4/2/2017 TrussesSteelconstruction.

info

Trusses

Atrussisessentiallyatriangulatedsystemofstraightinterconnectedstructuralelements.Themostcommonuse
oftrussesisinbuildings,wheresupporttoroofs,thefloorsandinternalloadingsuchasservicesandsuspended
ceilings,arereadilyprovided.Themainreasonsforusingtrussesare:

Longspan
Lightweight
Reduceddeflection(comparedtoplainmembers)
Opportunitytosupportconsiderableloads.

Thepenalty,however,isincreasedfabricationcosts.

Thearticledescribesalternativeformsoftruss,where
andwhydifferentformsmightbeappropriateand
introducesdesignconsiderations.Primarily,pin
jointedtrussesarediscussed,withsomediscussionof
rigidjointedVierendeeltrusses.

Contents[hide]
1Definitionofatruss
2Useoftrussesinbuildings
3Typesoftrusses
3.1Pratttruss('N'truss)
Longspan,curvedrooftrusses
3.2Warrentruss
RobinHoodAirport,Doncaster
3.3Northlighttruss
(ImagecourtesyofTubecon)
3.4Sawtoothtruss
3.5Finktruss

4Aspectsoftrussdesignforroofs
4.1TrussorIbeam
4.2Generalgeometry
4.3Typesoftrussmembersections
4.4Typesofconnections
4.5Lateralstability

5Designofwindgirders
5.1Transversewindgirder
5.2Longitudinalwindgirder

6Guidanceonglobalanalysis
6.1Modelling
6.2Theeffectofnonpreloadedassembliesontruss
deflection

7Detaileddesignconsiderationsforelements
7.1Verificationofmembersundercompression

8Vierendeeltrusses
8.1UseofVierendeeltrusses
8.2Analysis
8.3Connections

9References
10Furtherreading
11Resources
12Seealso
13Externallinks

Definitionofatruss [top]

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Atrussisessentiallyatriangulatedsystemof(usually)straight
interconnectedstructuralelementsitissometimesalsoreferredtoas
anopenwebgirder.Theindividualelementsareconnectedatnodes
theconnectionsareoftenassumedtobenominallypinned.The
externalforcesappliedtothesystemandthereactionsatthesupports
aregenerallyappliedatthenodes.Whenallthemembersandapplied
forcesareinasameplane,thesystemisaplaneor2Dtruss.

Theprincipalforceineachelementinatrussisaxialtensionor
compression.
Membersunderaxialforcesinasimpletruss
1Compressionaxialforce
2Tensionaxialforce

Overviewoftrusses

Useoftrussesinbuildings [top]

Trussesareusedinabroadrangeofbuildings,mainlywherethereisarequirementforverylongspans,suchasin
airportterminals,aircrafthangers,sportsstadiaroofs,auditoriumsandotherleisurebuildings.Trussesarealsoused
tocarryheavyloadsandaresometimesusedastransferstructures.Thisarticlefocusesontypicalsinglestorey
industrialbuildings,wheretrussesarewidelyusedtoservetwomainfunctions:

Tocarrytheroofload
Toprovidehorizontalstability.

Twotypesofgeneralarrangementofthestructureofatypicalsinglestoreybuildingareshowninthefigurebelow.

Typicaltrussbuildingarrangements

Lateralstabilityprovidedbyportaltrusses. Buildingbracedinbothdirections.

Longitudinalstabilityprovidedbytransversewind Lateralstabilityprovidedbylongitudinalwind
girderandverticalcrossbracings(blue) girderandverticalbracingsinthegables(blue)

Nolongitudinalwindgirder. Longitudinalstabilityprovidedbytransversewind
girderandverticalbracings(green)

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Inthefirstcase(left)thelateralstabilityofthestructureisprovidedbyaseriesofportaltrussestheconnections
betweenthetrussandthecolumnsprovideresistancetoaglobalbendingmoment.Loadsareappliedtotheportal
structurebypurlinsandsiderails.

