI,
We khow cos, ahd we have jusI solved Ior I
AI
. We cah subsIiIuIe Ihese values ihIo Ihe equilibrium equaIioh
ahd solve Ior I
A
. uI be careIul! Wheh you subsIiIuIe I
AI
, doh'I IorgeI Ihe mihus sigh.
ecause Ihe ahswer is posiIive, our assumpIioh abouI Ihe direcIioh oI I
A
was correcI.
1he Ihal ahswer is


3-20
1
1
2
Why did we choose to do Joiot A Iirst!
ls there a reason why )oint A was a good pIace to start this anaIysis!
What wouId have happened if we had started with a different joint!
1
1
3
Why did we choose to soIve the y-directioo eguiIibriu eguatioo Iirst!
ls there a reason why it was a good idea to soIve ZI
y
= 0 before
soIving ZI
x
= 0!
Joiot
AI Ihis poihI, we should ahalyze JoihI . II has ohly Ihree cohhecIed members, ahd we already khow Ihe ihIer-
hal Iorce ih ohe oI Ihe Ihree (Member A). 1hus Ihere are ohly Iwo uhkhowh Iorces, ahd we will be able Io solve
Ior Ihem wiIh Ihe Iwo available equilibrium equaIiohs.
Agaih we draw a Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI, wiIh all member Iorces assumed Io
be ih Iehsioh-poihIihg away Irom Ihe joihI. 1he khowh maghiIude oI Ihe Iorce I
A
is
ihcluded oh Ihe diagram. 1he equilibrium equaIioh Ior Iorces ih Ihe x-direcIioh is
1he equilibrium equaIioh Ior Iorces ih Ihe y-direcIioh produces ah ihIeresIihg resulI:
II should come as ho surprise IhaI Ihis member has zero ihIerhal Iorce. Wheh you load-IesIed Ihe CrahI Road
ridge ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1, you should have hoIiced IhaI Ihis member-Ihe hip verIical-was slack. II appeared
Io have ho ihIerhal Iorce aI all. Now we have veriIed our observaIioh usihg Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs!
Joiot I
II Iakes some careIul IhoughI Io recoghize IhaI JoihI I should be Ihe hexI joihI we
ahalyze. As Ihe Iree body diagram ihdicaIes, Ihis joihI has Iour cohhecIed members
ahd, IhereIore, iI also has Iour ihIerhal member Iorces. NoIe, however, IhaI we have
already calculaIed Iwo oI Ihese-I
AI
ahd I
I
. 1hus Ihere are ohly Iwo uhkhowh Iorces,
which we cah calculaIe wiIh our Iwo equilibrium equaIiohs.






I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-21
1
1
4
Why Joiot 6!
Why was )oint C the best joint to anaIyze at this point in the
soIution process!
NoIe IhaI all Iour oI Ihe Iorce vecIors are poihIihg away Irom Ihe joihI, eveh Ihough we already khow IhaI
ohe oI Ihem, I
AI
, is ih compressioh. 1he hegaIive maghiIude oI I
AI
ehsures IhaI iI is maIhemaIically represehIed
as a compressioh Iorce.
II is imporIahI Io hoIe IhaI boIh ahgles labeled as oh Ihe Iree body diagram are exacIly Ihe same as Ihe
ahgle oh Ihe diagram oI JoihI A. (II you cah'I see IhaI Ihese ahgles are all equal, prove iI Io yourselI by drawihg
Ihe correspohdihg righI Iriahgles, jusI as we did Ior JoihI A.) 1hus Ihe values we calculaIed Ior sio ahd cos Ior
JoihI A are sIill valid here.
II we begih wiIh Ihe equilibrium equaIioh ih Ihe y-direcIioh, we will be able Io solve Ior I
0I
direcIly:
Now we cah use Ihe secohd equilibrium equaIioh Io solve Ior I
IJ
.
Joiot 6
NexI we will calculaIe Ihe uhkhowh member Iorces aI JoihI C.








ased oh Ihe Iree body diagram oI Ihe joihI, we cah wriIe Ihe Iwo equi-
librium equaIiohs ahd solve Ior Ihe Iwo uhkhowh member Iorces as Iollows:
3-22



















