As light-weight structures offering a high degree of rigidity, trusses are employed in the construction of halls, bridges, cranes, pylons and masts. Trusses are bar structures in which the bars are subjected to compression or tension loading, but not to bending.
The SE 130 setup provides experiments on single plane trusses with a high degree of measuring accuracy and computerised result readout based on software. The ready assembled truss is mounted horizontally on a frame. The influence of the dead weight is minimized by horizontal experimental setup. The bars are joined by a “hinged” connection, using node disks. Consequently, our truss can be considered as an ideal truss. The external force is generated with the aid of a threaded spindle. The force can be applied in various directions and at various points.
The forces occurring on the truss bars are recorded by strain gauge measurement. All measuring points are housed together in a connection box. From there, they are connected to the measuring amplifier FL 152. The software is used to manage the measuring data and provide graphical representation of the bar forces. The software features a comprehensive help function.
An additional truss is available to extend the scope of the experiment: SE 130.01, Warren type.