Truss design

DR NORWATI JAMALUDDIN

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truss

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 What is truss?

•A truss is an arrangement of bars or

members connected at joints.
•It is essentially a triangulated system of
(usually) straight interconnected
structural elements.

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 What is truss?

• There are 2 types of truss; planar truss and

space truss.

• A frame which has all its members ad applied

forces are in one plane is called a plane frame or
2D truss, while a three-dimensional frame is
called a space frame.

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What is truss?

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What is truss?

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 About truss
Truss can be fabricated from various steel
sections available.
• Open sections, primarily angles, channels,
tees and joints.
• Compound sections, i.e. double angle and
channels.
• Closed sections, in practice structural hollow
sections.

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About truss

•Open sections

•Closed sections

•Compound sections
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 About truss

•Terminology that used in truss system

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 About truss

•Terminology that used in truss system

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 About truss

•Terminology that used in truss system

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 About truss

•Terminology that used in truss system

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 About truss

• Under the action of the

loading system, the frame
tends to take the form in
dotted lines, i.e. A and B
move outwards putting
member AB in tension, and C
moves downwards putting
members AC and BC in
compression. AC and BC are
termed struts and AB a tie.

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 Truss design
Aspects of truss design for roof structure;

In order to get a good structural performance, the

ratio of span to truss depth should be chosen in the
range 10 to 15. To get an efficient layout of the
truss members between the chords, the following is
advisable:

• The inclination of the diagonal members in relation

to the chords should be between 35° and 55°
• Point loads should only be applied at nodes
• The orientation of the diagonal members should be
such that the longest members are subject to
tension (the shorter ones being subject to
compression).

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 Truss design

Aspects of truss design for roof structure;

• Joints in structural steelwork are invariably

bolted or welded, and although such joints will
in fact transmit some moments from member
to member, these moments are usually ignored
in the determination of the forces acting in
the frame.

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 Truss design

Aspects of truss design for roof structure;

•Truss may either supported by columns or

walls. The distance between trussed is termed
as bays. For roof truss bays are economically
spaced between at about 4.5m to 6m.
•The internal bracing members of a truss
should be so arranged that, under vertical
loading, the longer members are in tension and
the shorter members in compression. The
arrangement of the internal bracing depends
on its span.

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 Truss design

Aspects of truss design for roof structure;

• Rafters are normally divided into equal panel

lengths and, ideally, the purlins should be
supported at the node points, so that the
rafters are subjected only to axial forces.
• However, in some cases purlins may have to
be supported between node points the rafters
then have to be designed for bending and
shear in addition to axial forces.

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Truss design

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 Truss design

Aspects of truss design for roof structure;

• Thus when a triangulated frame is loaded at the

joints, the internal forces developed in its members are
axial tension or compression.
• If a local load is applied to a member between its end
joints, however, bending moments and shear forces are
induced in that member and the effects of these must
be considered in the design of that member.
• In general when truss is subjected to a given loading,
the force developed in each member is either tensile or
compressive and in certain cases even bending

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 Truss - Purlins
Purlins are those members in a truss system which
carries the roof sheets and transfer the load to the
rafters. The analysis of truss is carried out to
determine the axial forces in the members and in
certain cases the bending moment due to the applied
loads.

•Trusses support purlins, the member being secondary

members lay longitudinally along the rafter, which
support the roof covering.
• The roof load is transferred to the truss at joints by
a series of purlins (members running between the
trusses).
•The purlins may also provide lateral support to the
top chord.

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 Truss - Loads

In the normal design in practice there are three

basic loads:
• Permanent Actions: cladding, insulation, ceiling,
self weight of trusses and purlins
• Variable Actions: May be taken from any relevant
codes. For roofs the action may be summarized as
follow;
0.75 kN/m2 – only access to the roof for
maintenance and repair
1.5 kN/m2 – where there is access in addition to
that in above

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 Truss - Loads

• Wind Actions: The guide to estimate

these actions are given by BS 6399: part 2
or CP3:Ch V: Part 2. Wind action depends
on the location of buildings, its dimension
as well as slope. The wind actions acts
normal to the roof surfaces. Wind may
cause the uplift on the roof, which may
cause load reversal in truss member.

