Bending tests for the structural safety assessment of space truss members

This paper compares two nondestructive static methods used for the axial load assessment in prismatic beam–columns of space trusses. Examples include the struts and ties or the tension chords and diagonal braces of steel pipe racks or roof trusses. The first method requires knowledge of the beam–column’s flexural rigidity under investigation, whereas the second requires knowledge of the corresponding Euler buckling load. In both procedures, short–term flexural displacements must be measured at given cross sections along the beam–column under examination and subjected to an additional transversal load. The proposed methods were verified by numerical and laboratory tests on beams of a small–scale space truss prototype made from aluminum alloy and rigid connections. In general, if the higher second-order effects are induced during testing and the corresponding total displacements are accurately measured, it would be easy to obtain tensile and compressive force estimations.