Behavior of Laced and Battened Structural Members

Theoretical analysis is presented of the elastic behavior of both the laced and battened structural member considering the effects of axial load, shear deformation, and connection rigidity of subelements. The analytical solution is used to obtain modified slope-deflection equations to generalize a relation between applied forces and joint displacements. A nondimensional parameter, the shear flexibility, is defined so as to characterize the shear flexibility of the members and to take account of the effects of axial force, local joint connections, and local connection flexibility of the battened members. The fundamental linear second-order differential equation for the deflection curve of the member which includes the effect of shear deformation has been derived. Using boundary conditions for the general solution of deflected shape of the member, the solutions are set up in the forms of slope-deflection equations. Elastic buckling loads for the structural members have been evaluated for various boundary conditions.