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 Truss - Loads
There are four combinations of the above
loads:
•Dead load alone
•Dead load plus imposed load
•Dead load plus imposed load plus wind load
•Dead load plus wind load

Combination 2 (dead load plus imposed load) is

normally assumed to be the design criterion,
because in most ‘normal’ roof truss designs this
is the case. However, in practice all the above
combinations must be considered, particularly
if the wind load is high.

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 Analysis of trusses

Primary forces
The primary forces in all members are
calculated by applying loads at the nodes and
assuming the truss is pin-jointed and statically
determinate. Several manual methods analysis
is available such as joint resolution, force
diagram and method of sections. The axial
forces in members may be of tensile or
compressive.

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 Analysis of trusses

Secondary Stresses
In many cases in the design of trusses, it is not
necessary to consider secondary stresses.
These stresses should however, be calculated
for heavy trusses used in industrial buildings
and bridges.

These secondary stresses are caused by:

•Load applied between the nodes of the truss.
•Eccentricity at connections
•Moments resulting from rigid jointed and
deflection of trusses.

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 Analysis of trusses

Eccentricity at connections

Trusses should be detailed so that either the

centroidal axes of the members or the bolt gauge
lines meet at a point at the nodes. Otherwise,
members and connections should be designed to
resist the moments due to eccentricity. These
moments should be divided between members
meeting at joint in proportion to their rational
stiffnesses. Stresses due to small eccentricities
are often neglected.

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 Analysis of trusses

Eccentricity at connections

Trusses should be detailed so that either the

centroidal axes of the members or the bolt gauge
lines meet at a point at the nodes. Otherwise,
members and connections should be designed to
resist the moments due to eccentricity. These
moments should be divided between members
meeting at joint in proportion to their rational
stiffnesses. Stresses due to small eccentricities
are often neglected.

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 Truss design
General procedure in simple roof truss design

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 Analysis of trusses

Load applied between the nodes of the truss.

This solution often occurs to the rafter of the

trusses where the purlins are not positioned at
the nodes. Bending moment induced by this
situation should be calculated and combined to
those due to the primary axial loads and included
in design.

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 Analysis of trusses

Load applied between the nodes of the

truss.

In most cases it is not necessary to consider

secondary stresses in the design of trusses
and lattice girder. However for heavy trusses
used in bridges and industrial buildings,
secondary stresses ought to be calculated and
considered. The calculation may be carried out
by moment redistribution or computer
analysis.

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 Analysis of trusses

Load applied between the nodes of the

truss.

Alternatively bending moment for the top

chord where the purlins are not positioned at
nodes may be conservatively taken as wL2/6
(clause 4.10 BS 5950) where w is the total
load per unit length applied perpendicular to
the rafter and L is the length between nodes.

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 Analysis of trusses

Load applied between the nodes of the

truss.

The top chord in this case is designed for

axial load and bending. The calculation is first
to analyses 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.

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Analysis of trusses

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 Design of purlins

Purlins are those members in truss system which

carries the roof sheets and transfer the load to
the rafters. It is normally placed perpendicular to
the rafters and sag rod may be added to reduce
bending moment of purlins.

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 Design of purlins

They may be design as beams especially for flat roof

where the slope of the rood is less than 10o.
Alternatively empirical method is applied if the
condition suggested in clauses 4.12.4.2 and 4.12.4.3 in
BS 5950 are met.
Clause 4.12.4.3
Purlins must satisfy:
• The slope of the roof should be less than 30% from
the horizontal
• Loading on purlins should be uniformly distributed
• Limitation of section modulus Z about its axis,
member dimension D and B are given in Table 27
BS5950.

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 Design of purlins

Design condition for purlins

Minimum steel grade of S275

Unfactored load should be used
Uniform loading
The slope of the roof should not exceed 30o from
the horizontal
Section modulus Z, and dimension B and D should
not be less than the respective values given in
Table 2.7 BS 5950: part 1: 2000.