Inthesecondcase,(right)eachtrussandthetwocolumnsbetweenwhichitspans,constituteasimplestructurethe
connectionbetweenthetrussandacolumndoesnotresisttheglobalbendingmoment,andthetwocolumnbases
arepinned.Bracinginbothdirectionsisnecessaryatthetoplevelofthesimplestructureitisachievedbymeansof
alongitudinalwindgirderwhichcarriesthetransverseforcesduetowindonthesidewallstotheverticalbracingin
thegablewalls.Longitudinalstabilityisalsoprovidedbyawindgirderintheroofandverticalbracinginthe
elevations.

Typesoftrusses [top]

Trussescompriseassembliesoftensionandcompressionelements.Undergravityloads,thetopandbottomchords
ofthetrussprovidethecompressionandtensionresistancetooverallbending,andthebracingresiststheshear
forces.Awiderangeoftrussformscanbecreated.Eachcanvaryinoverallgeometryandinthechoiceofthe
individualelements.Someofthecommonlyusedtypesareshownbelow.

Pratttruss('N'truss) [top]

Pratttrussesarecommonlyusedinlongspanbuildingsrangingfrom20to100minspan.InaconventionalPratt
truss,diagonalmembersareintensionforgravityloads.Thistypeoftrussisusedwheregravityloadsare
predominant(seebelowleft).AnalternativePratttrussisshown(belowright)wherethediagonalmembersarein
tensionforupliftloads.Thistypeoftrussisusedwhereupliftloadsarepredominant,whichmaybethecaseinopen
buildingssuchasaircrafthangers.

Pratttruss(gravityloads) Pratttruss(upliftloads)

Itispossibletoaddsecondarymembers(asillustratedbelowleft)to:

Createintermediatesupportpointsforappliedloads
Limitthebucklinglengthofmembersincompression(althoughina2Dtruss,thebucklinglengthisonlymodifiedin
oneaxis).

ForthePratttrussandanyofthetypesoftrussmentionedbelow,itispossibletoprovideeitherasingleoradouble
slopetotheupperchordofaroofsupportingtruss.Anexampleofadouble(duopitch)Pratttrussisshownbelow.

Pratttrusswithsecondarymembers DuopitchPratttruss

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APratttrussUniversityofManchester
(ImagecourtesyofEllandSteelStructuresLtd.)

Warrentruss [top]

Inthistypeoftruss,diagonalmembersare
alternativelyintensionandincompression.The
Warrentrusshasequallengthcompression
andtensionwebmembers,andfewermembers
thanaPratttruss.AmodifiedWarrentrussmay
beadoptedwhereadditionalmembersare
introducedtoprovideanodeat(forexample)
purlinlocations.

Warrentrussesarecommonlyusedinlong
spanbuildingsrangingfrom20to100min
span.

Thistypeoftrussisalsousedforthehorizontal
ModifiedWarrentrussesNationalCompositesCentre, trussofgantry/cranegirders.
Bristol

(ImagecourtesyofBillingtonStructuresLtd.)

ModifiedWarrentruss

Northlighttruss [top]

Northlighttrussesaretraditionallyusedforshortspansinindustrial
workshoptypebuildings.Theyallowmaximumbenefittobegained
fromnaturallightingbytheuseofglazingonthesteeperpitchwhich
generallyfacesnorthornortheasttoreducesolargain.Onthe
steeperslopingportionofthetruss,itistypicaltohaveatrussrunning
perpendiculartotheplaneoftheNorthLighttruss,toprovidelarge NorthLighttruss
columnfreespaces.

Theuseofnorthlightstoincreasenaturaldaylightingcanreducetheoperationalcarbonemissionsofbuildings
althoughtheirimpactshouldbeexploredusingdynamicthermalmodelling.Althoughnorthlightsreducethe
requirementforartificiallightingandcanreducetheriskofoverheating,byincreasingthevolumeofthebuildingthey

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canalsoincreasethedemandforspaceheating.FurtherguidanceisgivenintheTargetZeroWarehousebuildings
designguide.

