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These terms will be helpful to keep in mind as we talk more about truss design. Now let’s take a quick look at the history of truss design, particularly in the United States. In essence, the traffic on the bridge will be represented by the UDL as specified above and the tandem system. The worst effect of the wheel load on the bridge deck will be considered.
thoughts on “Truss Series: Truss Design Overview”
Steel trusses offer high strength and durability, making them suitable for long-span bridges. On the other hand, timber trusses have a traditional aesthetic and are often used for shorter spans. The choice of material depends on various factors, including budget, expected lifespan, and design requirements.
Common trusses used in model bridge building

In the world of bridge construction, choosing the best truss design involves a careful balance of structural considerations, aesthetic preferences, and practical constraints. By understanding the unique features of Pratt, Howe, Warren, and bowstring arch truss designs, engineers and architects can make informed decisions to ensure the successful and efficient completion of bridge projects. The best truss design is ultimately the one that aligns with the specific needs and challenges of the given project. The Transportation Library and History Center maintains a searchable Historic Bridges database that contains data and photographs for historic bridges and tunnels listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register.
Bottom Chord Analysis Results
It’s because trusses with hinges only are statically determinate, which means that we can calculate the internal forces by hand. And before we can design a truss like a timber truss roof, we need to pick the best truss type. The Parker, camelback, Pennsylvania and Baltimore are each variations on the Pratt truss design.
Materials
Through careful analysis and calculation, engineers design trusses that can effectively distribute these loads, preventing any excessive stress or deformation. Each of the following truss designs are very common in both real and model bridges because of their sound engineering and ease of construction. As I mentioned earlier, the key for us model builders is how these designs transfer forces throughout the bridge and eventually to the bridge supports.

The parts of this four-sided frame are the top and bottom chords and the ends are called posts. Finally, the Online Archive of California has a wonderful collection of historical construction photos of the bridge. A PDF With Links To Online Historical Construction Photos is available here. If you visit this page you will find it is extremely difficult to navigate because no thumbnail photos are provided, and links to digitized photos are scattered within a list of all photos (not all photos were digitized). As a result, for viewing purposes only, HistoricBridges.org made a downloadable ZIP file containing all the digitized photos.
#4 Warren Truss Design
Trusses are primarily used in a building to transfer the roof loads such as wind, snow, dead and live load to the walls or columns which will then transfer the loads further down to the foundation and soul. Now we will add the truss members, which are shown in black in this diagram. The truss members are simply an arrangement of triangles (most of the time) that transfer the force/s put on the bridge to the ground. The way these triangles are arranged or shaped is the essence of truss design.
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A Pratt Truss has been used over the past two centuries as an effective truss method. The vertical members are in compression, whilst the diagonal members are in tension. This simplifies and produces a more efficient design since the steel in the diagonal members (in tension) can be reduced. This has a few effects – it reduces the cost of the structure due to more efficient members, reduces the self-weight, and eases the constructability of the structure.
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The Warren truss with fixed connections however can’t be calculated with the 3 equilibrium equations because it’s statically indeterminate. In the following I’ll share the knowledge I gained about each truss type. Each type could be the best for a specific situation, and there are a ton of factors that engineers must consider when choosing which one to use.
A line load which represents the snow load is applied to the top inclined chords. As for Howe trusses, pratt trusses are used in bridge and roof constructions. Because it can be hard to predict traffic conditions (and because they change so regularly), the Warren truss is often considered insufficient in versatility, and engineers often opt for newer, more reliable designs.
This ensures that the force is all transferred in either compression or tension, with little (theoretically, none) transferred in the form of bending moment force. Full step-by-step guide on how to calculate the sand capacity of a pad foundation under vertical loading and how to design the concrete and reinforcement. Full step-by-step guide on how to calculate the clay capacity of a pad foundation under vertical loading and how to design the concrete and reinforcement. 3 very common truss types are– Howe truss– Fink truss– Warren trussRead the full article to learn about the other types.
However, in recent years the Pratt design tends to be more popular and is slightly better at distributing force. Each truss design takes a load or force and spreads it out, eventually transferring it to the bridge abutments and/or piers. Each of these designs, along with the host of variations, was developed for a specific reason or to make better use of existing or new materials or construction methods. Their history is fascinating, and you definitely should check out the articles about each of them.
Also, it appears that Strauss really was not very good at doing the engineering design for the final Golden Gate Bridge as seen today. At some point during the project, Strauss and Ellis got into an argument. Strauss, who was essentially sitting around doing nothing on the bridge, was annoyed at how long Ellis was taking to get the plans finalized. Ellis had the plans completed, but was insistent on spending time checking his calculations for safety's sake, and Strauss did not think that was important.
The Fink Truss is mainly used for roof structures, where the dead, snow and wind loads are distributed from the inclined top chord to the diagonals, bottom chord and then finally the pin and roller support. Trusses are structural elements that can carry loads with relatively long spans compared to beams. The Warren truss, despite what the name suggests, was not created by the Australian National Party leader; in fact it earned its moniker from James Warren who patented the design in 1848, in England. The Warren truss is most easily recognised by its use of equilateral triangles (where all three sides of the triangle are equal in length). At Areté Structures, our team designs truss bridges using a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material.
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