Truss Forces
Description
Because of the rigidity of a truss shape, it is not difficult to find the familiar triangles in many structures. Designers must accurately determine how much force occurs at locations of a truss design. The designer may change the material, the amount of material, or the number of members in a truss in order to make a design safer or more efficient. The calculations for determining truss forces are also a good basis for calculating forces for many other systems.