Sawtoothtruss [top]

AvariationoftheNorthlighttrussisthesawtoothtrusswhichisused
inmultibaybuildings.SimilartotheNorthlighttruss,itistypicalto
includeatrussoftheverticalfacerunningperpendiculartotheplane
ofthesawtoothtruss.
Sawtooth(orButterfly)truss

Finktruss [top]

TheFinktrussofferseconomyintermsofsteelweightforshortspan
highpitchedroofsasthemembersaresubdividedintoshorter
elements.Therearemanywaysofarrangingandsubdividingthe
chordsandinternalmembers.

Thistypeoftrussiscommonlyusedtoconstructroofsinhouses.
Finktruss

Aspectsoftrussdesignfor [top]

roofs

TrussorIbeam [top]

Forthesamesteelweight,itispossibletogetbetterperformanceintermsofresistanceandstiffness,withatruss
thananIbeam.Thisdifferenceismoresensitiveforlongspansand/orheavyloads.Thefulluseofthisadvantageis
achievableiftheheightofthetrussisnotlimitedbycriteriaotherthanthestructuralefficiency,e.g.alimitontotal
heightofthebuilding.However,fabricationofatrussisgenerallymoretimeconsumingthanforanIbeam,even
consideringthatmodernfabricationequipmentishighlyefficient.

Thebalancebetweenminimumweightandminimumcostdependsonmanyconditions:theequipmentof
thefabricationfactory,thelocalcostofmanufacturingthesteelunitcost,etc.Trussesgenerallygiveaneconomic
solutionforspansover20m.

Anadvantageofthetrussdesignforroofsisthatductsandpipesthatarerequiredforoperationofthebuildings
servicescanbeinstalledthroughthetrussweb,i.e.serviceintegration.

Generalgeometry [top]

Forefficientstructuralperformance,theratioofspantotrussdepthshouldbechosenintherange10to15.The
architecturaldesignofthebuildingdeterminesitsexternalgeometryandgovernstheslope(s)giventothetopchord
ofthetruss.Theintendeduseoftheinternalspacecanleadeithertothechoiceofahorizontalbottomchord,e.g.
whereconveyorsmustbehungunderthechord,ortoaninclinedbottomchord,toallowmaximumspacetobe
provided.

Foranefficientlayoutofthetrussmembersbetweenthechords,thefollowingisadvisable:

Theinclinationofthediagonalmembersinrelationtothechordsshouldbebetween35and55
Pointloadsshouldonlybeappliedatnodes
Theorientationofthediagonalmembersshouldbesuchthatthelongestmembersaresubjecttotension(theshorter
onesbeingsubjecttocompression).

Typesoftrussmembersections [top]

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Manysolutionsareavailable.Choiceofmembersdependsonthe
magnitudeoftheinternalforces,easeofconnectionsbetween
members,aestheticsandanynecessitytoconnectprefabricated
trusssectionsonsite.Whenselectingmembers,theoutofplane
bucklingresistancewillbeimportant,togetherwithresistance
underreversedloading,forexample,uplift.

Boltedanglestoformlightweight,long
spantrusses
(ImagecourtesyofMetsecplc)

Typicalelementcrosssectionsforlightbuildingtrusses

Forsmallerspans,teesectionsarefrequentlyusedforchords,withanglesusedasinternalmembers.Theinternal
membersmaybeboltedorweldedtothetees.Backtobackanglesorchannelsmaybeusedforlongerspansor
heavierloads,withagussetplateusedatnodestoconnectthemembers.

Forlargetrussesandheavyloads,typicallyfoundintransfertrussesinbuildings,membersmayberolledsections
typicallyUKCsections.Nodesareusuallywelded.Anynecessaryconnectionsarecompletedwithboltedsplices
withinthelengthbetweennodes.

