Mechanics of Materials II

(ME323)

Stresses in Beams (Advanced Topics)

Chapter 6
6.1: Introduction
- Introduction
• Shear and bending of beams of arbitrary cross section
• Stresses and strains in composite beams
• Transformed section method as an alternative procedure
for analyzing the bending stresses in a composite beam
• Shear stresses in the special class of beams

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Composite Beams
• Composite Beams are fabricated of more than one
material.
• Advantage: to save material and reduce weight.
• Examples:
• Bimetallic beams (such as those used in
thermostats),
• Plastic coated pipes, and wood beams with steel
reinforcing plates (Fig.).
• Sandwich beams are widely used in the aviation and
aerospace industries, where light weight plus high
strength and rigidity are required.
• Skis, doors, wall panels, book shelves, and cardboard
boxes are also manufactured in sandwich style.
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6.2: Composite Beams
- Composite Beams
• Examples of composite beams:
(a) bimetallic beam,
(b) Plastic coated steel pipe, and
(c) wood beam reinforced with a steel
plate

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Strains and Stresses
• The longitudinal strains εx in a composite beam vary
linearly from top to bottom of the beam, as expressed in
previous chapter:

• Where;
y: distance from the neutral axis,
ρ: radius of curvature, and
κ: curvature.

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Strains and Stresses
(a) Composite beam of two
materials,

(b) cross section of beam,

(c) distribution of strains εx

throughout the height of the
beam, and

(d) distribution of stresses σx in

the beam for the case where E2 >
E1

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Strains and Stresses
• The neutral axis (the z axis in Fig.) does not pass through
the centroid of the cross-sectional area when the beam is
made of two different materials.
• The strain/stress is zero at the neutral axis (the z axis).
• The compressive stress at the top of the beam is

• The tensile stress at the bottom is

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Strains and Stresses
• Using Hooke’s law ; we can express the normal stresses
at distance y from the neutral axis in terms of the
curvature:

• σx1: stress in material 1

• σx2: stress in material 2

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Neutral Axis
• The position of the neutral axis (the z axis) is found from
the condition that the resultant axial force acting on the
cross section is zero.

• The integrals represent the first moments of the two

parts of the cross-sectional area with respect to the neutral
axis.
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6.2: Composite Beams
- Moment Curvature Relationship
• The moment resultant of the bending stresses is equal to
the bending moment M acting at the cross section.

• I1 and I2: moments of inertia about the neutral axis (the

z axis) of the cross-sectional areas of materials 1 and 2.
• I= I1+I2: moment of inertia of the entire cross sectional
area about the neutral axis.
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6.2: Composite Beams
- Moment Curvature Relationship
• The curvature in terms of the bending moment:

• This equation is the moment-curvature relationship for a

beam of two materials
• E1I1 + E2I2: flexural rigidity of the composite beam.

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Normal Stresses
• The normal stresses (or bending stresses) in the beam
are

•These expressions, known as the flexure formulas for a

composite beam

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Approximate Theory for Bending of Sandwich Beams
• Cross section of a sandwich beam
having two axes of symmetry
(doubly symmetric cross section)

• If E2 > E1, then;

• It is reasonable to disregard the
normal stresses in the core and
assume that the faces resist all of
the longitudinal bending stresses.

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Approximate Theory for Bending of Sandwich Beams
• I1 is the moment of inertia of the two faces evaluated with
respect to the neutral axis

• b: width of the beam

• h: overall height of the beam
• hc: height of the core
• t: thickness of the faces

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Approximate Theory for Bending of Sandwich Beams
• The maximum normal stresses in the sandwich beam
occur at the top and bottom of the cross section;
• where y = h/2 and y = - h/2

• If the faces are thin compared to the thickness of the core

(that is, if t is small compared to hc), we can disregard the
shear stresses in the faces and assume that the core carries
all of the shear stresses.

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Example 6-1

• Available in Text Book

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6.2: Composite Beams
- Example 6-2

• Available in Text Book

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Stresses in Beams
- Summary
 Mechanics of Materials by J. M. JERE & B. J. GOODNO, 8th Edition.
(Read Chapter No 6)

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