Joiot J
1he Iree body diagram oI JoihI J is showh aI righI. NoIe IhaI Ihe .175N
load aI JoihI J must be ihcluded oh Ihe diagram. (lailure Io puI loads oh Ihe
Iree body diagram is ohe oI Ihe mosI commoh errors ih Iruss ahalysis.) We
cah wriIe Ihe Iwo equilibrium equaIiohs ahd solve Ior Ihe Iwo uhkhowh
member Iorces as Iollows:
I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-23
8uary oI 8tructuraI AoaIysis 8esuIts
AI Ihis poihI, we have ohly ahalyzed halI oI Ihe Iruss. However, iI we Iake advahIage oI symmeIry, we cah
deIermihe Ihe ihIerhal Iorces ih all remaihihg members wiIhouI doihg ahy IurIher calculaIiohs. Wheh we
deIermihed Ihe reacIiohs 8
A
ahd 8

, we hoIed IhaI Ihese Iwo Iorces musI be equal because Ihe sIrucIure, iIs
loads, ahd iIs reacIiohs are all symmeIrical abouI Ihe cehIerlihe oI Ihe Iruss. 1he same prihciple holds Irue Ior
ihIerhal member Iorces. ecause Ihe sIrucIure, loads, ahd reacIiohs are all symmeIrical, Ihe member Iorces
musI also be symmeIrical abouI Ihe cehIerlihe. Members IhaI are mirror images oI each oIher have equal
ihIerhal Iorces. I
M
ahd I
AI
musI be equal, I
IM
ahd I
IJ
musI be equal, I
J
ahd I
I
musI be equal, ahd so IorIh.
So we're dohe! 1he resulIs oI Ihe ahalysis are summarized ih Ihe Iable below.
eterioe the 8treogths oI the Mebers
Now IhaI we have calculaIed Ihe Iorce ih each member, we musI deIermihe Ihe correspohdihg sIrehgIh oI
each member. 1o do Ihis, we will use Ihe graphs we developed ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2. We'll sIarI wiIh Ihe
bars-Ihe boIIom chords, diagohals, ahd hip verIicals. 1he Iable above Iells us whaI we have already observed
ih our CrahI Road ridge model-IhaI all oI Ihe bars are ih Iehsioh (excepI Ihe hip verIicals, which have zero
1
1
5
6ao you appIy the Method oI Joiots to caIcuIate a eber Iorce!
Wbicb |oint sbould you analyze to determine tbe member Iorce I
k
!
Solve tbe appropriate equilibrium equations to sbow tbat I
k
=8.17bN
(compression).
Mebers Force Mebers Force
A, lC 9.1 N (Iehsioh) I, lM 0 N
C, Ll 9.1 N (Iehsioh) CI, LM 15.70 N (Iehsioh)
CD, DL 19.62 N (Iehsioh) CJ, LL 12.26 N (compressioh)
IJ, LM 19.62 N compressioh) DJ, DL 5.23 N (Iehsioh)
JK, KL 22.9 N (compressioh) DK .175 N (compressioh)
AI, CM 15.70 N (compressioh)
3-24
ihIerhal Iorce). 1hus we heed Io deIermihe Ihe tensiIe strength oI Ihe bars. All oI Ihe bars used ih Ihe CrahI Road
ridge are 4mm wide. Usihg Ihe Iehsile sIrehgIh vs. member widIh graph we developed ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2, we
Ihd Ihe Iehsile sIrehgIh oI a 4mm bar Io be 26 hewIohs, as showh below.
0
10
20
30
40
60
0 2 4 6 12 14 16 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
0
10
20
30
40
60
0 2 4 6 12 14 16 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
50
10
0.0
10 .0
20 .0
30 .0
40 .0
50 .0
60 .0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9
I
e
o
s
i
I
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
1rehd Lihe
2
0.0
10 .0
20 .0
30 .0
40 .0
50 .0
60 .0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9
Meber Wi dt h ( }
1rehd Lihe
2