Formanyexposedtrusses,hollowsectionsarechosenfortheirstructuralefficiencyandforaestheticreasons.
Nodeswillgenerallybeweldedintheworkshop.Aspartofthetrussdesign,itisessentialtoverifytheresistanceof
thejoints(inaccordancewithBSEN199318[1])asthejointdesignmaydominatememberselectionandfinaltruss
geometry.Membersshouldbeselectedcarefullytoavoidexpensivestrengtheningoftrussesfabricatedfromhollow
sections.

Differenttypesofsteelsectionusedintrusses

Typesofconnections [top]

Forallthetypesofmembersections,itis
Typicaljointsinweldedbuildingrooftrusses
possibletodesigneitherboltedorwelded
connections.Generallyinsteelwork
construction,boltedsitesplicesarepreferred
toweldedsplicesforeconomyandspeed
oferection.Whereboltedconnectionsare
used,itisnecessarytoevaluatethe

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consequencesof'slack'inconnections.In
ordertoreducetheseconsequences
(typically,theincreaseofthedeflections),
preloadedassembliestoproducenonslip
jointsarerecommended.

Hollowsectionsaretypicallyconnected
byweldingwhilstopensectionsare
connectedbyboltingorwelding,whichwill
usuallyinvolvetheuseofgussetplates.
Guidanceonthedesignofweldedjointsfor
Celsius355andHybox355hollow
sectionsisavailablefromTataSteel.

Smalltrusseswhichcan
betransportedwholefromthefabrication
factorytothesite,canbeentirelywelded.In
thecaseoflargerooftrusseswhichcannot
betransportedwhole,weldedsub
assembliesaredeliveredtositeandareeitherboltedorweldedtogetheronsite.

Inlightrooftrusses,entirelyboltedconnectionsarelessfavouredthanweldedconnectionsduetotherequirement
forgussetplatesandtheirincreasedfabricationcosts.

Profileshapingoftubularsectionsforjointfabrication

Lateralstability [top]

Itisnecessarytodesignmembersincompressionagainstoutofplanebuckling.Forsimplysupportedtrusses,the
upperchordisincompressionforgravityloading,andthebottomchordisincompressionforupliftloading.For
portaltrusses,eachchordispartlyincompressionandpartlyintension.

Lateralrestraintoftheupperchordisgenerallygivenbythepurlinsandthetransverseroofwindgirder.

Fortherestraintofthebottomchord,additionalbracingmaybenecessary,asshownbelow.Suchbracingallowsthe
bucklinglengthofthebottomchordtobelimitedoutoftheplaneofthetrusstothedistancebetweenpointslaterally
restrainedthediagonalmemberstransfertherestraintforcestothelevelofthetopchord,wherethegeneralroof
bracingisprovided.

Lateralbracing
Key
Thickblackdashestwoconsecutivetrusses
BlueThepurlinwhichcompletesthebracingintheupperregion
GreenThelongitudinalelementwhichclosesthebracinginthelower
region
RedVerticalroofbracing

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Itispossibletocreateahorizontalwindgirderatthelevelofthebottomchords,withlongitudinalelementsto
stabilizeallthetrusses.

Designofwindgirders [top]

Transversewindgirder [top]

Ingeneral,theformofatransversewindgirderisasfollows:

ThewindgirderisarrangedasaWarrenorPratttruss,paralleltotheroofplane
Thechordsofthewindgirderaretheupperchordsoftwoadjacentverticaltrusses.Thismeansthattheaxialforcesin
thesemembersduetoloadingontheverticaltrussandthoseduetoloadsonthewindgirderloadingmustbeadded
together(foranappropriatecombinationofactions)

Itisconvenienttoarrangeatransversewindgirderateachendofthebuildingsothatthelongitudinalmembers
needactonlyintension.

Longitudinalwindgirder [top]

Itisnecessarytoprovidealongitudinalwindgirder(betweenbracedgableends)inbuildingswherethe
rooftrussesarenot'portalized'.

Thegeneralarrangementissimilartothatdescribedforatransversewindgirder:

WarrenorPratttruss
Generally,chordmemberswillbeprovidedfromhollowsections
Theposts(ifrequired)aretheupperchordsoftheconsecutivestabilizedrooftrusses.

