MECHANICS

OF
MATERIALS LABORATORY
CEMB121
EXPERIMENT NO. 6
TITLE : FORCES IN PLANE TRUSS (MODULAR TRUSS APPARATUS)

NAME

RASHIDAH BINTI UMAR

ID NO.

CE097873

GROUP NO.

04

SECTION

04

LECTURERS NAME

DR. AGUSRIL

DATE OF EXPERIMENT

09 DECEMBER 2015

DATE OF SUBMISSION

16 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE OF CONTENT
1.

Introduction

2.

Objective

3.

Apparatus

4.

Material

5.

Procedure

6.

Results

7.

Calculation

8.

Discussion

9.

Conclusion

10. References
11. Appendix

INTRODUCTION
A plane truss is where all the members and nodes lie within a two dimensional plane. The
top beams in a truss are called top chords, which are typically in compression, the bottom
beams are called bottom chords which are typically in tension, the interior beams are
called webs, whereas the areas inside the webs are called panels. A truss that is assumed
to comprise members that are connected by means of pin joints, and which is supported at
both ends by means of hinged joints or rollers, is described as being statically
determinate. In order for any node that may be subject to an external load or force to
remain static in space, the following conditions must hold which are the sums of all
horizontal forces, all vertical forces, as well as all moments acting about the node equal to
zero. Analysis of these conditions at each node yields the magnitude of the forces which
may be compression or tension forces in each member of the truss.

OBJECTIVES
1) To determine the forces in members of a plane truss.
2) To compare the experimentally measured truss forces with the theoretically
calculated forces.

APPARATUS
1.

A modular truss kit.

2.

A screw jack for applying load to the truss.

3.

A 16 channels data acquisition system.

MATERIAL
1.

A member specimen.

PROCEDURE
1.

The indicator is switched on. The indicator must be switched on 10 minutes before
taking readings for a stable reading.

2.

A truss configuration is selected and the truss is assembled according to the

configuration selected using the members available.

3.

One end of the plane truss is placed on the roller support and the other on the pin
support. The pinned support is ensured to be properly secured to the frame.

4.

The screw jack is attached to the joint to be loaded and is loosen so that the truss is
free from the applied load.

5.

The screw jack is connected to the channel zero of the digital monitor for ease of
monitoring the applied to the truss.

6.

The wire from the other load cell is connected to the remaining channel of the digital
indicator, each load occupying one terminal.

7.

The selector switch is turned to channel zero and the tare button is press to set the
screw jack reading to zero.

8.

The selector switch is turned to record the initial reading of the remaining channel.

9.

The selector switch is turned to channel zero.

10. The screw jack handle is turned to apply loads downward direction and the
magnitude of the load is observe on the digital indicator. The screw jack is stopped
turning when the desired load is reached.
11. Steps 9 and 10 are repeated for few more load increments.

RESULTS
Load

Members

Initial readings

Cell
1

Screw

(N)
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8

jack
Member 1
Member 2
Member 3
Member 4
Member 5
Member 6
Member 7

Final readings (N)

20

40

60

80

Exp

Theory

Exp

Theory

Exp

Theory

Exp

Theory

Exp

Theory

-366.58
-362.53
-362.96
-156.62
-134.43
-80.46
-83.07

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

-392.05
-387.63
-395.68
-157.57
-135.23
-73.81
-76.54

11.55
11.55
11.55
5.78
5.78
11.55
11.55

-435.20
-430.50
-437.90
-170.52
-143.84
-69.64
-70.48

23.09
23.09
23.09
11.54
11.55
23.09
23.09

-396.57
-391.92
-399.57
-138.37
-112.47
-45.42
-48.32

34.64
34.64
34.64
17.32
17.32
34.64
34.64

-158.92
-156.01
-165.94
-12.24
1.02
31.61
32.08

46.19
46.19
46.19
23.10
23.09
46.19
46.19

Members
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

20
-25.47
-25.10
-32.72
-0.95
-0.8
6.65
6.53

Experimental Load Increments (N)

40
60
80
-68.62
-29.99
207.66
-67.97
-29.39
206.52
-74.94
-36.61
197.02
-13.9
18.25
144.38
-9.41
21.96
135.45
10.82
35.04
112.07
12.59
34.75
115.15

100
270.50
262.33
253.06
179.39
174.13
142.66
144.27

100
Exp
Theory
-96.08
-100.20
-109.90
22.77
39.70
62.20
61.20

57.74
57.74
57.74
28.87
28.87
57.74
57.74

Members
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Slope

Percentage Error

Exp

Theory

5.6049
5.5111
5.4395
3.0688
2.8327
2.0801
2.1210

0.5774
0.5774
0.5774
0.2887
0.2886
0.5774
0.5774

(%)
870.7
854.5
842.1
963.0
881.5
260.3
267.3

DISCUSSION
1.

The relationship between the applied load and the force in members is as the applied load
increases, the force in the members increase too. As to compare between theoretical and
experimental result, both results have so much difference especially in member 4 and 5
which are 963% and 881.5% respectively. This must be influenced by the error made by
the indicator itself. Meanwhile, the average theoretical force in member 4 and 5 are the
same which is 17.32N. On the other hand, all of the members average of experimental
force are in between the range of 60 to 70 N. Based on the graph of the results, most of
the members have the intersection of the experimental and theoretical result in applied
load of 60 N. Failure occurs when the applied load exceeds the ability of the trusses.

2.

There are few possible errors made while conducting the experiment which includes the
error of the indicator itself which might be because of the device is not well maintenance.
This error results in so much difference in readings between the experimental and
theoretical results. Students should make sure that the indicator is in ready state before
conducting the experiment. The other possible error is the labs environment where the
device itself might be sensitive with any vibration and including the air resistance in the
lab surrounding. Therefore, students should be very careful while performing the
experiment in order to achieve better results.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, as the applied load increases, the force in members also increases. The objective
of the experiment is achieved as the forces in members of a plane truss can be determined by
using the indicator for experimental result and by calculation and free body diagram for
theoretical results. The graph of the experimental result in each member have shown that there
are ups and downs in the readings taken. A better result could be achieve if any of the error can
be avoided. The applied loads and the surrounding environment have influence the
experimental result.

REFERENCES
1. http://docslide.us/documents/abstract-55e93ae76188e.html
2. http://www.scribd.com/doc/27381814/Truss-Full-Report#scribd

APPENDIX
Modular Truss Apparatus