Shear-Force & Bending-Moment Diagrams

Distributed Loads
Learning Objectives
1) To evaluate the shear-force and bending-moment diagrams for systems
with discrete loads.
2) To do an engineering estimate of these quantities.

Beam Sign Convention

Distributed load -

An upward load is positive

Shear Force -

A positive internal shear force causes a clockwise

rotation of beam segment. (i.e., it pushes a leftfacing cross-section upward or a right-facing crosssection downward).

Bending Moment -

A positive internal moment causes compression in

the top fibers of the segment (i.e., clockwise on a
left-facing cross-section or counter-clockwise on a
right-facing cross-section).

Procedure
1. Determine support reactions
2. Specify beam sections origin (left end) to between each discrete load
(force or moment). Be sure V and M are shown acting in the positive
sense.
3. Sum forces vertically to determine V
4. Sum moments at sectioned end to determine M. (This eliminates V
from the moment equation).

Shear-Force & Bending-Moment Diagrams

Graphical Methods
Learning Objectives
1) To evaluate the shear-force and bending-moment diagrams for systems
with discrete loads.
2) To do an engineering estimate of these quantities.

Beam Sign Convention

Distributed load -

An upward load is positive

Shear Force -

A positive internal shear force causes a clockwise

rotation of beam segment. (i.e., it pushes a leftfacing cross-section upward or a right-facing crosssection downward).

Bending Moment -

A positive internal moment causes compression in

the top fibers of the segment (i.e., clockwise on a
left-facing cross-section or counter-clockwise on a
right-facing cross-section).

Procedure
1. Determine support reactions
2. Specify beam sections origin (left end) to between each discrete load
(force or moment). Be sure V and M are shown acting in the positive
sense.
3. Sum forces vertically to determine V
4. Sum moments at sectioned end to determine M. (This eliminates V
from the moment equation).

Normal Stress and Axial Strains

Normal Stress

- The stress acting normal to a

surface along an axis of a member.

= Normal Stress = lim

A 0

F=

AVG

y, z dA =

AVG

F
A

dF
=
dA

F
Axial Load
=
=
A
Cross-Sectional Area

where the units are given by:

AVG

lbs
= 2 = psi
in

or

N
= Pa
2
m

Note:
AVG

> 0 (Tension) ;

AVG

< 0 (Compression)

Axial Strain (

) The elongation (or shortening) of a part

along an axis.

x = Axial Strain = lim

x

(x )AVG =

Avg. Axial Strain =

ave =

- x
x
L* - L
L*
=
-1
L
L

L*
-1,
L

Hookes Law
Hookes Law The nearly linear relationship between
normal stress and axial strain in the proportional region
(typically under low strains)

= E
where
E = Modulus of Elasticity or Youngs Modulus, which is a
measure of the stiffness of a material (E has units of psi or
Pa).
Elongation is the axial direction causes contraction in
transverse directions.

y = x = - x
where

= Poisson's ratio (dimensionless)

Stress-Strain Regions:
Proportional Region (A-B): Nearly linear relationship between
and , whose slope is E. Hookes
Law is valid up to the proportional
limit (PL).
Elastic Region (A-C):

Similar to the proportional region

except between B and C the
material is still behaving elastically
up to the upper yield point (P)u,
but is not linear (Hookes Law is
not valid).

Yielding Regions (C-E):

Plastic deformation begins. A

slight material softening occurs
from C-D, down to the lower yield
point (P)l. Perfectly plastic
behavior occurs from D-E as the
material strain increases without an
increase in stress.

Strain Hardening Region (E-F): Strain hardening occurs from EF up to the ultimate stress
(U).
Necking Region (F-G):

Above U, the material necks

down resulting in a significant
reduction in cross-sectional area
and ultimately in fracture (G) at the
fracture stress (F).