Guidanceonglobalanalysis [top]

Althoughjointsintrussesareoftenhardlypinnedinreality,itisgenerallysatisfactory(andencouragedbydesign
standards)toassumethejointsarepinnedandtoverifythemembersforaxialloadonly.

Ifloadsareappliedbetweennodes,trussesareoftenanalysedwithcontinuouschords,butwithallinternalmembers
pinned.Theseassumptionsaboutpinnedjointbehaviourapplytobothboltedandweldedconnections.

Wheremembercentrelinesdonotintersectatanode(thejointgeometrymayhavebeenadjustedtoincreasethe
strengthofthejoint),theadditionalmomentsproducedbytheeccentricityareusuallyallowedforinthedesignofthe
chordmembers.

Modelling [top]

Severalquestionsariseinrespectofthemodellingofatruss.

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Itisusuallyconvenienttoworkonrestrictedmodels.
Forexample,forastandardbuilding,itiscommonand
usuallyjustifiedtoworkwith2Dmodels(portal,wind
girder,verticalbracing)ratherthanaglobal3Dmodel.
Atrusscanbemodelledwithoutitssupporting
columnswhenitisarticulatedtothecolumns.

Nonetheless,itisimportanttonotethat:

Ifseparatemodelsareused,itmaybenecessary,
inordertoverifytheresistanceofcertain
elements,tocombinetheresultsofseveral
analysesexample:theupperchordofatrussalso
servesaschordofthewindgirder.
Ifaglobal3Dmodelisusedandappropriate
memberreleasesnotprovided,'parasitic'bending
canbeobserved,whichoftenonlycreatesan Fastraktrussstructuremodel
illusoryprecisionofthestructuralbehaviour (FastrakmodelcourtesyofTrimble)
process.

Fortrusses,twoanalysismodelsarecommonlyused,either:

Continuouschordswithpinnedinternals,or
Pinnedjointsthroughoutthetruss.

Theeffectofnonpreloadedassembliesontrussdeflection [top]

Whentheconnectionsbetweenelementswhichmakeupatrussarebolted,withboltsinshearandbearing
(categoryAinBSEN199318[1]),theclearanceintroducedintotheseconnections(whichallowsslip)canhavea
significanteffectondisplacementofthenodes.

Inordertofacilitateerection,theboltsarelocatedinholeswhicharelargerthantheboltsthemselves.Forstandard
boltsizes,holeswhichare2mmbiggerthantheboltareusuallymade(usuallyreferredtoasaclearancehole).

Inorderforaconnectionwithclearanceholesto
transmittheload,theboltmustcomeintocontactwith
oneorotheroftheconnectedpartswhichallowsslip
intheconnection.Foraconnectedtensionmember,
thisslipcanbeconsideredasanadditionalextension
thatisaddedtotheelasticelongationofthemember
intension.Likewise,foraconnectedcompression
member,theslipisconsideredasareductioninlength
thatisaddedtotheelasticshorteningofthe
compressedmember.

Thetotalslipinthemanydifferentconnectionsofa
trussstructurecanleadtoasignificantincreasein
displacements,whichcanhavemoreorlessserious
consequences:
Tubulartrussesasanaesteticfeatureinasinglestorey
building
Inmostofthecases,thevisualeffectistheworst
consequence
Increaseddeflectioncanleadtoareductionoffreeheightunderthebottomchord,whichmightpreventorupsetthe
anticipatedusage.Forexample,theadditionaldeflectionofatrussholdingdoorssuspendedinagableofan
aeroplanehangarcouldpreventthepassageoftheaeroplane
Increaseinthedeflectioncanresultinreductionintheslopeofthesupportedroofandeven,ifthenominalslopewere
small,toaslopeinversiontheriskofwateringressisincreased.

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Itisthereforeessential,wheretrussstructuresareconcerned,tocontroltheeffectofconnectionslackonthe
displacements.Inordertodothis,itisoftennecessary:

Tousepreloadedbolts(categoryCconnections)or
Touseweldedconnectionsinsteadofboltedconnections.

