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1. INTRODUCTION
The truss or lattice girder is a triangulated framework of members where loads in the plane of the truss or
girder are resisted by axial forces in the individual members. The terms are generally applied to the planar
truss. A 'space frame' is formed when the members lie in three dimensions.
The main uses are:
in buildings, to support roofs and floors, to span large distances and carry relatively light loads, see
Figure 1.
in road and rail bridges, for short and intermediate spans and in footbridges, as shown in Figure 2.
as bracing in buildings and bridges, to provide stability where the bracing members form a truss with
other structural members such as the columns in a building. Examples are shown in Figure 3.
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The principle of a truss is simple. The structure is composed of top and bottom chords triangulated with
diagonals in the webs so that each member carries purely axial load. Additional effects do exist but in a well
designed truss these will be of a secondary nature.
A global moment on a truss is carried as compression and tension in the chords. A global shear is carried as
tension or compression in the diagonal members. In the simplified case, where joints are considered as pinned,
and the loads are applied at the panel points, the loading creates no bending moment, shear, or torsion in any
single member. Loads applied in such a way as to cause bending, shear, or torsion will usually result in
inefficient use of material.
Trusses and lattice girders are classified in accordance with the overall form and internal member
arrangement. Pitched trusses are used for roofs. Parallel chord lattice girders are used to support roofs and
floors and for bridges, although in continuous bridges, additional depth is often required at the piers. In the
past, proper names were given to the various types of trusses such as the Fink truss, Warren girder, etc.. The
most commonly used truss is single span, simply supported and statically determinate with joints assumed to
act as pins.
The Vierendeel girder should also be mentioned. It consists of rigid jointed rectangular panels as shown in
Figure 1d. This truss is statically indeterminate and will not be further considered in this lecture, although it
has a pleasing appearance and is often used in foot-bridges.
The saving over a plate girder is clear when the webs are considered. In a truss the webs are mainly fresh air hence less weight and less wind force.
A truss can be assembled from small easily handled and transported pieces, and the site connections can all be
bolted. Trusses can have a particular advantage for bridges in countries where access to the site is difficult or
supply of skilled labour is limited.
2. TYPICAL MEMBERS
Truss, lattice girder and bracing members for buildings are selected from:
open sections, primarily angles, channels, tees and joists.
compound sections, i.e. double angle and channels.
closed sections, in practice structural hollow sections.
For bridges, members are selected from:
rolled sections.
compound sections.
built-up H, top hat and box sections.
Typical sections are shown in Figure 4.
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The selection of members depends on the location, use, span, type of connection and the appearance
required. Hollow sections are more expensive than open sections but are cheaper to maintain and have a
better appearance. However, in exposed trusses corrosion can occur at the crevices which are formed at
gusset positions. Angles are the sections traditionally used for small span truss construction.
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1. Dead loads. These are caused by self-weight, sheeting, decking, floor or roof slabs, purlins, beams,
insulation, ceilings, services and finishes. Dead loads for the construction to be used in any particular
case must be carefully estimated from material weights given in handbooks and manufacturers'
literature.
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literature.
2. Imposed loads. These are given in Eurocode 1 [1] for floors in various types of building and for roofs
with or without access. The imposed load may cover the whole or part of the member and should be
applied in such a way as to cause the most severe effect.
3. Wind loads. These are given in Eurocode 1 [1] and can be estimated from the location of the building,
its dimensions and the sizes of openings on its faces. Wind generally causes uplift on roofs and this can
lead to reversal of load in truss members in light construction. In multi-storey buildings, wind gives rise
to horizontal loads that must be resisted by the bracing.
In special cases, trusses resist dynamic, seismic and wave loads. A careful watch should be kept for unusual
loads applied during erection. Failures may occur at this stage when the final lateral support system is not
fully installed.
For bridges, in addition to the dead loads and the vertical effects of live loads due to highway or railway
loading, horizontal effects of live load have to be considered. These include braking and traction effects,
centrifugal loads and accidental skidding loads. Temperature effects are significant in some bridges.
4. ANALYSIS OF TRUSSES
4.1 General
Trusses may be single span, statically determinate or indeterminate, or may be continuous over two or more
spans, as shown in Figure 6. Only single span, statically determinate, trusses are considered in this section.
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Moments due to these loads must be calculated and the stresses arising combined with those due to
primary axial loads; that is the members concerned must be designed as beam-columns. This situation
often occurs in roof trusses where the loads are applied to the top chord through purlins which may not
be located at the nodes, as shown in Figure 7. The manual method of calculation is first to analyse the
truss for the loads applied at the nodes which gives the axial forces in the members. Then a separate
analysis is made for bending in the top chord which is considered as a continuous beam. The ridge joint
E is fixed because of symmetry, but the eaves joint A should be taken as pinned; otherwise, moment
will be transferred into the bottom chord if the joint between the truss and column is assumed to be
pinned. The top chord is designed for axial load and bending. Computer analysis is mentioned below.
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5. SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS
5.1 Cross-Braced Trusses in Buildings
In the bracing provided to stabilise multi-storey buildings, the panels often have cross-diagonals as shown in
Figure 8a. It is customary to consider the truss as statically determinate, with only the set of diagonals in
tension assumed to be effective. When the wind reverses the other set becomes active.
