Why I am getting different design results for truss chord modeled as a single member or modeled by multiple members between adjacent panel points?
Extended Question: I am modeling the top chord of a truss is a single member. If I divide it up into multiple members connected at nodes, and laterally brace the members as applicable it passes the design check. If I use one member and laterally brace the member as applicable it does not pass the design check. Could you please clarify? Answer: When modeled as a single member, the axial capacity may be much smaller, because it may be based on the effective length and unsupported length for the entire object. You should either overwrite the K and L factors for the long object or break up the long object into individual objects between panel points.
