Rigid structure that consists of two-force members only

Truss

Truss

A truss is an assembly of members such as <a href="/en/Beam_(structure)" title="Beam (structure)" class="wl">beams</a>, connected by nodes, that creates a rigid structure.<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Rigid structure that consists of two-force members only</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg/220px-RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="400" data-file-type="bitmap" height="110" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg/330px-RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg/440px-RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg 2x" alt="RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg"></a><figcaption><a href="/en/Truss_bridge" title="Truss bridge" class="wl">Truss bridge</a> for a single-track railway, converted to pedestrian use and pipeline support. In this example the truss is a group of triangular units supporting the bridge.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:SteelDetail(2D-Truss).pdf" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:SteelDetail(2D-Truss).pdf"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf/page1-220px-SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1175" data-file-height="835" data-file-type="office" height="156" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf/page1-330px-SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf/page1-440px-SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf.jpg 2x" alt="page1-220px-SteelDetail%282D-Truss%29.pdf.jpg"></a><figcaption>Typical detail of a steel truss, which is considered as a <a href="/en/Revolute_joint" title="Revolute joint" class="wl">revolute joint</a></figcaption></figure>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:TL020504.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:TL020504.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/TL020504.jpg/220px-TL020504.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1533" data-file-height="978" data-file-type="bitmap" height="140" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/TL020504.jpg/330px-TL020504.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/TL020504.jpg/440px-TL020504.jpg 2x" alt="TL020504.jpg"></a><figcaption>Historical detail of a steel truss with an actual revolute joint</figcaption></figure>
In engineering, a truss is a <a href="/en/Architectural_structure" title="Architectural structure" class="mw-redirect wl">structure</a> that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object".<a href="#cite_note-PleshaGrayCostanzo-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> A "two-force member" is a structural component where force is applied to only two points. Although this rigorous definition allows the members to have any shape connected in any stable configuration, trusses typically comprise five or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as <a href="/en/Vertex_(geometry)" title="Vertex (geometry)" class="wl">nodes</a>.

In this typical context, external forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in forces in the members that are either <a href="/en/Tension_(physics)" title="Tension (physics)" class="wl">tensile</a> or <a href="/en/Compression_(physics)" title="Compression (physics)" class="wl">compressive</a>. For straight members, moments (<a href="/en/Torque" title="Torque" class="wl">torques</a>) are explicitly excluded because, and only because, all the joints in a truss are treated as <a href="/en/Revolute_joint" title="Revolute joint" class="wl">revolutes</a>, as is necessary for the links to be two-force members.

A planar truss is one where all members and nodes lie within a two-dimensional plane, while a <a href="/en/Space_truss" title="Space truss" class="mw-redirect wl">space truss</a> has members and nodes that extend into <a href="/en/Three-dimensional_space" title="Three-dimensional space" class="wl">three dimensions</a>. The top beams in a truss are called top chords and are typically in <a href="/en/Compression_(physics)" title="Compression (physics)" class="wl">compression</a>, the bottom beams are called bottom chords, and are typically in <a href="/en/Tension_(physics)" title="Tension (physics)" class="wl">tension</a>. The interior beams are called webs, and the areas inside the webs are called panels,<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> or from graphic statics (see <a href="/en/Cremona_diagram" title="Cremona diagram" class="wl">Cremona diagram</a>) polygons.<a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a>

A truss is an assembly of members such as beams, connected by nodes, that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object".  A "two-force member" is a structural component where force is applied to only two points.  Although this rigorous definition allows the members to have any shape connected in any stable configuration, trusses typically comprise five or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. In this typical context, external forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in forces in the members that are either tensile or compressive. For straight members, moments are explicitly excluded because, and only because, all the joints in a truss are treated as revolutes, as is necessary for the links to be two-force members. 