48321

ENGINEERING MECHANICS
Autumn 2024
Dr Jianguang Fang
[email protected]

Workshop: 8-10 am Wednesday Weeks 4-5 &12 https://zoom.uts.edu.au/j/89404858078

Consultation: 10-11 am Wednesday Weeks 4-5 &12 https://zoom.uts.edu.au/j/89404858078
Review of Lecture 3

• Types of Loads such as point load, distributed load (LDL, UDL).

• Reduction of a simple distributed load
‫𝑥 𝐿׬‬ω 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 ‫𝐴𝑑𝑥 ׬‬
FR=‫ 𝐿׬‬ω 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 = ‫𝐴 𝑑 𝐿׬‬ 𝑥ҧ = =𝐿
‫ 𝐿׬‬ω 𝑥 𝑑𝑥 ‫𝐴𝑑 𝐿׬‬
Area underneath the curve = Force

• FBD on Rigid Body

Review of Lecture 3

• Equilibrium of a 2 force body; Equilibrium of a 3 force body

• Structural analysis with FBD (focus on finding out boundary reactions)

෍ 𝐹𝑥 = 0; ෍ 𝐹𝑦 = 0; ෍ 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑦 = 0
Review of Lecture 3

• Fluid statics
Pressure (unit: Pa or N/m2) Load distribution (unit: N/m)
Lecture 4. Structural analysis-truss system
• Introduction to trusses
• Pin-jointed trusses
• Method of joints
• Zero force members
• Method of sections
• Analysis of compound trusses
 Trusses – Introduction

There are many kinds of structures. This

section will limit to pin-connected
trusses. In the actual structure, the
joints may be welded, riveted, or bolted
to a gusset plate at the joint. However
as long as the centre-line of the member
coincide at the joint, the assumption of a
pinned joint may be used.
Trusses – Introduction
Trusses – Introduction
 Trusses – Introduction
• Trusses consist of slender members connected at joints at the ends
of each member
• Loads are applied at joints.
• Treat the joints as smooth pins – members are then a 2 force body
• No shear force & bending moment are produced. Only axial
compression and axial tension is to be determined while analysing
a truss.

What if the two forces

are not colinear?

Tension Compression
To elongate To shorten
the truss the truss
Simple Truss. If three members are pin connected at their ends, they form a triangular
truss that will be rigid.

basic triangular truss

Attaching two more members and connecting these members to a new joint D forms a
larger truss.

This procedure can be repeated as many times as desired to form an even larger truss.
If a truss can be constructed by expanding the basic triangular truss in this way, it is
called a simple truss.
 Determinate and indeterminate trusses
If all the member forces of a truss can be determined from the equations of equilibrium,
we say that the truss is internally determinate. For a 2-D force equilibrium:

F x =0 F Y =0
If these equations are applied at every joint in a truss, we have a total of 2j
equations where j is the number of joints. If these equations are in turn used to find
the unknown member forces and the reactions, then it follows that a 2-D truss is
determinate if:
𝑚 + 𝑟 = 2𝑗
where,
m = the number of members
r = the number of reactions
j = the number of joints
Statically Unstable

m = 21 r=3 2j = 24
 Methods of truss analysis

Method of joints – find force in every member

of the truss
Method of sections – find force in only some
members of the truss
 Method of joints
If the entire truss is in equilibrium, then each of its joints is also in equilibrium.
Therefore, if the free-body diagram of each joint is drawn, the force equilibrium
equations can then be used to obtain the member forces acting on each joint.

Consider the equilibrium of each joint

• Since the entire truss is in equilibrium, each
joint must be in equilibrium
• We can find the forces in each joint by
summing forces in the x and y directions:

F x =0 F Y =0
Note that when a force is directed away from the pin it indicates
that the member is in tension. when a force is directed towards
the pin it indicates that the member is in compression.
Which point shall we start with?
 Start from Point B, and assume the unknown member forces
direction.

