Truss Software help

Nov 23, 2005 6 Replies

Hello.



I am a sophomore Engineering student and I have a project to do about trusses.



We are supposed to solve a truss problem that has about 70 members, one fixed support, and one roller support. We are supposed to find the reactions at the supports and the force on each member.



I am looking for a free or a trial software that i can use.



Most of the free ones that i tried look very complicated. I am very new with this one.



I really need some help.



Thanks.



You could probably set up a spreadsheet and run the calculations that way, since it is essentially the same equation repeated several times.

I think most of the software you'll see looks pretty complicated to a beginner. We use Visual Analysis in our structural courses and there's a free trial available here:

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Lance

*****

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com said the following on 11/23/2005 7:55 AM:

Can't help with the software. You can get an estimate of the reactions but estimating the truss's moment of inertia and using beam formulas. With the reactions you should be able to use statics to determine the in each axial member.

You may have been intended to do the calculation by hand. Indications this is the case are well defined point loads and a repetitive triangulated pin truss. Similarity to one or two cases covered in class, or on a recent reading list.

First rule: Don't panic! Try sending a few more details if it still goes blurry....

Brian Whatcott

I thought about that possibility, but giving students a problem with statically indeterminate boundary conditions seems unlikely. But maybe so??

btw

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works .. quite simple too.

Thanks guys

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