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Design of purlins

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 Design of purlins

Example 5.1: Analysis of Purlins load

Given:
Imposed load on plan, Qk =0.75kN/m2
Dead load on plan, Gk = 3 kN/m2
Spacing between trusses St = 5m
Purlin spacing Sp = 2m
Determine the loading transfer to the node.

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 Design of purlins
a
b
c
d

Purlin

Apex Apex
a

b St
Purlin
spacing, Sp Sp

c
Truss
d

Truss PLAN
spacing, St St VIEW

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 Design of purlins

Solution:
Design load per unit area,
q = 1.35Gk + 1.5Qk
= 1.35(3kN/m2) + 1.5(0.75kN/m2)
= 4.05 + 1.13 = 5.18 kN/m2
Area of load transferred to intermediate node,
A = Sp  St = 5m  2m = 10m2
Point load, P = q  A = 5.18kN/m2  10 m2 = 51.8 kN

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 Design of purlins
51.8kN
51.8kN 51.8kN
51.8kN 51.8kN
25.9kN 25.9kN

b
c
d

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 Design of purlins

Example 5.2 : purlin design

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 Design of purlins

Example 5.2 : purlin design

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Design of purlins

1.35Gk+1.5Qk
P=19.1 kN
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Design of purlins

P=19.1 kN

P=19.1/2 =9.55 kN

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 Design of truss members - tension

•Steel tension member are probably the most

common and efficient member. This is due to the
entire cross section is subjected to almost
uniform stress.
•As the tensile force increases on a member it
will straighten out as the load is increased.
•For a member that is purely in tension, we do
not need to worry about the section
classification since it will not buckle locally.

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 Design of truss members - tension

•Tension members are generally designed using

rolled section, bars or flats.
•Flats are higher in flexibility and their
slenderness should be limited.
•In general, rolled sections are preferred and
the use of compound sections is reserved for
larger loads or to resist bending moments in
addition to tension.
•In reference to Cl. 6.2.3, EN 1993-1-1:2005,
the design value of tension force, at each cross
section shall satisfy;

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 Truss – member in tension

• For a member that is purely in tension, we do not

need to worry about the section classification since
it will not buckle locally.
• Tension members are generally designed using rolled
section, bars or flats. However, flats are higher in
flexibility and their slenderness should be limited.
• In general, rolled sections are preferred and the
use of compound sections is reserved for larger
loads or to resist bending moments in addition to
tension.

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 Truss – member in tension

• In reference to Cl. 6.2.3, EN 1993-1-1:2005,

the design value of tension force, at each cross
section shall satisfy;

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 Truss – member in tension

• The tensile resistance is limited by the lesser of:

- Design Plastic Resistance Npl,Rd

- Design Ultimate Resistance Nu,Rd

Nu,Rd is the design ultimate resistance of the net

cross-section, and is concerns with the ultimate
fracture of the net cross-section, which will
normally occur at fastener holes.

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 Truss – member in tension

• Partial Factors γM

Net section
A tension member is often connected to main
or other member by bolt or welds. For bolts
connection, the members with bolt holes, the
net area should be taken into consideration.
Holes in the member will cause stress
concentration.

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 Truss – member in tension

• Characteristic Strengths fy and fu

The UK National Annex says you should get the
values of fy and fu from the product standards.
For hot-rolled sections you can use the table
below. Or Table 3.1

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 Truss – member in tension
• Anet for Non staggered fasteners

Anet = A – Σd0t

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 Truss – member in tension
• Anet for Non staggered fasteners
clause 6.2.2.2 (4)

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 Truss – member in tension
• The total area to be deducted should be taken
as the greater of:
a) The maximum sum of the sectional areas of
the holes on any line perpendicular to the
member axis
b)

where:
• t is the thickness of the plate
• p is the spacing of the centres of the same two holes measured
perpendicular to the member axis
• s is the staggered pitch of the two consecutive holes
• n is the number of holes extending in any diagonal or zig-zag line
progressively across the section
• d0 is the diameter of the hole

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 Truss – member in tension
Tension members: Single Angles

