Trends in the Development of Machinery and Associated Technology ” TMT 2008 , Istanbul , Turkey , 26-30 August , 2008 FEM ANALYSIS OF TRUSS HOLLOW SECTION JOINT
Truss structures are widely used in construction of large-scale buildings. Design of steel structures is standardised in detail through set of European standards called EUROCODE. One of these standards, ENV 1993-1-8 deals with design of joints, but it does not cover the design of conical element for reduction of circular hollow section to the joint. Finite element method was used in this paper to analyse this conical element with complex shape. The chosen design parameters were varied in order to obtain smooth stress distribution. Results showed that existing design can be modified, reducing the mass while keeping stress levels within acceptable limits.