Notes in Structural Analysis II Glenn M.

Pintor / De La Salle University

Deflection of Trusses by Virtual Work Method

Deflections of Trusses by the Method of Virtual Work


! Method of Virtual Work: Trusses


o 1 external virtual unit load acting on the truss joint in the stated direction of !
o n internal virtual normal force in the truss member caused by the external virtual unit
load
o ! external joint displacement caused by real loads on the truss
o N internal normal force in the truss member caused by the real loads
o L length of the member
o A cross-sectional area
o E modulus of elasticity

" External virtual unit loads creates internal virtual forces
" Real loads cause the truss joints to be displaced ! in the same direction as the
virtual unit load
" Each member is displaced NL/AE in the same direction as its respective n force
" External virtual work 1!! equals the internal virtual work (or internal virtual
strain) in all truss members

! Method for determining displacements and slopes
o Semi-graphical methods: for beams subjected to simple loadings
o Energy methods (conservation of energy principle): for complicated loadings, for
trusses & frames

! Conservation of energy principle: External work and stain energy
o Work done by external forces U
e
is transformed into internal work (strain energy) U
i

developed when structure deforms

! PRINCIPLE OF WORK: Necessary condition for equilibrium

A SYSTEM OF FORCES ACTING ON A GIVEN STRUCTURE IS IN EQUILIBRIUM if and only if
the WORK performed by these forces is zero for any consistent state of deformation of the
structure.

WORK is understood to mean the sum of internal work (i.e. work performed by internal forces) Ui
and external work (i.e. work performed by loads and reactions) Ue.

! Virtual Work vis--vis Real work
o Work: physical quantity defined as the product of force times a conjugate displacement,
i.e., a displacement in the same direction as the force we are considering.
o Real work, i.e., the product of a real force and a real displacement, i.e., a force and a
displacement that both actually occur.


o A real force is a force that corresponds to a state of equilibrium due to actions that correspond
to the design requirements of a given structure. For example, real forces include the loads,
reactions, and internal forces (moments, shear forces, and axial forces) due to conditions such
as dead load, live load, wind load, etc. Real forces are the forces that a given structure will
Notes in Structural Analysis II Glenn M. Pintor / De La Salle University
Deflection of Trusses by Virtual Work Method

actually experience during its service life, or forces that represent a limit state (such as ultimate
limit state) that must be checked to ensure safety and serviceability.

o A real displacement of a given structure is a displacement that corresponds to the response of
the structure to real forces. For example, a beam subjected to dead load will deflect downward.
The deflection at a given point along the span is a real displacement because it corresponds to
a state of equilibrium defined by real forces.




" extend the concept of real work to a definition of virtual work, which is the
product of a real force and a conjugate displacement, either real or virtual.
" compute the virtual work corresponding to this virtual displacement by
summing the products of real forces times conjugate virtual displacements.
" introduce unknown sectional forces at those locations where we have cut the
structure to create the virtual displacement.
introduced bending moment at the base, Mb.
For completeness, introduce a shear force V and an axial force N at the
base of the column, but, there is no component of virtual displacement
conjugate to these forces. They have therefore not been shown in the
example.




Notes in Structural Analysis II Glenn M. Pintor / De La Salle University
Deflection of Trusses by Virtual Work Method


o 1 external virtual unit load acting on the truss joint in the stated direction of !
o ! external displacement caused by real loads
o u internal virtual loading acting on the element in the direction of dL
o dL internal deformation of the element caused by the real loads


! Sample problems




Notes in Structural Analysis II Glenn M. Pintor / De La Salle University
Deflection of Trusses by Virtual Work Method











Notes in Structural Analysis II Glenn M. Pintor / De La Salle University
Deflection of Trusses by Virtual Work Method