Comparative dimensioning of plane timber truss by ABNT NBR 7190:1997 method and ABNT NBR 7190-1:2022 method

Abstract

Wood, a renewable source and a material with excellent mechanical properties, is one of the oldest materials used in civil construction. In Brazil, its use is widespread in roof structures in the form of plane trusses. Given the Brazilian context of the growing presence of wood in structural systems, in addition to the normative updating processes, this study presents a comparison between calculation methods and possible increases in material consumption of wood for roof structure. The design methods compared are according to the recently published standard ABNT NBR 7190-1 (2022) and its previous version ABNT NBR 7190 (1997). The results were obtained via iTruss software, which includes linear-elastic structural analysis by the finite element method (FEM). It was concluded that the ABNT NBR 7190-1 (2022) presents a conservative dimensioning in relation to the previous version of 1997, favoring safety. However, there were no significant increases in wood consumption, demonstrating the efficiency of the revised version.