Studio Final: Structure

A special truss is the Vierendeel truss, named after the Belgian engineer Arthur Vierendeel, who developed the design in 1896. The Vierendeel truss is a truss where the members are not triangulated but form rectangular openings, and is a frame with fixed joints that are capable of transferring and resisting bending moments. In this statically indeterminate structure the individual horizontal and vertical members are designed as beams. Diagonal bracing is omitted as the joints are designed to withstand the moments that occur at the ends of the members. Trusses of this type are used in some bridges, and were also used in the frame of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. By eliminating diagonal members, the creation of rectangular openings for windows and doors is simplified, since this truss can reduce or eliminate the need for compensating shear walls.