Statics 3.1 – Equilibrium of Truss Members in Pin Connection | Hibbeler 14th Edition

The members of a truss are pin connected at joint O. Determine the magnitudes of F₁ and F₂ for equilibrium. Set θ=60.

Figure 3.1: Engineering Mechanics: Statics Equilibrium of Particle — Figure 3.1

Solution:

Free-body diagram:

Free-Body Diagram for Problem 3.1 of Engineering Mechanics: Statics 14th Edition by Russell C. Hibbeler

Equations of Equilibrium:

Take the sum of horizontal forces considering forces to the right positive, and equate to zero.

\begin {aligned} \sum{F}_x &= 0 & \\ F_1 \cos{60 \degree}+F_2 \sin{70 \degree}-5\cos{30 \degree}-\dfrac{4}{5}\left(7\right) &= 0 &\\ 0.5F_1+0.9397F_2&=9.9301 &(1)\\ \end {aligned}

Take the sum of vertical forces considering upward forces positive, and equate to zero.

\begin{aligned} \sum F_y&=0 &\\ -F_1\sin60\degree+F_2\cos70\degree+5\sin30\degree-\dfrac{3}{5}\left(7\right)&=0 &\\ -0.8660F_1+0.3420F_2&=1.7 &(2)\\ \end{aligned}

Now, we have two equations with two unknowns $F_1$ and $F_2$ . So, we have a system of two equations. We can solve this using algebra, or we can directly use our calculator with this capability. The answers are

F_1=1.83 \: \text{kN}\\ F_2=9.60 \: \text{kN}