eterioiog the teosiIe streogth oI a 4 bar
eterioiog the copressive streogth oI a 10 x 10 tube that is
10 ceotieters Ioog
NoIe, however, IhaI all oI Ihe boIIom chords, diagohals, ahd hip verIicals are acIually doubIed 4mm bars. 1hus
Ihe Iehsile sIrehgIh oI Ihese members is exacIly Iwice IhaI oI a sihgle 4mm bar, or 52 hewIohs.
Cur sIrucIural ahalysis shows IhaI all oI Ihe Iubes-Ihe Iop chords, Ihe ehd posIs, ahd Ihe ihIerior verIicals-are
ih compressioh. 1hus we musI deIermihe Ihe compressive sIrehgIh oI Ihese members, usihg Ihe sIrehgIh vs. lehgIh
graph we developed ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2. 1he Iop chord members are all 10mm x 10mm Iubes, ahd each has a
lehgIh oI 10 cehIimeIers. 1he sIrehgIh oI Ihese members is approximaIely 50 hewIohs, as ihdicaIed below.
I
L
A
8
N
I
N

A
0
T
I

I
T

3-2b
1
1

6ao you deterioe the streogth oI a eber!

Wbat is tbe compressive strengtb oI tbe vertical tube members (CJ,
DK, and fl) and tbe end posts (A! and CM)!
1
1
1
6ao you caIcuIate the Iactor oI saIety Ior a eber!
Calculate tbe Iactor oI saIety Ior all remaining members in tbe truss,
and add tbem to tbe summary table below (along witb tbe member
strengtbs not already recorded in tbe table).
6aIcuIate the Factor oI 8aIety
Chce we khow Ihe sIrehgIh oI a member ahd Ihe ihIerhal Iorce iI is acIually experiehcihg, we cah calculaIe
iIs IacIor oI saIeIy. lor Ihe boIIom chord member CD, Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is:
lor Ihe Iop chord member JK, Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is

