Analyzing and Designing the Truss Structure with Wooden Ice Cream Sticks Using Microsoft Excel Program

Abstract

This project is to analyse and design the truss structure with wooden ice cream sticks using the Microsoft Excel program. This project starts with studying of material properties, selecting the interesting truss patterns and creating formulas for analysis of truss structure with Microsoft Excel Program. The 9 selected trusses are analysed using Microsoft Excel and Finite Element Programs. The results of the internal strength analysis of the trusses of both programs have been compared. The simulated trusses structures are assembled with ice cream sticks to test the load and compared the deflection values from the test with analysis using Microsoft Excel and Finite Element programs.

The comparison results of 9 different trusses in the form of payload used in analysis the maximum equal to 50 kilograms found that the internal force from the analysis of the trusses with Microsoft Excel and Finite Element programs have different values. The average is 1.21 kilograms or equal to 4.10 percent. The comparison of deflection result obtained from the test with the analysis using Microsoft Excel and the Finite element programs has similar values and only 2.62% difference. As mentioned above, it concludes that the Microsoft Excel program can be used in the analysis and design in trusses with 9 wooden ice cream stick types instead of the Finite Element program.