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Another common case is the lattice girder with an odd number of panels. The centre panel is cross-braced as
shown in Figure 8b. Under symmetrical loading there are no forces in these diagonals. If imposed load is
placed over part of the span, only the diagonal in tension is assumed to be effective.
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For railway bridges, Figure 9 illustrates an economic lateral system at deck level which consists of a simple
single member which doubles up as part of the braking girder. The lateral is supported by the stringers, so the
effective length is only about a third of the panel length.
Wind loading on diagonals and verticals can be split equally between top and bottom lateral systems,
remembering that the end portals (either diagonals or verticals) have to carry the load applied to the top chord
down to the bottom chord.
Obviously where only one lateral system exists (as in semi-through or underslung trusses) then this single
system must carry all of the wind load.
In addition to resisting externally applied transverse loads due to wind, etc., lateral bracing stabilizes the
compression chord. Its presence is necessary to ensure that reasonably small effective lengths are obtained for
the truss members. Lateral bracing is also required at all kinks in the chords where compressive loads are
induced into the web members, irrespective of whether the chord is in tension or compression.
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d = S FuL/EA
where:
A is the area of a truss member
E is the modulus of elasticity
L is the length of a truss member between nodes
F is the force in a member due to the applied loads
u is the force in a member due to unit load applied at the truss node and in the direction of the required
deflection.
The Williot-Mohr graphical method can also be used to determine truss deflections. If a computer analysis is
carried out, joint deflections are given as part of the output.
A truss may be cambered during fabrication to offset deflections due to applied loads. The term cambering
means that a given upward deflection can be built into, say, a nominally horizontal truss during fabrication by
adjusting the member lengths slightly to cause the truss to bow upwards.
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For calculating effective lengths, the fixity of connections and rigidity of adjacent members may be
taken into account.
Where the exact position of point loads on the rafter relative to the connection of the web members is
not known, the local bending moment may be taken as WL/6.
In accordance with Clause 5.8.2 of Part 1.1 of Eurocode 3 [2], the buckling length of chord members
may be taken as the distance between connections to web members in the plane and the distance
between purlins or ties out of plane of the truss.
For web members the buckling length for in-plane buckling may be taken as 0.9L, where L is the length
between truss nodes.
Figure 10 shows roof trusses in place in a building with the purlins providing lateral support to the top chord,
and a lower chord bracing system providing lateral support to the bottom chord.
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Two common internal truss members are the single angle discontinuous strut connected to a gusset or another
member and the double angle discontinuous strut connected to both sides of a gusset or another member.
These should be connected by at least two bolts or the equivalent in welding. Eurocode 3: Part 1.1: Clause
5.8.3 states that the end eccentricity may be ignored and the struts designed as axially loaded members in
accordance with that clause [1].
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7. PRACTICAL DESIGN
a. Buildings
1. It is not always economic to make every member a different size. The designer should rationalise the sizes
and use only two or three different sections in small span trusses.
2. Minimum sizes should be adopted to prevent damage during transport and erection. Recommendations are
set out above.
3. Safe load tables are very useful and members subjected to axial load can be selected directly. Members
subjected to axial load and moment must be designed by successive trials. Select the initial size by assuming
the compression resistance is 60% of full resistance.
4. Large trusses must be sub-divided for transport. Bolted site splices are used to assemble the truss on site.
b. Bridges
1. The optimum value for the span-to-depth ratio depends on the magnitude of the live load that has to be
carried. It should be in the region of 10, being greater for road traffic and less for rail traffic. (For twin track
rail loading the ratio would drop to about 71/2.) However, one should always make a check on the economic
depth for the given bridge.
2. An even number of bays should be chosen to suit the configuration of diagonals. If an odd number is
chosen there will be a central bay with crossed diagonals. This is not usually desirable except perhaps at the
centre of a swing bridge. The diagonals should be at an angle between 50 and 60 to the horizontal.
3. Grade 50 steel should be used for the main members with Grade 43 used only for members carrying
nominal load, unless the truss has to be fabricated in a country where the supply of higher grade steel is a
problem. For a truss designed using Grade 50 steel, the amount of Grade 43 steel used would normally be
about 7%.
4. The problems that may confront the bridge maintenance team should be fully appreciated. Details which
could trap rainwater, dirt and debris should be avoided. All exposed areas should be fully accessible for
painting. Box sections make painting easier, but rolled hollow sections leave nasty crevices at gusset positions
unless the joints are welded.
8. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
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8. CONCLUDING SUMMARY
Trusses and lattice girders are important elements in building where they are used to support floors and
roofs and provide bracing.
For bridges, trusses can be economic for spans of 30m to 200m. They can be assembled from small
pieces and are particularly advantageous where site access is difficult.
Statically determinate trusses are generally used. Keep the configuration simple, using a minimum of
members and connections.
Avoid eccentricity of loading and connections to reduce secondary stresses. Secondary stresses due to
loads applied between the nodes must be calculated.
Careful consideration must be given in design to the provision of lateral support.
Fatigue effects have to be considered in bridges and in some elements of buildings.
Configuration of members and careful design of connections are particularly important.
Avoid potential corrosion areas on all exposed steelwork.
9. REFERENCES
[1] Eurocode 1: "Basis of Design and Actions on Structures": CEN (in preparation).
[2] Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures": ENV 1993-1-1: Part 1.1: General rules and rules for buildings,
CEN, 1992.
[3] Eurocode 3: "Design of Steel Structures", Part 2: Bridges, CEN (in preparation).
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