Shear and Bending Moment Diagram :

The shear force diagram indicates the shear force withstood by the beam section along the
length of the beam.
The bending moment diagram indicates the bending moment withstood by the beam section
along the length of the beam.
It is normal practice to produce a free body
diagram with the shear diagram and the
bending moment diagram position below
For simply supported beams the reactions are
generally simple forces. When the beam is
built-in the free body diagram will show the
relevant support point as a reaction force and a
reaction moment....
Sign Convention
The sign convention used for shear force
diagrams and bending moments is only
important in that it should be used
consistently throughout a project. The sign convention used on this page .

Shearing Force :
The shearing force (SF) at any section of a beam represents the tendency for the portion of the
beam on one side of the section to slide or shear
laterally relative to the other portion.

The diagram shows a beam carrying loads . It is

simply supported at two points where the reactions
are Assume that the beam is divided into two parts
by a section XX The resultant of the loads and
reaction acting on the left of AA is F vertically
upwards and since the whole beam is in equilibrium,
the resultant force to the right of AA must be F downwards. F is called the Shearing Force at the
section AA. It may be defined as follows:The shearing force at any section of a beam is the algebraic sum of the lateral components of the
forces acting on either side of the section.
Where forces are neither in the lateral or axial direction they must be resolved in the usual way
and only the lateral components use to calculate the shear force.

Bending Moment :
In a similar manner it can that if the Bending moments (BM) of the forces to the left of AA are
clockwise then the bending moment of the forces to the right of AA must be anticlockwise.
Bending Moment at AA is defined as the algebraic sum of

the moments about the section of all forces acting on

either side of the section
Bending moments are considered positive when the
moment on the left portion is clockwise and on the right
anticlockwise. This is referred to as
a sagging bending moment as it tends to make the beam
concave upwards at AA. A negative bending moment is
termed hogging.

Type of Loads :
A beam is normally horizontal and the loads vertical. Other cases which occur are considered to
be exceptions.

A Concentrated Load

A Distributed Load

Is one which can be considered to act at a point

although of course in practice it must be
distributed over a small area like weight or
reactions .

is one which is spread in some manner over

the length or a significant length of the beam.
It is usually quoted at a weight per unit length
of beam. It may either be uniform or vary from
point to point.

Example Of Diagrams :
A shear force diagram is simply constructed by moving a section along the beam from (say)the
left origin and summing the forces to the left of the section. The equilibrium condition states
that the forces on either side of a section balance and therefore the resisting shear force of the
section is obtained by this simple operation
The bending moment diagram is obtained in the same way except that the moment is the sum
of the product of each force and its distance(x) from the section. Distributed loads are
calculated buy summing the product of the total force (to the left of the section) and the
distance(x) of the centroid of the distributed load.
The sketches below show simply supported beams with on concentrated force.

Drawing of Shear Force and Bending Moment

Diagrams:
Consider a simple beam shown of length L that carries
a uniform load of w (N/m) throughout its length and is
held in equilibrium by reactions R1 and R2. Assume
that the beam is cut at point C a distance of x from the
left hand support and the portion of the beam to the
right of C be removed. The portion removed must then
be replaced by vertical shearing force V together with a
couple M to hold the left portion of the bar in
equilibrium under the action of R1 and wx.

Write shear and moment equations for the beams in the following problems. In each problem,
let x be the distance measured from left end of the beam to the point under study. Also, draw
shear and moment diagrams, specifying values at all change of loading positions and at points
of zero shear. Neglect the mass of the beam in each problem.
The vertical shear at C will be
VC=R1wx
(Linear variation)
Where R1 = R2 = wL/2
Vc=wL/2wx
The moment at C is
MC= (wL/2)xwx x/2
MC=wLx/2wx2/2
(Parabolic variation)
If we differentiate M with respect to x:
dM/dx=wL/2 wx=shear force at x

thus,
dM/dx =Vx
Thus, the rate of change of the bending moment with respect to x is equal to the shearing force
RELATION BETWEEN BENDING MOMENT AND SHEAR FORCE: The slope of the bending
moment diagram at the given point is the shear force at that point.
dM/dx =Vx
RELATION BETWEEN SHEAR FORCE and UDL: Differentiate V with respect to x
gives dV/dx=0w
thus, dV/dx =-UDL= -w
dV/dx =-w
Thus, the rate of change of the shearing force with respect to x is equal to the load (UDL)
Properties of Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams .
The following are some important properties of shear and moment diagrams:
1. The area of the shear diagram to the left or to the right of the section is equal to the moment
at that section.
2. The slope of the moment diagram at a given point is the shear force at that point.
3. The slope of the shear diagram at a given point equals the -UDL at that point.
4. The maximum moment occurs at the point of zero shear. When the shear is zero, the slope of
moment diagram is zero. Hence tangent drawn to the moment
diagram is horizontal.
5. When the shear force is increasing, the moment diagram is
concave upward.

6. When the shear force is decreasing, the moment diagram is

concave downward.

Relations among Load, Shear, and Bending Moment:

When a beam carries more than two or three concentrated

loads, or when it carries distributed loads, the method for
plotting shear and bending moment can prove cumbersome.
The construction of the shear diagram and, especially, of the
bending-moment diagram will be greatly facilitated if certain
relations existing among load, shear, and bending moment
are taken into consideration.

Relations between Load and Shear:

Fy =0=S-(S+dS)+F dx
0=S-S-dS+Fdx
F=dS/dx
S= F dx
MA=0=M-(M+dM)+(S+dS)-F dx (dx/2)
-dM+S dx + dS dx- (F dx dx )/2=0
dM/dx=S
M= S dx = F dx

S= F dx = F0 dx
=F0 x+ C1
S=F0 x
M= S dx= F0x dx= F0 x2/2 +C2
M=(F0 x2)/2
Fy=F0L
Mz= (F0 L2)/2
S(L)=0 F0L+C1=0
Then C1= - F0 L
Fy=F0 L
S+F0L=0 S=-F0 L
M= S dx = (F0 x-F0 L)dx=(F0 x2)/2 F0 L x + C2
At x=L M=0
0=(F0 L2)/2 F0 L2 + C2 C2=(F0 L2)/2