Lab Manual

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & BUILT ENVIRONMENT

SUBJECT: EME3401 LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS 1
EXPERIMENT 1: TRUSS STRUCTURE
1.0 OBJECTIVE
To establish relationship between each truss member and applied load
2.0 THEORY/INTRODUCTION
A truss is a structure composed of slender members joined together at their end points. Joint
connections are formed by bolting or welding the ends of the members to a common plate, called
a gusset plate, or by simply passing a large bolt or pin through each of the members. Two
important assumptions are necessary to design both the members and the connections of a truss:
i.

All loadings are applied at the joint

ii.

The members are joined together by smooth pins

Because of these two assumptions

Each truss member acts as a two force member

The forces at the ends must be directed along the axis of the member

If the force tends to elongate the member, it is a tensile force

If the force tends to shorten the member, it is a compressive force (refer to Figure 1)

Figure 1 Nature of the force in a truss

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3.0 APPARATUS
i.

A modular truss kit.

ii.

A set of weight for applying load to the truss.

iii.

A 16 channels data acquisition system.

4.0 PROCEDURES
1. Switch on the data acquisition module. For stability of readings, the data acquisition
must be switched on 10 minutes before taking readings.
2. Use the truss configuration below:

Figure 2 Modular Truss Apparatus

3. Check the truss according to the selected configuration.
4. One end of the plane truss on the roller support and the other on the pin support (please
ensure that the centre of the joint is located on the knife edge and at the centre of the
roller).
5. Ensure that the pinned support is properly secured to the frame.
6. Attached the weight hook to the joint to be loaded.
7. Empty the weight hook so that the truss is free from applied load.
8. Connect the wire from the load cell to the data acquisition module, each load cell
occupying once channel of the module.
9. On the module(s) that is attached to the load cell by clicking the On button on the
Module on/off dialog box.
10. For the selected module(s) on the channels that is connected to the truss members and
the loading jack.
11. Some figures will be displayed in the boxes of the chosen channels. These figures are
the loads in the members measured in Newtons.

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12. Record the initial readings (0 Newtons in Channel 6) and other 5 channels.
13. Start put on the weight to the hook to apply loads in the downward direction and
observe the readings for the 6 channels.
14. Repeat step 13 for more load increments.
15. At the end of the experiment, export the data to the excel spreadsheet and carry out the
necessary analysis.
5.0 RESULTS
Table 1 Measured Forces in Member of Truss
Members
Load / Jack

Initial Readings
0 Newton

10

Final Reading in Members

20
30
40
50

60

Member 1
Member 2
Member 3
Member 4
Member 5
Member 6
i.
ii.

Draw the truss and indicate the loaded joint.

Calculate the average force in each member for each load increment. Remember to

iii.
iv.

subtract the initial reading from the data acquired for each load increment.
Fill the results in Table 1.
Plot the graph of forces in the members verses the applied load for the experimental and

v.

theoretical case.
Determine the percentage error by calculating the slope of each graph.
Percentage Error=

Theoretical SlopeExperimental Slope

100
Theoretical Slope

6.0 DISCUSSION
i.

From the plotted graph, compare the experimental and theoretical case.

ii.

State the relationship between the applied load and the force in the members.

iii.

State the possible source of errors. Comment on the accuracy of the experiment and ways
of improving it.

7.0 REFERENCES
i.

J.L. Meriam & E. Kraige. 2006. Engineering Mechanics Vol 1. Statics, 6th Ed. Wiley.

ii.

R.C. Hibbeler. 2007. Engineering Static, 11th Ed. Prentice Hall.