Mebers Force 8treogth F8
A, lC 9.1 N (Iehsioh) 52
C, Ll 9.1 N (Iehsioh) 52
CD, DL 19.62 N (Iehsioh) 52 2.7
IJ, LM 19.62 N (compressioh) 50
JK, KL 22.9 N (compressioh) 50 2.2
AI, CM 15.70 N (compressioh)
I, lM 0 N -- 52 --
CI, LM 15.70 N (Iehsioh) 52
CJ, LL 12.26 N (compressioh)
DJ, DL 5.23 N (Iehsioh) 52
DK .175 N (compressioh)
3-2b
1
1
8
Why are soe truss ebers strooger thao they oeed to be!
for example, Member C! is a doubled 4mm bar witb a saIety Iactor oI
3.3. Had tbe structural engineer cbosen to use a doubled 3mm bar Ior
tbis member, tbe saIety Iactor would still be 2.5. 1be member would
use less material, and because its saIety Iactor would still be greater
tban 2.2, tbe overall saIety oI tbe structure would not be adversely
aIIected. Wby did tbe structural engineer cboose not to use a smaller
member size!
EvaIuate the 8tructure
As Ihe 1owh Lhgiheer oI HaupIville, you have Ihished whaI you seI ouI Io do-a compleIe sIrucIural evaluaIioh
oI Ihe maih Irusses oI Ihe CrahI Road ridge. YeI Ihe resulIs oI Ihese calculaIiohs are jusI humbers. 1hey are oI
liIIle use, uhIil you sIudy Ihem, Ihihk criIically abouI Ihem, ahd draw meahihgIul cohclusiohs Irom Ihem.
Chce you have compleIed Ihe summary Iable oh Ihe previous page, you should be able Io make Ihe Iollowihg
observaIiohs:
Members JK ahd KL have a IacIor oI saIeIy oI 2.2-Ihe smallesI oI ahy member ih Ihe Iruss. Sihce Ihe Iailure oI
Member JK or Member KL would cause Ihe ehIire sIrucIure Io collapse, we cah say IhaI Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy oI
Ihe entire structure is 2.2.
Sihce 2.2 is obviously larger Ihah 1, our ahalysis Iells us IhaI Ihe sIrucIure will hoI collapse wheh Ihe 5 kg mass is
placed oh Ihe Iop chord. ecause Ihe IacIor oI saIeIy is cohsiderably larger Ihah 1, we cah have a high degree oI
cohIdehce IhaI Ihe sIrucIure will hoI Iail, eveh iI we made some mihor errors ih cohsIrucIioh or iI Ihe acIual
load is sighiIcahIly larger Ihah 5 kg.
1heoreIically, Ihe bridge would collapse iI Ihe mass oI Ihe sIack oI books aI mid-spah were ihcreased Io
(b kg)(2.2)=11.0 kg.
Mahy members oI Ihe Iruss have saIeIy IacIors IhaI are subsIahIially larger Ihah 2.2. 1hese members are acIually
much sIrohger Ihah Ihey heed Io be.
II is imporIahI Io hoIe IhaI Ihis sIrucIural evaluaIioh is valid ohly Ior ohe parIicular loadihg. II we chahge eiIher
Ihe maghiIude or Ihe posiIioh oI Ihe load, Ihe member Iorces ahd IacIors oI saIeIy will also chahge.
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3-27
o ao ActuaI ridge Froject
eectioos are iportaot too.
We evaluated tbe Crant Road Bridge by cbecking tbat eacb
member in tbe structure can carry load saIely. On an actual
bridge pro|ect, tbe engineer would also cbeck to ensure tbat tbe dehections are accept-
ably small. A deectioo is tbe distance a structure moves wben it is loaded. A bridge
aIways deects wben it is loaded. On a well-designed bridge, tbese deections are so
small tbat tbey are imperceptible to drivers and pedestrians crossing tbe span. !I a bridge
is too exible, tben drivers and pedestrians will Ieel its movement and will perceive tbe
structure to be unsaIeeven iI its strengtb entirely adequate. 1be engineer is responsible
Ior ensuring not only tbat tbe bridge is sale, but also tbat tbe public perceives it to be sale.
1bus tbe engineer careIully computes tbe structure's deections under various loading
conditions and ensures tbat tbese computed deections comply witb tbe appropriate
design codes.
otto-6hord Loadiog
1he ahalysis above was based oh a humber oI
assumpIiohs. Perhaps Ihe mosI imporIahI oI Ihese was
our assumpIioh IhaI placihg Ihe load oh Ihe Iop chord
oI Ihe Iruss is more severe Ihah suspehdihg Ihe load
Irom Ihe Ioor beams. We how have Ihe ahalyIical Iools
Io check Ihis assumpIioh. Sihce Ihe Ioor beams are
aIIached Io Ihe boIIom chords, loadihg Ihe Ioor beams
is essehIially Ihe same as loadihg Ihe boIIom chord
joihIs oI Ihe Iruss. 1hus our revised sIrucIural model
should have Ihe Ihree .175 N loads applied aI Ihe
boIIom chord, as showh below:
A
C D L l
C
I J K L M
8.17bN 8.17bN 8.17bN
8
A
8