Detaileddesign [top]
considerationsforelements
Trussmembersaresubjectedtoaxialforce,butmayalsobesubjectedtobendingmoments,forexample,ifthe
chordshavebeenmodelledascontinuous.

Verificationofmembersundercompression [top]

Theresistanceofamembertocompressionisevaluatedbytakingintoaccountthedifferentmodesofinstability:

Localbucklingofthesectioniscontrolledusingsectionclassification
Bucklingofthememberiscontrolledbyapplyingareductionfactortotheresistanceofthecrosssection.

Inmosttrussmembers,onlyflexuralbucklingofthecompressedmembersintheplaneofthetrussstructureandout
oftheplaneofthetrussstructureneedbeevaluated.

ThebucklingresistanceisobtainedfromBSEN199311[2]byapplyingareductiontotheresistanceofthecross
section.Thisreductionfactorisobtainedfromtheslendernessofthemember,whichdependsontheelasticcritical
force.

Forthediagonalsandtheverticalsstressedinuniformcompressiontheelasticcriticalforceisdeterminedfromthe
bucklinglengthofthememberinaccordancewithBSEN199311[2]Section6.3.1.3andaccordingtoAnnexBBof
BSEN199311[2]:

Forbucklingintheplaneofthetruss,thebucklinglengthistakenequalto90%ofthesystemlength(distancebetween
nodes),whenthetrussmemberisconnectedateachendwithatleasttwobolts,orbywelding.
Forbucklingoutofplaneofthetrussbeam,thebucklinglengthistakenequaltothesystemlength.

Forbucklingintheplaneofthetrussofthechordmembersinuniformcompression,thebucklinglengthmaybe
takenas90%ofitssystemlength(distancebetweennodes).

Forbucklingoutofplaneofthetruss,thebucklinglengthmustbetakenbetweenlateralsupportpoints.

Intheworkedexample,wherethetrusssupportsaroof,withpurlinsattheleveloftheupperchordofthetruss:

Allthepurlinsconnectedtoaroofbracingcanbeconsideredaslateralrigidsupportpoints.
Intermediatepurlinscanalsobeconsideredasarigidpointofsupport,iftheroofbehavesasadiaphragm(class2
constructionaccordingtoBSEN199313[3]).
Lateralsupportpointsareprovidedtothelowerchordbyadditionalverticalbracingelementsbetweentrusses.

Vierendeeltrusses [top]

UseofVierendeeltrusses [top]

Vierendeeltrussesarerigidlyjointedtrusseshavingonlyvertical
membersbetweenthetopandbottomchords.Thechordsare
normallyparallelornearparallel.

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ElementsinVierendeeltrussesaresubjectedtobending,axialforce Vierendeeltruss
andshear,unlikeconventionaltrusseswithdiagonalwebmembers
wherethemembersareprimarilydesignedforaxialloads.

Vierendeeltrussesareusuallymoreexpensivethanconventionaltrussesandtheiruselimitedtoinstanceswhere
diagonalwebmembersareeitherobtrusiveorundesirable.

Vierendeeltrussesaremomentresisting.Verticalmembersnearthesupportsaresubjecttothehighestmoments
andthereforerequirelargersectionstobeusedthanthoseatmidspan.Considerablebendingmomentsmustbe
transferredbetweentheverticalsandthechords,whichcanresultinexpensivestiffeneddetails.

Analysis [top]

AsVierendeeltrussesarestaticallyindeterminatestructures,computeranalysissoftwarepackagesaregenerally
usedtoanalysethetruss.

Connections [top]

Vierendeeltrusseshaverigidjointswhichmusttransfersignificantbendingmoments,especiallynearthesupports.
Weldedjointsarethereforecommonandmayinvolvesignificantlocalreinforcementofthemembersatthejoint.If
jointsarebolted,substantialconnectionswillbenecessary,generallyusingpreloadedbolts.

TypicaljointsforVierendeeltrusses

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