BEHAVIOR OF HOWE, PRATT, AND WARREN TRUSSES

DEFLECTIONS OF REGULAR TRUSSES, FORMED FROM REPEATED PANELS, ARE ANALYZED USING FINITE DIFFERENCE CALCULUS. THE EXPRESSIONS USED ARE IN GENERAL ALGEBRAIC FORM ALLOWING FOR ARBITRARY STIFFNESS OF THE BARS FORMING THE BASIC PANEL AND ARBITRARY PANEL WIDTH AND DEPTH. SOLUTIONS FOR SIMPLE SUPPORTED AND CANTILEVER TRUSSES UNDER THE ACTION OF POINT LOADS, UNIFORM LOADS, AND LINEARLY VARYING LOADS ARE GIVEN IN TERMS OF POLYNOMIALS. IT IS SHOWN THAT BY USING TAYLOR'S EXPANSION, THE FINITE DIFFERENCE EQUATIONS REDUCE APPROXIMATELY TO THE DIFFERENTIAL EQUATION FOR THE BENDING AND SHEAR OF AN ANALOGOUS BEAM. THE DEGREE OF ACCURACY IS RELATED DIRECTLY TO THE 'FINENESS' OF THE TRUSSES. COMPARISONS WITH THE ANALOGOUS BEAM SOLUTION SHOW THAT THE ANALOGY IS SATISFACTORY.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 95, No ST 2, PROC PAPER 6388, PP 183-202, 5 FIG, 4 REF,
• Authors:
  • Renton, J D
• Publication Date: 1969-2

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Journal of the Structural Division
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accuracy; Beams; Bending; Cantilevers; Deflection; Differential equations; Finite differences; Linearity; Loads; Mathematical analysis; Shear strength; Solutions (Chemistry); Standardization; Trusses
• Old TRIS Terms: Analogies; Point loads; Solutions
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00208976
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 23 1994 12:00AM