A
C D L l
C
I J K L M
8.17bN 8.17bN 8.17bN
8
A
8

Mebers Force Mebers Force
A, lC 9.1 N (Iehsioh) I, lM 0 N
C, Ll 9.1 N (Iehsioh) CI, LM 15.70 N (Iehsioh)
CD, DL 19.62 N (Iehsioh) CJ, LL 4.09 N (compressioh)
IJ, LM 19.62 N compressioh) DJ, DL 5.23 N (Iehsioh)
JK, KL 22.9 N (compressioh) DK 0 N (compressioh)
AI, CM 15.70 N (compressioh)
Is botto-chord Ioadiog ore or Iess
severe thao top-chord Ioadiog!
II we repeaI Ihe sIrucIural ahalysis usihg Ihis hew loadihg cohdiIioh, we geI Ihe Iollowihg resulIs:
3-28
1
1
9
6ao you appIy the Method oI Joiots to aoaIyte a truss!
Use tbe Metbod oI Joints to analyze tbe Pratt truss witb bottom-cbord
loading. Prove tbat tbe results in tbe table above are correct.
NoIe IhaI movihg Ihe loads Irom Ihe Iop chord Io Ihe boIIom chord caused Ihe ihIerhal Iorces Io chahge onIy ih
Members CJ, LL, ahd DK. Ih all Ihree cases, Ihe Iorces goI smaller. 1he Iorces ih Ihe mosI heavily loaded mem-
bers-Ihe Iop ahd boIIom chords ahd Ihe ehd posIs-remaihed uhchahged, Ihus Ihe overall IacIor oI saIeIy oI Ihe
sIrucIure remaihs uhchahged. We cah cohclude IhaI usihg Ihe Iop-chord loadihg ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1 (ahd ih our
ihiIial sIrucIural ahalysis) was ehIirely appropriaIe. 1he boIIom-chord loadihg is more realisIic, because real bridges
carry IraIIc loads oh Iheir Ioor beams, however, Ihe Iop-chord loadihg is much easier Io do ahd produces hearly
idehIical sIrucIural ahalysis resulIs.
1
1
10
6ao ebers with tero Iorce be reoved!
!n tbe analysis above, Members B!, fM, and DK bave zero internal
Iorce. !t would seem tbat tbe truss does not need tbese members to
carry load, and we migbt simply remove tbem Irom tbe structure to
save material. Do you tbink tbese zero-Iorce members can saIely be
removed Irom tbe truss!
1
1
11
6ao you aoaIyte a diIIereot truss!
Select any truss Irom tbe Callery oI Structural Analysis Results
(Appendix B), and calculate tbe internal Iorces in all oI its members.
6oocIusioo
Ih Ihis learhihg acIiviIy, we applied cohcepIs Irom geomeIry, IrigohomeIry, algebra, ahd physics Io calculaIe Ihe
ihIerhal Iorces ih every member oI a Iruss. Ih doihg so, you saw how maIh ahd sciehce are applied Io solve ah
imporIahI, real-world problem. You also saw how daIa Irom laboraIory experimehIs-Ihe sIrehgIh IesIs we did ih
Learhihg AcIiviIy #2-cah be ihIegraIed ihIo Ihe soluIioh oI ah ehgiheerihg problem. MosI imporIahI, you learhed
Io use ah imporIahI ahalysis Iool called Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs. 1his Iechhique ish'I easy! II requires you Io coh-
sIrucI ahd solve equilibrium equaIiohs-loIs oI Ihem-while payihg careIul aIIehIioh Io Ihe maghiIudes ahd direc-
Iiohs oI Iorces. Wouldh'I iI be greaI iI we could use Ihe compuIer Io do Ihis work Ior us Well, we cah. Ih Learhihg
AcIiviIy #4, we will use Ihe WesI PoihI ridge Desigher soIIware Io ahalyze ahd evaluaIe a Iruss bridge.
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3-29
Aoswers to the uestioos
1} Why did we assue that the weight oI the truss is tero! We couId ihclude Ihe selI-weighI oI Ihe bridge ih
our sIrucIural ahalysis, buI doihg so would greatIy complicaIe Ihe ahalysis. Ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #1, we Iouhd
IhaI Ihe mass oI our CrahI Road ridge model is abouI 55 grams. 1his mass is very small ih comparisoh wiIh Ihe
5 kilogram mass Ihe bridge is desighed Io carry. Ihcludihg Ihe selI-weighI ih our ahalysis would chahge our
calculaIed member Iorces by ohly abouI ohe percehI. lor Ihe sake oI simpliciIy, we cah ighore selI-weighI, ahd
recoghize IhaI Ihis assumpIioh has a very small eIIecI oh Ihe accuracy oI Ihe sIrucIural ahalysis.
2} Why did we choose to do Joiot A Iirst! AI ahy giveh joihI, we cah wriIe Iwo equilibrium equaIiohs-ZI
x
=0
ahd ZI
y
=0. WiIh ohly Iwo available equaIiohs, we cah solve Ior ohly Iwo uhkhowh member Iorces aI each joihI.
AI Ihe sIarI oI Ihe soluIioh process, JoihI A has jusI Iwo uhkhowh member IorcesI
A
ahd I
AI
. JoihI C is Ihe
ohly oIher joihI ih Ihe ehIire Iruss wiIh ohly Iwo uhkhowh Iorces. All oI Ihe oIhers have Ihree or more. 1hus
Ihe soluIioh process should sIarI aI eiIher JoihI A or JoihI C.
NoIe IhaI Ihe reacIioh Iorce 8
A
is also applied aI JoihI A. Had Ihis Iorce also beeh uhkhowh, iI would have
beeh impossible Io solve Ihe equilibrium equaIiohs aI Ihis joihI-Ihere would have beeh Ihree uhkhowhs ahd
ohly Iwo equaIiohs. 1haI's why iI is geherally hecessary Io solve Ior reacIiohs beIore we use Ihe MeIhod oI
JoihIs Io calculaIe member Iorces.
3} At Joiot A, why did we choose to soIve the y-directioo eguiIibriu eguatioo Iirst! AI JoihI A, Ihe x-direcIioh
equilibrium equaIioh has Iwo uhkhowh member Iorces, I
A
ahd I
AI
. Had we wriIIeh Ihis equaIioh IrsI, we
would have beeh uhable Io solve Ior eiIher oI Ihe uhkhowhs immediaIely. 1he y-direcIioh equaIioh ihcludes
ohly ohe uhkhowh Iorce, I
AI
. y solvihg ZI
y
=0 IrsI, we were able Io solve Ior I
AI
direcIly. 1heh, wheh we wroIe
ZI
x
=0, we could subsIiIuIe Ihe khowh value oI I
AI
ahd solve Ior I
A
. AI ahy giveh joihI, we cah oIIeh (buI hoI
always) avoid Ihe chore oI solvihg Iwo equaIiohs simulIaheously by idehIiIyihg ah equilibrium equaIioh IhaI has
ohly ohe uhkhowh member Iorce-ahd solvihg iI hrst.
4} AIter soIviog Ior the uokoowo eber Iorces at Joiots A, , aod I, why did we choose Joiot 6! AI JoihIs A, ,
ahd I we calculaIed Ihe member Iorces I
A
, I
AI
, I
0
, I
I
, I
0I
, ahd I
IJ
. AI Ihis poihI ih Ihe soluIioh process, we
already khew Iwo oI Ihe Iour member Iorces aI JoihI C-I
0
ahd I
0I
. Chly I
0
ahd I
0J
were uhkhowh. So we
selecIed JoihI C because iI had ohly Iwo uhkhowh member Iorces, which could be solved wiIh our Iwo equa-
Iiohs oI equilibrium. As a geheral rule, wheh usihg Ihe MeIhod oI JoihIs Io ahalyze a Iruss, always selecI a joihI
wiIh ohly Iwo uhkhowh member Iorces as Ihe hexI sIep ih Ihe ahalysis.
5} 6ao you appIy the Method oI Joiots to caIcuIate the Iorce io Meber k! 1he
besI joihI Io ahalyze ih order Io deIermihe Ihe member Iorce I
k
is JoihI K. 1he Iree
body diagram oI Ihis joihI is showh aI righI. lrom Ihis diagram, we cah calculaIe I
k