For angles connected by 1 leg and other

unsyammetrically connected members in tension
(i.e. T or channel sections), the eccentricity in
joints and the effects of the spacing and edge
distances of the bolts should be taken into
account in determining the design resistance
(Cl. 3.10.3, EN 1993-1-8: 2005)

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 Truss – member in tension
• A single angle in tension connected by a single
row of bolts in one leg may be treated as
concentrically loaded over an effective net
section. The design ultimate resistance should
be determined as follows;
Refer to EN 1993-1-8 (clause 3.10.3)

With 1 bolt

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 Truss – member in tension
With 2 bolts

With 3 bolts

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 Truss – member in tension

Values of reduction factors β2 and β3 can be

found in Table 3.8 BS EN 1993-1-8

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 Truss – member in tension

• For angle in tension connected through one leg,

BS EN 1993-1-1, 6.2.3 (5) refers to BS EN 1003-
1-8, 3.10.3. However Eurocode does not cover
the case of more than one bolt in the direction
perpendicular to the applied load. Therefore the
resistance has been calculated using expressions
from BS 5950-1; the tables apply only to a single
row across the angle.

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 Truss – member in tension

• The value of the design resistance to tension

has been calculated as follows;

Where
is the equivalent area of the angle

For bolted sections:

For welded sections:

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 Truss – member in tension

is the number of bolts

is the diameter of the hole
A is the gross area of a single angle
A block tearing check (BS EN 1993-1-8, 3.10.2) is also
required for tension members.
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 Tension Member Design Steps Summary
1. Determine the design axial load NEd
2. Choose a section
3. Find fy and fu from the product standards
4. Get the gross area A and the net area Anet
5. Substitute the values into the equations to work out Npl,Rd
and Nu,Rd
For angles connected by a single row of bolts, use the
required equation to work out Nu,Rd from EN 1993-1-8
which will depend on the number of bolts.
The design tensile Resistance is the lesser of the values of
Npl,Rd and Nu,Rd
7. Carry out the tension check:

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 Truss – member in compression

Design resistance of the cross section

For a compression member, several buckling

modes must be considered.

For each buckling mode, the buckling resistance

is obtained from EN 1993-1-1[3] by applying a
reduction to the resistance of the cross-
section. This reduction factor is obtained from
the slenderness of the member, which depends
on the elastic critical force.

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 Truss – member in compression

In most truss members, only flexural buckling

of the compressed members in the plane of
the truss structure and out of the plane of
the truss structure need be evaluated.

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 Truss – member in compression
According to Annex BB §BB.1 of EN 1993-1-1:

• For buckling in the plane of the truss beam:

the buckling length is taken equal to 90% of
the system length (distance between nodes),
when the truss member is connected at each
end with at least two bolts, or by welding (EN
1993-1-1 §BB.1.1 (4)).

(An exception is made by Annex BB for angle truss members,

for which a different evaluation is given; it is not specified in
this annex if the particular rule also concerns members made
up to two pairs of angles: by way of simplification, it is
recommended that a buckling length of 0.9 times the length
of the axis be retained.)

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 Truss – member in compression

According to Annex BB §BB.1 of EN 1993-1-1:

• For buckling out of plane of the truss beam,

the buckling length is taken equal to the
system length.

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 Truss – member in compression

Design resistance of the cross section

In reference to Cl. 6.2.4: EN 1993-1-1:2005,

the design value of compression force, at
each cross section shall satisfy:

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 Truss – member in compression

Buckling resistance

In reference to Cl. 6.3: EN 1993-1-1:2005, a

compression member should be verified
against buckling as follows;

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 Detailing requirement for connection
truss structure using two angles, or two channels

to ensure that such built-up members will behave as

sole members in the flexural buckling mode, the two
components are connected by small battens.

Since the role of these members is to prevent relative

slip of one component compared with the other, they
must be connected without slack. The gap between the
angles, and the thickness of the battens, should be the
same as the thickness of the gusset to which the built-
up member is connected.

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Members composed of two angles

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 Detailing requirement for connection

The maximum spacing of the connections between

members is limited by EN 1993-1-1 to 15 times
the minimum radius of gyration of the isolated
component.

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