෍ 𝐹𝑥 = 0; 500 − F𝐵𝐶 𝑠𝑖𝑛45° = 0 F𝐵𝐶 =707.1 kN (compression force in member BC)

෍ 𝐹𝑦 = 0; F𝐵𝐶 𝑐𝑜𝑠45° −F𝐵𝐴 = 0 F𝐵𝐴 =500 kN (tension force in member BA)

After Point B, we move on to Point C, and then Point A

Eventually, we have the complete solution

How to determine the sense of the unknown member force

1. By “inspection”
2. Assume the sense first and
then verify
 Procedure of analysis by method of joints
The following procedure provides a means for analysing a truss using the method of joints.
• Draw the free-body diagram of a joint having at least one known force and at most two
unknown forces. (If this joint is at one of the supports, then it may be necessary first to
calculate the external reactions at the support.)
• Use one of the two methods described above for establishing the sense of an unknown force.
• Orient the x and y axes such that the forces on the free-body diagram can be easily resolved
into their x and y components and then apply the two force equilibrium equations Fx = 0 and Fy
= 0. Solve for the two unknown member forces and verify their correct sense.
• Using the calculated results, continue to analyse each of the other joints. Remember that a
member in compression “pushes” on the joint and a member in tension “pulls” on the joint.
Also, be sure to choose a joint having at most two unknowns and at least one known force.
Example 1. Determine the force in each member of the truss. Indicate whether the
members are in tension or compression.

By inspection, there are more than two unknowns at each joint.

Consequently, the support reactions on the truss must first be determined.
Joint C

FCD = 4.10 kN Tension

FCB = 5.02 kN Compression
 Joint D

Continue with Joints A &B

Example 2. Determine the force in each member of the truss. Indicate whether the
members are in tension or compression.

No joint can be analysed until the support reactions are determined, because each
joint has at least three unknown forces acting on it. From FBD, we have:
 Joint A

As shown on the free-body diagram of Joint A, FAB is assumed

to be compressive and FAD is tensile. Applying the equations of
equilibrium, we have

Joint D

Using the result for FAD and summing forces in the horizontal
direction

The negative sign indicates that FDB acts in the opposite sense to
that shown. Therefore FDB = 250 N (T)
Joint D To determine FDC, we can either correct the sense of FDB on the free
body diagram, and then apply Fy = 0, or apply this equation and
retain the negative sign for FDB

Joint C
 Zero force members
If a pin connects a PAIR of COLLINEAR MEMBERS and ONE
OTHER member, then the force in the ‘third member’ is ZERO,
and the forces in the collinear members are equal and opposite.

Zero force member

F1 F2
F1=F2
Example 1. Determine the zero force members in the truss frame.
Example 2. Determine the zero force members in the truss frame.
Example 3. Determine the zero force members in the truss frame.
 E

4m
H
C 150kN
4m
B I
D F G

300kN 6m

A J

3m 4m 4m 3m

FIGURE 4
 Method of Sections
When we need to find the force in only a few members of a truss, we
can analyse the truss using the method of sections. It is based on the
principle that if the truss is in equilibrium then any segment of the truss
is also in equilibrium.
The procedure can be summarized as:
• *First find the external support reactions.
• make a cut through the truss using an imaginary
section, generally cutting at most three members with
unknown internal forces. – draw FBD to the left or
right of this cut. The cut will “expose” each internal
force as “external” to the free-body diagrams
• apply the 3 equations of equilibrium to the whole of
the cut off piece of truss to obtain the 3 unknown
internal member forces.
Find the force in BC, CG and GF
 In this question, no need to find the
external support reactions.

When applying the equilibrium equations, we should carefully consider ways of writing
the equations so as to yield a direct solution for each of the unknowns, rather than
having to solve simultaneous equations.
Example 1. Determine the force in members GE , GC , and BC of the truss

In this question, it is necessary to find

the external support reactions first.
For the analysis the free-body diagram of the left portion of the sectioned truss will
be used, since it involves the least number of forces
 Example 2. Determine the force in member CF of the truss. Indicate whether the member
is in tension or compression. Assume each member is pin connected.

Section aa will be used since this section will “expose” the internal force in member CF as
“external” on the free-body diagram of either the right or left portion of the truss. It is first
necessary, however, to determine the support reactions.

Use principle of transmissibility for moment of FCF

• To find the force in every member of a truss,
sometimes we need to apply both the method of
joints and the method of sections
Example 1. Determine the force in member EB of the roof truss. Indicate whether the member
is in tension or compression.

Step 1.
Method of sections
Step 2. Method of Joints
Review and practice