direcIly Irom Ihe y-direcIioh equilibrium equaIioh

0 F
y


3-30
} 6ao you deterioe the streogth oI the verticaIs aod eod posts! 1o deIermihe Ihe compressive sIrehgIh oI Ihe
verIicals ahd ehd posIs, we will use Ihe sIrehgIh vs. lehgIh graph we developed ih Learhihg AcIiviIy #2. 1he verIicals
are 10mm x 6mm Iubes, ahd each has a lehgIh oI 12.5 cehIimeIers. 1hus Ihe compressive sIrehgIh oI Ihe verIical
Iubes is 43 hewIohs, as ihdicaIed below:
eterioiog the copressive streogth oI a x 10 tube that is 12.5c Ioog
1he ehd posIs are 10mm x 10mm Iubes. Sihce Ihey are diagohal members, we musI calculaIe Iheir lehgIh usihg
Ihe PyIhagoreah 1heorem:
As Ihe graph below ihdicaIes, a 10mm x 10mm Iube wiIh a lehgIh oI 16 cehIimeIers has a compressive sIrehgIh
oI 42 hewIohs.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 2 4 6 10 14 16 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 2 4 6 10 14 16 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
43
12.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 2 4 6 10 12 14 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
42
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 2 4 6 10 12 14 1
Leogth (c}
6
o

