Section shape Is important for certain modes of loading.

When shape is a
variable a new
term, the shape factor

appears in some of the macenaJ Indkes: they then allow

optimum selection of material and shape.

A material can be thought of as having properties hut no shape.

A compownr or structure is a material made into a shape
The shape factor is a measure of the efficiency material usage.

Material Macro-shape
Shaped material

Mechanical efficiency is olxained by combinir maeriaJ with macroscopic shape.

The
shape is characterized by a dimensionless shape factor, . The schematic is
suggested by
Parkhouse (1984).

Deniuon of symbols
Symbol

Definition

Moment (Nm)

Force (N)

Young s modulus of the nutenal tfle section 4a)

tu Yield or failure strerth of the material of the section
(MPa)

Density cf the material of che section (Mg/rn)

in, Mass per urr length of the section (kgm)

Cross-sectional area of section (m2)

Second moment of area of che section (m4)

(m4)

Second moment of area of the square reference section

Section modulus of che section (m)

Section modulus of the siare reference section (m)

Macro shape factor for elastic bendmg deflection ()

Macro shape factor for onset of plasticity or fallire i
bendIng ()
Macro shape factor for elastic corsiorl deflection (-)
Macro shape factor for onset of plasticity or fallire m
torsion ()
Micro spe factor for elastic bending deflection ()

icro shape factor for onset of plasticity or failure in bendir

()

(El)

Essential term in bendir stiffness (N.m

(Zoo

Essential term in bendir strength (N.m)

Web and fLange thickness (m)

Web hein(m)

Section heIght (it + c) of sandwich (m)

Section (flange) width (m)

Section ler(th (m)

SHAPE FACTORS

Elastic bending of beams and twisting of shafts

Common modes of Ioadng and the secuon.shapes chat are chosen to support them:
(a) axial
tvnion (b) bending (c) torsion nd (d) ial corrre5sion. which can $eid to
bUckling.

The bending stiffness S of a beam is proportional to the product EJ

Here E is Youngs modulus and J is the second moment of area of the beam
about the axis of bending (the x axis):

The second moment of area, 1g,. for a reference beam of square

section with edge-length b0 and section-area A = b is simply

The bending stiffness of the shaped section differs from that of a square one
with
the same area A by the factor where

We call

the shape factor for elastic bending. Note that it is dimensionless

I has dimensions of (length)4 and so does A2. It depends only on shape, not on
scale: big and small beams have the same value of if their section shapes
are
the same.

(a) A set of rectangular sections with = 2; (b) a set oil-sections with = 10

and
(c) a set ci wbes with 4 = 12. Members ola sec differ In size but not in
shape.

The second moment of areaJ. plotted against section area A. Efficenc strucwres
have

h, values of the ratio ZJA2; inefficient structures (ones that bend easily)
have low
values. Real structural sections have values of I and A that he in che shaded
zones. Note
chat there are limits on A and on che maxamum shape efficiency that depend
on materiaL

Shapes that resist bending well may not be so good when twisted.
The stiffness of a shaft the torque T divided by the angle of twist, O
is proportional to GK, where ( is its shear modulus and K its
torsional moment of area. For circular sections K is identical with the polar
moment of area, J:

where dA is the differential element of area at the radial distance r,

measured
from the center of the section. For non-circular sections, K is less than J;
it
is defined such that the angle of twist O is related to the torque T by

where L is length of the shaft and G the shear modulus of the material of
which
it is made.

The shape factor for elastic twisting is dened, as before, by the ratio of the
torsional stiffness of the shaped section, ST, to that, 5T. of a solid square
shaft
of the same length L and cross-section A,

The torsional constant K0 for a solid square section

with b=k is

Onset of failure in bending and twisting

Plasticity starts when the stress, somewhere, first reaches the yield
strength,
u; fracture occurs when this stress first exceeds the fracture strength, aIr;
fatigue failure if it exceeds the endurance limit a.

In bending, the stress a is largest at the point )tm in the surface of the
beam
that lies furthest from the neutral axis; it is:

where M is the bending moment. Failure occurs when this stress first exceeds
Thus, in problems of failure of beams, shape enters through the section
iriodulus,(Z I/ym)

The strength-efficiency of the shaped beam, , is mcasurcd by the ratio Z/Z0,

where Z0 is the section modulus of a reference bcam of square scction with
the same cross-sectional area, A:

A beam with an failure shape-efficiency factor of 10 is 10 times

stronger in bending than a solid square section of the same weight.
Figure is a plot of Z against A for values of 4
As before, the contour for 1 describes the square section reference beam.
The other contours describe shapes that are more or less efficient, as
suggested by the icons.

The section modukis, Z plotted against section area A. EWcient structures have
Ngh
values of the ratio ZIA3; InefficierE structures (ones that bend easily) have
low values.
Real structural sections have values olZ and A t)nt he in the shaded zones.
Note that
there are limits on A and on the maxmum shape efficiency that depend on
material.

In torsion the problem is more complicated. For circular rods or tuhes

subjected to a torque T the shear stress r is a maximum at the outer surface,
at the radial distance rm from the axis of bending:

The quantity in i/Tm twisting has the same character as uym in bending.
For non-circular sections with ends that are free to warp. the maximum surface
stress is given instead by

where Q. with units of m3 now plays the role of i/Tm or Z. This allows the
definition of a shape factor,

for failure in torsion, following the same

pattern as before:

Microscopic or micro-structural shape factors

[Microscopic shape]

Material Macro-shape

Shaped matenal
Mechanical efficiency can be obtained by combinir material with microscopic.
or internal.
shape. which repeats itself to give an extensive structure. The shape is
characterized by
microscopic shape factors. .

Micro-structural shape can be combined with macroscopic shape to give

efflcent
structures. The overall shape factor is the product of the microscopic and
macroscopic
shape factors.

Nawral materials with internal, or microscopic. shape. Reading from the top
left cock.
balsa wood. sponge. cancdous bocee. oeral. cuttie-bone, and pabi pbnc sc&.

Four extensive micro-structured materials that are mechanically efficient (a)

prismatic
cells. (b) fibers embedded In a foamed matrix. (c) concentric cylindrical
thells with
foam between, and (d) parallel plates separated b foamed spacers.

Figure shows four extensive structures with microscopic shape, all of

them found in nature.
Microscopic shape factors. Consider the gain in bending stiffness when a solid
square beam like that shown as a black square of side b0 in Figure .
is expanded, at constant mass, to a larger square section with any one of the
structures that surround it in the figure. The bending stiffness S of the
original
solid beam is prop)ruonal to the pr(xluc( of its modulus E and its second
moment of area I:

where the subscript s means a property of the solid beam and I b/ 12.
When the beam is expanded at constant mass its density falls from

to p and

its edge-length increases from b, to b where

with the result that its second moment of area increases from i to

If the cells, fibers, rings or plates in Figure extend parallel to the axis of
the beam, the modulus parallel to this axis falls from that of the solid, E,
to

The bending stiffness of the expanded beam scales as El, so thai it is stiffer
than
the original solid one by the factor

We refer ro

as the microscopic shape faaor for elastic bending. That for

prismatic structures like those of Figure is simply the reciprocal of the

relative density, /p5. Note that, in the limit of a solid (when p/ps) i takes
the
value 1, as it obviously should. A similar analysis for failure in bending
gives
the shape factor