FINAL PROJECT

PHYSICS 1401
JEFFERY DING
ALAN JONES
TRUSSES
TRUSSES ARE USED IN NUMEROUS
MANNERS.
BRIDGE TRUSSES
ROOF TRUSSES
CONVEYOR FRAME TRUSSES
CRANE BOOM TRUSSES

COMMON TYPES OF
TRUSSES
TRUSSES WERE COMMONLY NAMED AFTER
THE PERSON WHO DEVELOPED THEM
EXAMPLES ARE AS FOLLOWS
King Post
Warren
Howe
English
Pratt
Fink
Parker

KING POST
WARREN
HOWE
ENGLISH

PRATT
FINK
PARKER
COMMON TYPES OF
TRUSSES
SOME WERE
NAMED AFTER
THE SHAPE OR
CITY IN WHICH
THEY WERE
FIRST USED
Bowstring
Baltimore
Pettit
BOWSTRING
BALTIMORE
PETTIT

TRUSSES
Trusses act as long ,deep girders with the
cutout webs.
Roof trusses not only carry their own weight
and the weight of the roof framing but also
wind loads, snow loads, suspended ceilings and
equipment, and a live load during construction
and maintenance, and repair.
TRUSSES
Bridge trusses have to support their own
weight and that of deck framing and deck live
loads from traffic (automobiles, trucks,
railroad trains, pedestrians, etc.) and forces
caused by live loads.
TRUSSES
Other uses of trusses are for conveyor frames in the
material handling systems. Conveyors are uses to
transport material, without the use of mobile
equipment. Trusses in the material handling can
reach spans in excess of 100 feet.
Crane Booms are constructed of trusses, in order to
give them the ability to lift large amounts of weight
with smaller lighter steel members.
EXPERIMENTAL TRUSS
Basic Shape and Construction
Truss was constructed from Popsicle sticks
Truss configuration was a three section Warren
truss.
Basic bridge dimensions are 13.5 inches long, 3.5
inches tall, and 2 inches wide.

TRUSS DRAWING
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
TRUSS DRAWING
TRUSS DRAWING
TRUSS DRAWING
TRUSS DRAWING
Predicted Weakness/Strength
The quality of the wood used in the Popsicle stick may
very greatly and therefore lead to the failure of a
member prematurely.
The glue used at the connections may not be of equal
amounts at each point, this would cause one joint to fail
prior to the wood member failing.
The Warren truss, although simple in design, is one of
the more common trusses used in the construction
industry to span a distance with the use of smaller
members.

THEORETICAL STRENGTH

Material of Construction Popsicle
Stick Cross-Sectional Area
(3/8 inch x 1/16 inch) .02347375 Square Inches
Ultimate Shear Strength in psi for white pine is
860 psi
Shear Force= 860psi/.02347375 sq in

THEORETICAL STRENGTH
Shear Force= 20.16 lbs per side
Two sides under common load=Total load of
20.16lbs.times 2= 40.32 lbs.
Maximum Load= 40.32 lbs.
20.1 LBS
7.07 LBS 7.07 LBS
7.07 LBS 7.07 LBS 7.07 LBS
14.2 LBS 14.2 LBS
14.2 LBS 14.2 LBS
14.2 LBS
14.2 LBS
DESIGN LOADS/SIDE
TEST BREAKS
TEST MEMBER POUNDS
MISSING
None Missing 40.0 lbs.
3 15.6 lbs.
6 19.0 lbs.
10 32.0 lbs.
4 26.6 lbs.
7 36.2 lbs.
8 40.0 lbs.
error in testing due to string stretching
TEST BREAKS
TEST MEMBER POUNDS
MISSING
11 26.4 lbs.
2 20.0 lbs.
9 25.8 lbs.
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
8
9
10
11
40 LBS
NO MEMBERS MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
15.6 LBS
MEMBER THREE MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
8
9
10
11
19.0 LBS.
MEMBER SIX MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
8
9
10
11
32.0 LBS
MEMBER TEN MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
26.6 LBS
MEMBER FOUR MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
36.2 LBS.
MEMBER SEVEN MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
40 LBS.
MEMBER EIGHT MISSING
TESTING ERROR
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
26.4 LBS
MEMBER ELEVEN MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
20.0 LBS
MEMBER TWO MISSING
TRUSS TEST
1
2
3
4
5 6 7
8
9
10
11
25.8 LBS
MEMBER NINE MISSING
TEST RESULTS
Number 3 missing, the horizontal force that
number three should have had resulted in to
much force at the connection on members 10,
11, 6, and 5 thereby causing failure.
Number 6 missing caused the bridge to rotate
around the load point causing failure.

TEST REUSLTS
Number 10 missing, the
bridge could withstand
more load since the force
was transferred to
member 9 until it became
overloaded and failure
occurred
Number 4 missing, the
load was carried by the
majority of the truss until
the bending of member 5
failed.
TEST RESULTS
Number 7 missing, the truss could withstand the
greater load until the connection at members 1, 8,
and 2 failed.
Number 8 missing, test procedure error occurred
on this test but the results would be approximately
the same as if member 11 was missing.
TEST RESULTS
Number 11 missing, the loading of the bridge
had reached its maximum point at which
failure occurred at member 5 due to shear
forces.
Number 2 missing, the results would be the
same a number 3 missing but due to the
difference in the wood quality and amount of
glue applied at the joints the resultants loads
were slightly different.
TEST RESULTS
Number 9 missing, this test would have the same
results as if member 10 was missing, but due to
the different quality of wood and the amount of
glue used in the connections, the final result of
maximum loads were different.
CONCLUSION
The full truss tested very close to the theoretical
value 40 lbs vs. 40.32 lbs.
Removing a single member greatly reduced the
amount weight that the bridge could hold.
The fact that the unit was a truss allowed for a
value of greater than 20.16 lbs when a single
member was missing.
Some of the failures occurred because of the
inconsistency of the type of wood product.

CONCLUSION
It is very important to make sure that the
same amount of glue is used at each
connection point.