476 Appendix A Useful solutions to standard problems

A.2 Moments of sections

A beam of uniform section, loaded in simple tension by a force F, carries a stress
 F=A
where A is the area of the section. Its response is calculated from the appropriate
constitutive equation. Here the important characteristic of the section is its area, A. For
other modes of loading, higher moments of the area are involved. Those for various
common sections are given on the facing page. They are dened as follows.
The second moment I measures the resistance of the section to bending about a
horizontal axis (shown as a broken line). It is
Z
I y2 by dy
section

where y is measured vertically and b(y) is the width of the section at y. The moment K
measures the resistance of the section to twisting. It is equal to the polar moment J for
circular sections, where
Z
J 2r3 dr
section

where r is measured radially from the center of the circular section. For non-circular
sections K is less than J.
The section modulus Z I/ym (where ym is the normal distance from the neutral axis
of bending to the outer surface of the beam) measures the surface stress generated by a
given bending moment, M:
Mym M

I Z
Finally, the moment H, dened by
Z
H yby dy
section

measures the resistance of the beam to fully-plastic bending. The fully plastic moment
for a beam in bending is
Mp Hy
 A.2 Moments of sections 477

A.2 Moments of sections

Section shape Area A Moment I Moment K Moment Z Moment Q Moment Z p

4 4 4 4 4
m m m m m m

b h3 b h3 b b h2 b2 h2 b h2
h bh (1-0.58 )
12 3 h 6 (3h +1.8b) 4
(h > b) ( h > b)
b

a 3 2 a4 3 a4 a3 a3 3a3
a
4 32 3 80 32 20 64

r2 4 4 3 3 3
r r r r r
2r 4 2 4 2 3

3 a3 b3 2 2 2
a b a b a b a b
2a ab 4 2 2 4 2 3
(a + b )
(a < b)
2b
t
(ro2 - ri2 ) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3
(ro - ri ) (ro - ri ) (ro - ri ) (ro - ri ) (ro - ri )
2rii 2ro 4 2 4 ro 2 ro 3
2 r t
r3 t 2 r3 t r2 t 2 p r2 t r2 t

t
h 2t (h + b) 1 3 b 2 t b2 h2 t 1 2 b t 2 h
(h, b >> t ) 6
h t (1 + 3 )
h (1 - ) 4 3
h t (1 + 3 )
h
2 t b h(1 -
h
) b h t (1 +
2b
)
(h + b) h
b
t
3 3b 4(ab)5 / 2 t 2 3b 2 t (a3b)1/ 2 a
a t (1+ ) a t (1+ ) a b t (2 + )
2a (a + b) t 4 a 2 2 4 a (b > a) b
(a + b )
(a, b >> t )
2b
t
b (ho - hi ) b 3 3 b b 2 2
hi (ho - hi ) (h3o - h3i) (ho - hi )
ho 2b t 12 -- 6 ho -- 4
1 b t ho
(h, b >> t ) b t ho2 b t ho
b 2

t
2t h 2 t (h + b) 1 3 b 2 3 h 1 2 b 2 2 h h
2t h t (1 + 3 ) b t (1 + 4 ) h t (1 + 3 ) b t (1 + 4 ) b h t (1 + )
6 h 3 b 3 h 3 b 2b
(h, b >> t )

t h2
2t {1 +
h
2 t (h + b) t 3
(h + 4 b t 2 ) t3 t 3
(h + 4 b t 2 ) t2 2
6 (8 b + h) 3h (8 b + h) 2 t (b-2t)
2t (h, b >> t ) 3 3 }
h2
478 Appendix A Useful solutions to standard problems

A.3 Elastic bending of beams

When a beam is loaded by a force F or moments M, the initially straight axis is deformed
into a curve. If the beam is uniform in section and properties, long in relation to its depth
and nowhere stressed beyond the elastic limit, the deection , and the angle of rotation,
, can be calculated using elastic beam theory (see Further reading in Section A.16). The
basic differential equation describing the curvature of the beam at a point x along its
length is

d2 y
EI M
dx2
where y is the lateral deection, and M is the bending moment at the point x on the
beam. E is Youngs modulus and I is the second moment of area (Section A.2). When M
is constant this becomes
 
M 1 1
E 
I R R0
where R0 is the radius of curvature before applying the moment and R the radius after it
is applied. Deections  and rotations  are found by integrating these equations along
the beam.The stiffness of the beam is dened by
F C1 E1
S
 L3
It depends on Youngs modulus, E, for the material of the beam, on its length, L, and on
the second moment of its section, I. The end-slope of the beam, , is given by
FL2

C2 EI
Equations for the deection, , and end slope, , of beams, for various common modes
of loading are shown on the facing page together with values of C1and C2.
 A.3 Elastic bending of beams 479

A.3 Deflection of beams

L C1 C2

t 3 2
F FL 3 ML 2
F = =
C 1E C 1E
8 6
FL 2 ML
= =
C 2E C 2E
2 1
M
F
48 16 = See Table A.2 ( m4 )
E = Youngs modulus ( N/m2 )
F = Deflection ( m )
384 24 F = Force ( N )
5 M = Moment ( Nm )
F L = Length ( m )
192 - b = Width ( m )
t = Depth ( m )
F
= End slope ( - )
384 - y = Distance from N.A. ( m )
R = Radius of curvature ( m )
M
6 -
M
M M
M = =
y R
- 4
M/2
M
- 3
/2