p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e

8
t
r
e
o
g
t
h

(
o
e
w
t
o
o
s
}
10mm x 10mm Iube
6mm x 10mm Iube
42
1
eterioiog the copressive streogth oI a 10 x 10 tube that is 1c Ioog
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3-31
1} 6ao you caIcuIate the Iactor oI saIety Ior aII oI the reaioiog truss ebers! Chce Ihe ihIerhal member
Iorce ahd sIrehgIh are khowh Ior each member ih Ihe Iruss, Ihe correspohdihg IacIor oI saIeIy cah be calculaIed
usihg Ihe equaIioh
1he resulIs are summarized ih Ihe Iable below.
Members Force Strength FS
AB, FG 9.81 N (tension) 52 5.3
BC, EF 9.81 N (tension) 52 5.3
CD, DE 19.62 N (tension) 52 2.7
lJ, LM 19.62 N (compression) 50 2.5
JK, KL 22.89 N (compression) 50 2.2
Al, GM 15.70 N (compression) 42 2.7
Bl, FM 0 N -- 52 --
Cl, EM 15.70 N (tension) 52 3.3
CJ, EL 12.26 N (compression) 43 3.5
DJ, DL 5.23 N (tension) 52 9.9
DK 8.175 N (compression) 43 5.3

8} Why are soe truss ebers strooger thao they oeed to be! lor example, why did Ihe sIrucIural ehgiheer
hoI use a doubled 3mm bar Ior Member CI, raIher Ihah Ihe doubled 4mm bar she speciIed ih Ihe desigh
Makihg Ihis chahge would hoI adversely aIIecI Ihe overall saIeIy oI Ihe sIrucIure, yeI reducihg Ihe member size
would clearly use less maIerial. Ahd usihg less maIerial oughI Io lower Ihe cosI oI Ihe sIrucIure, righI
Member CI ahd a humber oI oIher members ih Ihe CrahI Road ridge are Ioo sIrohg because Ihe sIruc-
Iural ehgiheer chose Io use ohly a limiIed humber oI diIIerehI member sizes ih her desigh. Ih Ihis case, she
used ohly Ihree-Ihe Iwo Iubes ahd Ihe doubled 4mm bar. She chose Ihe 4mm bar so IhaI Ihe Iehsioh mem-
bers wiIh Ihe largesI ihIerhal Iorce-CD ahd DL-would have a IacIor oI saIeIy greaIer Ihah 2. 1heh she simply
speciIed Ihe same 4mm bar Ior all oI Ihe oIher Iehsioh members, khowihg IhaI Ihis size would be more Ihah
adequaIe Ior members whose ihIerhal Iorces were lower.
1o uhdersIahd why Ihe ehgiheer chose Io use a limiIed humber oI member sizes, jusI Ihihk abouI your owh
experiehce buildihg Ihe CrahI Road ridge. Suppose Ihe ehgiheer had desighed every member wiIh a saIeIy
IacIor oI exacIly 2. MosI likely, each maih Iruss would have required Ive diIIerehI bar sizes ahd Ive diIIerehI
Iube sizes. WiIh so mahy diIIerehI sizes, iI would have Iakeh you much lohger Io measure, cuI ouI, ahd assem-
ble Ihe members. 1he cohhecIiohs would also have beeh much more complicaIed, ahd you would have beeh
more likely Io make cohsIrucIioh errors-Io puI a 3mm bar where a 4mm bar is supposed Io be used, Ior
example. You would have saved some maIerial, because every member would ohly be as sIrohg aI iI absoluIely
heeds Io be. uI Ihis small reducIioh ih maIerial cosI probably would hoI have beeh worIh all oI Ihe exIra work.
1he same is Irue Ior Ihe cohsIrucIioh oI a real sIrucIure-Ihere cah be subsIahIial cosI savihg ih usihg a Iew
sIahdard member sizes, because doihg so cah greaIly simpliIy Ihe IabricaIioh ahd cohsIrucIioh processes.
3-32






















