7202cdz:
And, you still resist giving us some of the particulars on the problem, like span length, total depth of the truss, and actual loadings. These would be easy to show on your sketch. Is this new construction or is the W24 in place already, and now, to be reinforced. If your sketch is in proper proportion, the span is about 80', the truss is about 5' deep, and the panel points are about 5' o/c, why not show this. You would be surprised at how important that type of info. is for an experienced engineer who is asked to comment on your problem. They need that info. to make judgements about the feasability of the concept, and what might control its design, etc. They look at your sketch and wonder how you are going connect the verts. and diags. to the bot. flg. of the W24, they sure can’t go through it as your sketch shows, although I suppose your thought process probably was that you wanted their work point to be at the center of the W24.
If you have really read the responses for their full meaning, I’m a bit surprised that you haven’t picked up on the fact that most of the experienced engineers here think your approach to the problem is a little bit crazy, not impossible. A very inefficient use of material and overly complicated for what we think you are trying to do. Another useful piece of info. would be why you are forced to use the W24 for the top chord. Our initial reaction is that that is a difficult way to handle a simple problem. Probably the best way to use the W24, would be to split it, as someone suggested and use the WT’s as top and bot. chords for a truss you design and fit-up the normal way. Although, the W24 may not yield the best sized WT’s.