Mechanics of Solids
Lecture 3
By
Dr. Gaurav Tiwari
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department, IIT Kanpur
Truss - Introduction
⮚Truss: Structure of connected slender light weight members which are designed to carry axial loads
⮚Plane Truss: A truss consisting of a co-planar system of members
⮚The external loads must be applied at the joints (idealisation for simplified analysis)
⮚Truss members are 2-force members with both ends pinned/hinged and carrying no load in between
(weights are neglected)
➢ Two force principle: These elements can only have two forces acting upon them at their hinges. If
only two forces act on a body that is in equilibrium, then they must be equal in magnitude, co-linear
and opposite in sense.
2- force members (tensile or compressive)
2D/Plane Truss
Analysis of Truss – Finding External Reactions
➢ Draw the truss and include all external loads and
reactions at the support
➢ Calculate the support reactions using equilibrium
equations
𝐹𝑥 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐴𝑋 = 0 …. 1
𝐹𝑦 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐴𝑌 + 𝑅𝐵𝑌 − 75 − 50 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐴𝑌 + 𝑅𝐵𝑌 = 125 … . 2
σ 𝑀𝐴 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐵𝑌 × 4 − 75 × 2 − 50 × 3 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐵𝑌 = 75 kN … . . (3)
From (2) and (3),
𝑅𝐴𝑌 = 50
Analysis of Truss – Forces Along Members
➢ The designer of truss might be interested in how the loads are transmitted by members to ensure
that each member is strong enough
➢ There are two common methods to analyse truss:
▪ Method of Joints
▪ Method of Sections
Forces Along Members-Method of Joints
➢ This method relies on the equilibrium of forces along the joint
➢ The general guidelines/steps are shown below.
▪ For the chosen joint (start from the joint where there are no more than two unknown forces), draw a
Free Body Diagram (FBD) showing all forces acting on the joint
▪ Include forces in the members connected to the joint, along with the reactions from external load (if
any)
▪ Consider equilibrium of forces: σ 𝐹𝑥 = 0; σ 𝐹𝑦 = 0
Forces Along Members-Method of Joints
➢ Consider the equilibrium of joint A:
σ 𝐹𝑥 = 0 ⇒ 𝐹𝐴𝐷 + 𝐹𝐴𝐶 cos 45° = 0 (since, 𝑅𝐴𝑋 = 0) … … (3)
𝟒𝟓°
𝐹𝑦 = 0 ⇒ 𝑅𝐴𝑌 + 𝐹𝐴𝐶 sin 45° = 0 … … … . (4)
⇒ 𝑭𝑨𝑪 = −𝟓𝟎 𝟐 𝒌𝑵 and 𝑭𝑨𝑫 = 𝟓𝟎 𝒌𝑵
Direction is opposite what was Direction is correct what was
initially assumed (direction is initially assumed (direction is
compressive) tensile)
➢ Move along adjacent joint, repeat process and estimate forces along all members
𝑭𝑪𝑭
C
𝑭𝑪𝑫
𝑭𝑨𝑪
Joint C
Analysis of Truss – Forces Along Members
Forces Along Members-Method of Section
➢ This method is particularly useful when you need to find forces in members that are not
immediately adjacent to the supports or when you don't need the forces in every single member of
the truss.
➢ Unlike the method of joints, which looks at forces at each joint sequentially, the method of
sections involves virtually cutting through the truss and considering equilibrium of isolated sub-
parts
➢ Equilibrium Equations: σ 𝐹𝑥 = 0; σ 𝐹𝑦 = 0 ; σ 𝑀 = 0
A truss member when cut
Forces Along Members-Method of Section
➢ This method is particularly useful when you need to find forces in members that are not
immediately adjacent to the supports or when you don't need the forces in every single member of
the truss.
➢ Unlike the method of joints, which looks at forces at each joint sequentially, the method of
sections involves virtually cutting through the truss and considering equilibrium of isolated sub-
parts
➢ Equilibrium Equations: σ 𝐹𝑥 = 0; σ 𝐹𝑦 = 0 ; σ 𝑀 = 0
Forces Along Members-Method of Section
Force in CD?
σ 𝑀𝐴 = 0 ⇒ 𝐹𝐶𝐷 𝐴𝐶 = 0 ⇒ 𝐹𝐶𝐷 = 0
Consider left portion
Forces Along Members-Method of Section
Force in FD?
Left portion Right portion
𝑀𝐵 = 0 ⇒ −𝐹𝐶𝐷 sin 45° 𝐵𝐷 − 𝐹𝐹𝐷 𝐵𝐷 + 50 × 1 = 0
𝐹𝐹𝐷 = 25 kN (tensile)
Consider right portion