General Stress-Strain Curves

for Various Materials

Design for Allowable Stress

In Axially-Loaded Members
Structural Design Strategies
Design for strength
Design for stiffness (avoidance of large deformations)
Design for ductility (avoidance of fracture)
Design for strength (two possibilities)
Yield strength (YP)
Ultimate Strength (U)
Factor of Safety (FS)

FS =

Failure Load
Allowable Load

To avoid failure FS > 1

Typical FS values 1.3 < FS < 3

For yield failure,

YP

FS =

allow

allow

YP

FS

For ultimate failure,

FS =

allow

allow

FS

Shear Stress Due to Pure Torsion

in Circular Members
Local Shear Stress at radius ( )

( )
where

T( )
J

T = applied Torque
= radius at some location in the shaft
J = polar area moment of inertia of the shaft
cross-section

The maximum shear stress occurs at the outer perimeter

of the shaft when ( = r)

MAX

Tr
J

Two Common Circular Configurations:

Solid Shaft
Tubular Shaft

Stress Distribution in a Solid Shaft

T()
2T
() =
=
()
4
J
r

MAX

Tr
2T
=
= 3
J
r

where

r = radius of shaft

and

4
r
J= 2

Stress Distribution in a Tubular Shaft

T()
() =
=
J

MAX

where

2T
()
4
4
ro - ri

Tro
2Tro
=
=
J
ro4 - ri4

ro = outer radius of tubular shaft

ri = inner radius of tubular shaft

4
4
(r
r
o
i )
J= 2

Power Transmission

P=T
where

P = Power (work performed per unit of time)

T = Torque
W = Angular speed of shaft

Power often measured in horsepower (hp)

ft-lb
1 hp = 550
s
Power can also be expressed as a function of frequency
(f)

P=2 fT
where

f = frequency (in cycles/sec or Hz)

Note: = 2f

Shaft Design
When the Power (p) and frequency (f) of a shaft are
known, the torque developed can be determined

T=P/ 2 f
Knowing the torque (T) and the allowable shear stress
(Allow), the size of the shafts cross-section can be
determined (assuming small strains in the linear elastic
range).
A common geometric (design) parameter is

J
T
=
r
Allow
Remember, J =

J=

4
r
2

Solid Shaft

ro4 - ri4

Tubular Shaft

Stresses Due to Pure Bending

Pure Bending

Sign Convention

Pure Bending in a Beam

When V = 0 and M 0 => Pure Bending
Below Pure Bending occurs between B and C.

Stress and Strain Distributions Due to Pure Bending

x = x (y) =

(y)

x = x (y) = E( x ) =

(y)

Stress Distribution

- M(y)
x = x ( y) =
I

- M(y)
x = x (y) =
=
E
EI
where

M = resultant internal moment about the neutral

axis of the cross-section
y = perpendicular distance from the neutral axis
I = second area moment of inertia of the crosssectional area about the neutral axis
E = Youngs modulus of elasticity

Second Area Moment of Inertia

I=

y dA

Maximum Normal Stress

x MAX =

M y

MAX

1. Only normal stress x exist at the cut.

2. Neutral axis passes through centroid.
3. Normal stresses vary linearly in the y-direction.
4. Normal stresses are constant in the z-direction.
5. Normal stress is zero at neutral axis.
6. Max normal stress exists at most outer surface of
beam.

Second Area Moment of Inertia By Integration

Recall

I=

y dA

Similar to centroids by integration except there is a y2

(rather than a y) term in the integrand.

Ix =
Iy =
Jo =

y dA
2

x dA
2

r dA = I x + I y

Stresses Due to Combined

Transverse Shear and Bending
Previously, we considered pure shear and pure bending
separately.

For combined transverse shear and bending

V A y
=
It
where:

V = shear force at cross-section

A* = cross-sectional area above the element
y* = centroid of the area above the element

I = centroidol second area moment for the entire

cross-section
t = depth of the beam at the location of the
stress element of interest
For a rectangular cross-section beam of height (h) and
width (t), (remember

I=

1
th 3 ),
12

h
A* = ( - y) t ,
2
1 h
y* = ( +y) .
2 2
Combining equations gives,

h
1 h

V - y t ( + y)
2
2 2

=
th 3

t
12
2

6V h
2
=
-y
2
Ah 4

Note:
1. distribution is quadratic
2. = 0 at y = h/2
3. = max at the neutral axis (y = 0)

MAX =

3V
2A

where:

V = shear force at cross-section

A = cross-sectional area