Abstract:Truss structures are widely used in large- and medium-sized remote sensing cameras. The ideal joint for a truss is the hinged one. However, a rigid joint is often used in practical applications. To compare the stiffness and strut material utilization of the trusses using different joints, the bipod structures used commonly in trusses are analyzed firstly. Then, by taking a Serrurier truss as an example, the fundamental frequency of the trusses using two different joints and the maximum stress yielded by the weight of their front frames are calculated in theory. The result shows that the trusses using two different joints have nearly a similar integral stiffness. But in material utilization, the truss using a hinged joint is better than that using a rigid joint. Its strut can save about 21.87% in weight. Finally, the finite element analysis is carried out by using the Nastran software. The analysis result shows that the theoretical calculation is correct and the difference between the two calculation results is less than 1.12%.