Series

Span-to-depth — the series

One essay so far on this idea, and more questions about it than one essay answers.
  1. Chord force against truss depth. The force in a truss chord for a fixed bending moment, against the depth of the truss. The relationship is a reciprocal: the chords form a couple whose lever arm is the depth, so a shallow truss pays for it steeply.

    Depth is the cheapest strength there is

    Doubling the depth of a truss halves its chord forces without adding a gram of material to the chords. Nothing else in structural design is that cheap, and almost every structure has already spent it.

    part 1 · structures

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