Physics
Structures and destruction
Statics and strength: pick a truss, load it and watch it fail.
What happens
Compare Warren, Pratt and Howe trusses under a moving load. Blue bars are in tension and red bars in compression. The static joint-equilibrium calculation identifies the first bar to exceed its assigned capacity. After failure the falling structure is an illustration, not a dynamic collapse or buckling calculation. Rebuild the truss to explore a different load position.
Equations used in the module
Equations ΣF_x = 0; ΣF_y = 0 P_i = (1−f)P; P_(i+1) = fP u_j = |F_j|/F_capacity max(u_j) = 1
