Truss load is the weight and pressure on a truss, commonly used in construction design. Engineers use technology and mathematics to analyze truss loading and prevent structural failure. Different types of truss loading include dead load, live load, and active load. Truss designers observe how stress changes and deflection occurs under a load. Accurate truss load accounting is critical to the success of a project and is part of a professional approach to construction.
Truss load is a figure for the amount of weight, and resulting pressure, on a truss. A truss is a type of structure, often made up of one or more triangular pieces, commonly used in residential, commercial, or public works construction design. A common form of roof truss is a regular roof truss that forms the standard roof bearing base of a building.
Trusses are also used in larger configurations such as bridges. In any use of a truss, loading is an integral part of truss analysis or truss engineering. Truss loading has a direct effect on how a truss frame should be constructed.
In the complex truss analysis required for most projects, truss engineers rely on new technology and traditional mathematics. Today, many truss designers can use autoCAD or similar software technologies to set up truss load simulations to determine what the theoretical load will be on a particular truss design. Engineers will be sure to factor this into the bearing capacity of a truss structure to prevent the risk of structural failure in the field.
Engineers use different types of truss loading to distinguish between the different types of pressure on a truss. A common term is “dead load,” which refers to the constant load on a truss, as part of the structure that will remain in place. Another type of load is ‘live load’, i.e. load types that will only be temporary. Active load includes things like snow and ice, which will only be a factor in the load on the truss for a specific amount of time.
Engineers also look at how the load will affect the stress on a truss and how the forces will interact when the load is placed on the truss. Truss designers can view loading as an “event” for a truss and observe how stress changes. Another related term is deflection, which refers to the actual movement of the truss under a load. While not normally visible to the eye, truss structures usually have some flexibility in design and will bend slightly as the load on the truss increases.
Anyone involved in the construction of residential, commercial or public buildings knows that accurate truss load accounting is critical to the success of a project. Project managers and other industry leaders will often communicate with truss engineers multiple times throughout a project to be sure any changes are being tracked based on how they will affect a truss structure. Seeing this aspect of construction helps avoid some serious liability and is part of a professional approach to construction.
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