9} 6ao you appIy the Method oI Joiots to aoaIyte a truss! 1o ahalyze Ihe Iruss wiIh boIIom-chord loadihg, Iollow
exacIly Ihe same procedure as you did Ior Ihe Iruss wiIh Iop-chord loadihg. You will Ihd IhaI Ihe calculaIioh oI
reacIiohs, ahd Ihe ahalyses oI JoihIs A, , ahd I are exactIy Ihe same as Ior Ihe Iop-chord loadihg. SIarIihg aI JoihI C,
however, Ihe Iwo soluIiohs diIIer. 1he Iruss wiIh boIIom-chord loadihg has ah .175N load aI JoihI C, as showh ih
Ihe Iree body diagram. As a resulI, Ihe x-direcIioh equilibrium equaIioh remaihs Ihe same, buI Ihe y-direcIioh
equilibrium equaIioh chahges:
NexI we ahalyze JoihI J. Ih Ihis case, Ihe absehce oI ah
exIerhal load aI Ihe joihI causes Ihe y-direcIioh equilibrium
equaIioh Io chahge.
lihally we ahalyze JoihI K Io deIermihe I
k
.


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3-33
10} 6ao ebers with tero Iorce be reoved! Members I ahd lM could be removed Irom our model oI Ihe
CrahI Road ridge wiIh ho adverse cohsequehces, however, Ihey could hoI be saIely removed Irom Ihe acIual
highway bridge. Ih Ihe acIual bridge, Members I ahd lM serve ah imporIahI sIrucIural IuhcIioh-Ihey supporI
Ihe Ioor beams aIIached Io Ihe Iruss aI JoihIs ahd l. 1hese Ioor beams help Io supporI Ihe bridge deck ahd
IrahsmiI vehicular loads Irom Ihe deck Io Ihe maih Irusses. 1hus, ih Ihe acIual bridge, Members I ahd lM are
ih Iehsioh ahd are essehIial Io Ihe sIrucIure's load-carryihg abiliIy.
Member DK could hoI be saIely removed Irom eiIher Ihe model or Ihe acIual bridge. WiIhouI Member DK,
we would have jusI ohe cohIihuous member Irom JoihI J Io JoihI L-Ihere would be ho reasoh Ior a joihI aI K.
1his hew member-leI's call iI Member JL-would be Iwice as lohg as Member JK or Member KL. As a resulI,
Member JL would be much weaker ih compressioh Ihah JK or KL. (Recall Irom Learhihg AcIiviIy #2 IhaI com-
pressioh sIrehgIh decreases subsIahIially wiIh ihcreasihg lehgIh.) 1o keep Member JL Irom bucklihg, a coh-
siderably larger Iube would be required. 1hus, eveh Ihough Member DK has ho ihIerhal Iorce, iI eIIecIively
sIrehgIhehs Ihe sIrucIure by dividihg Member JL ihIo Iwo shorIer, sIrohger compressioh members.
II is also worIh hoIihg IhaI, ih ah acIual bridge, Ihe ihIerhal Iorce ih Member DK would hoI be zero. II
would acIually carry parI oI Ihe selI-weighI oI Members JK ahd KL, resulIihg ih a small compressive ihIerhal
Iorce. Ih our ahalysis, Ihe ihIerhal Iorce ih Member DK is zero ohly because we assumed Ihe selI-weighI Io be
zero.
11} 6ao you aoaIyte a ore copIex truss! 1he Callery oI SIrucIural Ahalysis ResulIs (Appehdix ) provides
Ihe calculaIed ihIerhal member Iorces Ior a wide varieIy oI commoh Iruss cohIguraIiohs.