Joint Flexibility Effects on Rectangular Hollow Section Vierendeel Trusses

An elastic-strain hardening material characteristic is used with the finite element method to model the behavior of Vierendeel trusses that consist of flexible branch-to-chord connections. Both chord and branch members are presumed to be rectangular hollow sections (RHS) of unequal width. Analyses have been undertaken on truss configurations consisting of either single member or double member chords placed back-to-back. Joint characteristics …