Calculating size of wooden members

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on calculating the size of wooden members for trusses supporting solar panels. The user emphasizes the importance of determining the load, stress on each member, and selecting a wooden member with a safety factor of at least 2.0. The specific load mentioned is 600 pounds per truss due to the weight of the solar panels. The user also notes the common practice of using rules of thumb for these calculations and invites further inquiries.

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  • Understanding of structural load calculations
  • Knowledge of stress analysis in materials
  • Familiarity with safety factors in engineering
  • Basic principles of truss design
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  • Research methods for calculating load on trusses
  • Learn about stress analysis for wooden members
  • Explore safety factor calculations in structural engineering
  • Investigate common rules of thumb for truss design
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Structural engineers, architects, builders, and anyone involved in designing trusses for solar panel installations.

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I need help calculating the size of the wood members I need in my truss. I understand the basics; I first need to calculate the load, then the stress on each member, then pick a wooden member which has that stress with a safety factor of let's say 2.0. The reason why I want to perform the calculation, is that the solar panels I plan to put on this shade structure at heavy. Each truss would carry a weight of 600 pounds in solar panels alone. Attached is my drawing:

ORI6O1w.jpg
 
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For something like this, I think you want a safety factor higher than 2.0.
 
I found out this is commonly done using several rules of thumb, feel free to ask about them in this thread
 

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