Abstract
Ideally a space truss is composed of bars each of which is suited to the load it carries. In practice, however, it is more convenient to use a limited number of bar sizes, thus only a few of the members will be fully stressed when the maximum load capacity of the space truss is reached. In order to effect a more equitable distribution of forces between chords of equal size such that more chord members are loaded close to their capacity, selected diagonals are removed to control the path followed by the shear forces, and thereby control the forces entering the chords. In this paper the effect of diagonal removal on space trusses is demonstrated and a method for selection of the diagonals whose removal gives optimum increase in the load carrying capacity of a space truss is described.
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