Department of Mechanical Engineering

Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

Question Bank 2 (SFD and BMD)

1. A simply supported beam with overhang is subjected to load as shown in Figure 1.

Draw the shear force and bending moment diagram. Find the location of point of
contraflexure, if any. Explain the significance of point of contraflexure.
2. Consider a simply supported 10 m long beam (refer to Fig. 2) subjected to uniformly
distributed vertical load of 120 N/m. Write down the shear force and bending moment
equations and draw the diagrams.
3. Consider Fig. 3 and find out the maximum value of bending moment. Also draw the
SFD and BMD.
4. Draw the shear force and bending moment diagram for the cantilever beam as shown
in Fig. 4.
5. Draw the shear force and bending moment diagram for the simply supported beams as
shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.
6. What is meant by point of contraflexure or point of inflexion in a beam? Show the
same for the beam given in Fig. 8.
7. A beam of 6 m long rests on two supports with equal overhangs on either side and
carries a uniformly distributed load of 30 kN/m over the entire length at the beam as
shown in Fig. 9. Calculate the overhangs if the maximum positive and negative
bending moments are to be same. Draw the SFD and BMD and locate the salient
points.
8. A cantilever beam built-in at one end carries a bracket at the other end as shown in
Figure below. Construct the shear force and bending moment diagrams for the beam if
a = L/3.
9. A beam 'ABCD' is simply supported at B and C with AB and CD being overhang.
Lengths of different portions are AB = 3m, BC = 5m, CD = 2m. The beam is
subjected to vertical downward concentrated loads of 3 kN at A and 2 kN at D along
with uniformly distributed load of intensity 4 kN/m over the full length of the beam.
Draw the shape of the Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams showing the
values at salient locations.
10. For the various beams shown in Fig. 11, draw the shear force and bending moment
diagrams indicating salient features such as nature, max values and points of
contraflexure etc. Also, find the ratio a/L for minimum value of the maximum
bending moment (if applicable).
11. Shear force diagram for simply supported beams at point A and B is shown in Fig. 12.
Draw the diagram of beam along with its loading and corresponding bending moment
diagram.
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

Fig. 10.
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

Fig. 11.

Fig. 12.
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

Elastic Instability of Columns

1. A column with a length of 7.2m has a tubular cross section with internal radius 70mm and
external radius of 75mm. It is to be used as a pin-ended column carrying compressive
load along its axis. The material is steel with elastic limit at 250MPa and Youngs
modulus 200GPa. Find out the maximum allowable axial load so that it does not buckle.
2. For P=5.2kN, determine the factor of safety for the structure shown in Fig. 1. Assume E =
200GPa and consider buckling only in the plane of structure.

Member Diameter Length

(mm) (m)
AB 18 1.2
AC 18 1.2
BC 22 1.22

Fig. 1
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

3. A column with rectangular cross-section is pin-supported at its ends (Fig. 2). It is

restrained in the plane of the figure but free to deflect in a plane perpendicular to it. Find
out the ratio h:b such that the critical load is same for buckling in two principal planes of
the column.

Fig. 2.

4. Determine the l/r ration for the following two columns.

(a) A square column, of side 300mm and length 4m, with both ends hinged.
(b) A hollow circular cross section column of outer diameter 300mm, thickness 5cm, and
length 6m, with one end fixed and other end hinged.
5. Determine the safe load that can be carried by a timber column, 300mm diameter and 3m
long, if both its ends are hinged. Use a factor of safety of 2.5. If the proportional limit is
35MPa, determine the minimum length up to which Eulers formula can apply. E = 12
GPa.
6. A hollow circular column of steel, of outer diameter 200mm and thickness 5mm, has a
length of 4m, with both ends fixed. Find the Euler critical load if E = 200GPa. If the yield
stress is 300MPa, determine the length below which Eulers formula cannot be applied.
7. Compare the critical stresses of columns with slenderness ratios of 40, 80, 120, 160 and
200 using Eulers formulae. E = 200 GPa and y = 320MPa.
8. An extruded nickel steel tube has outside diameter 5cm and wall thickness, 0.3cm. It is
3.6m long and to be used as a both sides pin ended column. If Youngs modulus is 2.1 x
106 Kg/cm2, find out the critical compressive stress.

6
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Subject: Solid Mechanics (ME 302) Instructor: Dr. Nirmal Baran Hui

9. A steel bar has a rectangular cross-section of 2.5 cm x 5 cm. It is to be used as a column

with pinned ends. What is the shortest length L for which Eulers equation applies if E =
2 x 106 Kg/cm2 and proportional limit is 2100 Kg/cm2?
10. Find the Eulers crushing load for a hollow cylinder Cast Iron column, 15 cm external
diameter and 2cm thick. If it is to 6m long and hinged at both ends. E = 80GPa.
11. A column having T-section with a flange 120mm x 16mm and Web 150mm x 16mm is
3m long. Assuming the column to be hinged at both ends find the crippling load using
Eulers formula. E = 200GPa.

Close-Coiled Helical Spring

1. A close-coiled helical spring has stiffness 900N/m in compression with a maximum load
of 45 N and maximum shear stress of 120MPa. The solid length of the spring is 45 mm.
a) Find out the wire diameter, mean coil diameter and number of coils. Take G = 40GPa.
b) If the gap between any two adjacent coils is 0.2 cm, what maximum load can be
applied before the spring becomes solid, i.e., adjacent coils touch.
c) What is the corresponding shear stress in the spring?
2. A composite spring has two close-coiled helical springs connected in series, each spring
has 12 coils at a mean diameter of 3cm. Find the diameter of the wire in one springs if the
diameter of wire in the other spring is 3mm and the stiffness of the composite spring is
3mm and the stiffness of the composite spring is 720N/m.
3. Two close coiled helical springs are compressed between two parallel plates by a load of
100N. The springs have a wire diameter of 20mm and radii of the coils are 50mm and
70mm. Each spring has 12 coils and is of the same initial length. If the smaller spring is
placed inside the larger one such that both springs deflect the same amount, determine the
deflection of the spring and maximum stress in each. G = 60GPa.
4. A close coiled helical spring whose free length when not compressed is 15cm is required
to absorb strain energy equal to 500 kg/cm when fully compressed with the coils in
contact. The maximum shearing stress is limited to 1400 kg/cm2. Assuming a mean coil
diameter of 10cm, find the diameter of the steel wire required and the number of coils. G
= 8 X 105 kg/cm2.
5. A helical spring B is placed inside the coils of a second helical spring A, having same
number of coils, same free axial length and same material. The springs are compressed by
an axial load of 210N which is shared by them. The mean coil diameters of A and B are
90mm and 60mm and the wire diameters are 12mm and 7mm, respectively. Calculate the
load shared by individual springs and maximum stress in each spring.