ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

STRESSES IN BEAMS OF SYMMETRICAL

CROSS-SECTION SUBJECTED TO BENDING
In Mechanics of Materials, stresses are important. Since beams are
often loaded in bending, it is essential to determine the stresses that
arise from flexure (bending).
(This course will focus on beams that have at least one axis of
symmetry in their cross-section. The following analysis will not
consider cases where axial loading is applied simultaneously.)
Take a wooden chopstick and slowly bend it into a smile
(positive bending moment); what happens to the wood at the upper
and lower surfaces?
Bend it until it begins to break; where along the chopstick does failure
occur? Where in that cross-section does failure initiate?

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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Consider a horizontal straight beam with a cross-section which is

symmetrical about the vertical axis. The beam experiences a positive
bending moment that induces a positive curvature.
X Y y

NA
X Y

X Y
compression
Mxz NA Mxz
z x

tension (stretching) X Y

Bending causes compression of material in the upper portion of the

beam and stretching (tension) in the lower portion. Between the two
zones lies a plane where there is no tension or compression; this is
referred to as the NEUTRAL AXIS (NA) or NEUTRAL SURFACE.
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Q: How does the stress vary from being negative (compressive) at the
upper surface to being positive (tensile) at the lower surface?
Consider an element x of the
beam that has been bent into part
d
of an arc.
R radius of curvature of the
X Y
neutral axis NA. Mxz Mxz

y vertical co-ordinate y
perpendicular to the neutral axis. X Y

Assumptions:
Bending occurs only in the plane of the bending moment.
Plane cross-sections remain plane after bending; i.e. XX and YY are
straight.
There is no resultant force in the axial direction.
Young's Modulus is the same in tension and compression. E-3

ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

In the beam material at a distance y above the NA, the normal strain in
the axial direction is:
xx = (change in length)/(original length)

(E1)

From Hooke's Law:

But yy = 0 and zz = 0
(E2)

The stress xx acting over an element of area A in the cross-section will

generate a normal force contribution of: (E3)
is a unit vector normal to the surface A.
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

y axis
A x
Fxx
y y
x

Substitution of (E2) into (E3) letting d:

Since there is no resultant axial force, the sum of the elemental forces
(or stresses) across the cross-section must be zero.

is the first moment of area of the cross-section about the z-axis.

implies that the neutral axis runs through the centroid of

the cross-section; i.e. the origin of the y-coordinate axis is at
the neutral axis. Hence, identifying the NA of a beam
(centroid of the cross-section) is essential. E-5

ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

1
1
x

z

Fxx generates a bending moment contribution of:

Integrating across the whole cross-section yields the total bending

moment:

is the 2nd moment of the cross-sectional area about the z-

axis. E-6
ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Hence, the bending moment is related to beam curvature by:

(E4)

From (E2) and (E4), the axial (normal) stress in the cross-section varies
with y according to:

where y is with reference to the neutral (centroidal) axis.

y
xx< 0
(compressive)

Mxz NA Mxz
x

xx> 0
(tensile)
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Note:
A positive bending moment causes compressive (negative)
axial (normal) stresses above the neutral (centroidal) axis and
tensile (positive) stresses below the NA.
The stress varies only with y (distance from the NA) and the
distribution is linear.
Maximum stress is induced in the material farthest away from
the neutral (centroidal) axis; i.e. these portions of the beam
carry most of the load due to bending. Hence, an I-beam is
more efficient than a solid rectangular section beam of identical
external dimensions in terms of strength to weight.

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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Cross-section of flyover across the Ayer Rajah Expressway,

linking NUS Kent Ridge campus to University Town.
Box-section employed, so that central portion of cross-
section is hollow, for optimum use of material farthest away
from the neutral axis.
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Example
If the max allowable normal (axial) stress is o, compare the
maximum bending moment to beam weight ratios for the
following beam cross-sections of similar external dimensions.
1 2 3 4

0.8a a 0.8a

a a a a

Normal stress generated by flexure is given by:

(Note: The centroids of the cross-sections are all at the intersections of
their axes of symmetry.)
At the maximum bending moment sustainable, the max stress o will
occur at
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Substitution of these values into the bending stress equation results in:

The mass per unit length of the beam is = A kg/m, where A is the
cross-sectional area and the material density.
Hence, the ratio of the maximum bending moment to beam weight is:

For Cross-section #1: Iz1/A1 = (a4/64)/(a2/4) = a2/16

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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

For Cross-section #2: Iz2 = a4/64 (0.8a)4/64

A2 = a2/4 (0.8a)2/4

For Cross-section #3: Iz3/A3 = (a4/12)/(a2)

For Cross-section #4: Iz4 = a4/12 (0.8a)4/12; A4 = a2 (0.8a)2

Hence, hollow sections are more efficient in sustaining bending

moments from a strength to weight perspective.
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Example
Where does pure bending (without shear) occur in the I-beam
subjected to two symmetrical loads as shown? What is the maximum
bending stress? If the yield stress o is 80 MPa, how much can each
load be increased by before failure occurs?
y
80mm
10mm
P =10kN P =10kN
y 0.5m 2m 0.5m
z
100mm
x 20mm
A B C D
R1 R2 10mm
80mm

From vertical equilibrium and symmetry: R1 = R2 = 10 kN

Load intensity:
Shear force:

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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

Bending moment:
kNm

Shear force distribution:

Fxy
+10kN

A B
C D x

-10kN

Bending moment distribution:

5kNm 5kNm

Mxz

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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

For a rectangle of width b and height h, the

second moment of area about the centroid is:
Iz = (1/12)bh3 y

For a symmetrical I-beam, the centroid of the

cross-section is at the intersection of the axes z
h
of symmetry.
Therefore, the second moment of area of a b
symmetrical I-beam is obtained by taking Iz of
the outer rectangle and subtracting the Iz of the y
two inner rectangular cut-outs (similar concept 80mm
to Iz of a hollow circular cross-section). 10mm

z
100mm 20mm
30mm 30mm
In this example, ymax = +/- 50 mm and the max 10mm
stress occurs at both the top and bottom surfaces 80mm
of the upper and lower flanges respectively.
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ME2112 Strength of Materials (Victor Shim)

There is a linear relationship between max and P:

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