General Solutions for Unsymmetrical Bending of Beams with Arbitrary Cross Sections

My

dA
z

Mz

P
P

Figure 1 A Beam with An Arbitrary Cross Section

Consider a cantilever beam subjected to an end force P acting in the plane inclined at an angle to the y-
axis as shown. The bending moment M, produced by the force P, is oriented in the direction making an
angle to the z-axis as shown. The components of M in the y and z-directions, denoted by M y and M z ,
respectively, are given by

My = M sin

Mz = M cos

(a)

Consider the special case where = 90 . From (a) we have My = M and Mz = 0 , then the beam would

deflect in the xz plane, and the neutral axis would coincide with the y-aixs. With the cross sections
remain plane assumption, we have
z

(b)
x = z z =

where z and z are the curvature and radius of curvature, respectively, of the beam in the xz plane. On
the other hand, if = 0 , then Mz = M and My = 0 , the beam would deflect in the xy plane and the
neutral axis would coincide with the z-aixs. Again, with the cross sections remain plane assumption,
we have

x = y y =

(c)

where y and y are the curvature and radius of curvature, respectively, of the beam in the yz plane. It
is noted that the negative sign in (c) indicates that a line element located above the z-axis would be under
compression when a positive M z is applied.
Now consider the general cases in which the value of angle is arbitrary. Since the cross sections
remain plane assumption is still valid, we can express the strain in the x direction in the following linear
equation in y and z:

(d)
x = a + by + cz
where a , b , and c are constants. The stress is then given by

x = E x = a + by + cz

(e)

where E is the Youngs modulus and a = Ea , b = Eb , and c = Ec . For a beam subjected to pure
bending, the stress resultant over the cross section must vanish, i.e.,

x dA = a dA + b ydA + c zdA = 0

If the origin of the coordinate system coincides with the centroid of the cross section, then

y=

ydA = 0,
dA

z=

zdA = 0
dA

(f)

Consequently, a = 0 and (e) becomes

x = by + cz

(g)

The resultant moments on the cross section are given by

M y = x zdA = b yzdA + c z 2 dA = bI yz + cI y

(h)

M z = x ydA = b y 2 dA c yzdA = bI z cI yz

(i)

where

I y = z 2 dA , I z = y 2 dA , I yz = yzdA

are the moments of inertia of the cross section. Solving (h) and (i) simultaneously yields
M z I y + M y I yz
M y I z + M z I yz


b=
, c=
2
2
I y I z I yz
I y I z I yz
Substituting (j) into (g) gives

x =

M z I y + M y I yz
IyIz I

y+

2
yz

M y I z + M z I yz
2
I y I z I yz

(j)

(k)

The neutral axis, by definition, is the line along which stress vanishes. Thus, by setting x = 0 in (k), we
have

tan =

y M y I z + M z I yz I yz + I z tan I z + I yz cot

=
=
=
z M z I y + M y I yz I y + I yz tan I yz + I y cot

in which (see Fig. 1) is the angle measured clockwise from the z-axis to the neutral axis, and
My
M

tan =
, or cot = z
Mz
My

(l)

(m)

Combining (k) and (m) and eliminating M y , we obtain the following simplified equation in terms of M z
and angle for calculating the stresses:

x =

Mz (y z tan )

I z I yz tan

(n)

If the y- and z-axes coincide with the principal axes, then I yz = 0 and (l) reduces to

tan =

Iz
tan
Iy

which is the same as (6-19) in the textbook. Furthermore, if = 0 (i.e., Mz = M and My = 0 ), then = 0
and (n) becomes

x =

Mz y

Iz

Example:
A 5.0 m long simply-supported beam is subjected to a force P = 4 kN at a point that is 2.0 m away from
the far end, as shown in the figure. The dimensions of the L-shaped cross section are shown in the figure.
If the force P is applied in an inclined plane making a 10 angle with the y-axis, determine the locations
and magnitudes of the maximum tensile and compressive stresses in the beam.
Solution:
(a) Locate the centroid of the cross section (in terms of distances y 0 and z0 measured from point A):

(120 10)(60) + (70 10)(5 )

= 39.74 mm
(120 10) + (70 10)

(120 10)(5) + (70 10)(45)
z0 =
= 19.74 mm
(120 10) + (70 10)
y0 =

P
10

10 mm

2 m

120 mm

3 m

10

M
y0
A

10 mm

z0

80 mm
Figure 2 Umsymmetric Bending of A Simply-Supported Beam
(b) Determine the moments of inertia:

(120)(10)3

+ (120)(10)(19.74 5)2 +

(10)(70)3

+ (10)(70)(45 19.74 )2 = 1.003 106 mm 4

12
12
(10)(120)3
(70)(10)3
Iz =
+ (10)(120)(60 39.74 )2 +
+ (70)(10)(39.74 5)2 = 2.783 106 mm 4
12
12
I yz = (10)(1120)(60 39.74 )(19.74 5) + (70)(10)(5 39.74)(19.74 45) = 0.973 106 mm 4
Iy =

(c) Determine the neutral axis:

Since = 10 (i.e., positive measured clockwise from the z axis), we have, from (l),
I yz + I z tan 0.973 10 6 + 2.783 10 6 tan 10
tan =
=
= 0.580
I y + I yz tan 1.003 10 6 + 0.973 10 6 tan 10

(
(

)
)

The neutral axis thus is oriented at the angle

= tan1 (0.580) = 0.526 rad = 30.12
(d) Determine the maximum stresses in the beam:
The maximum bending moment along the beam occurs at the point where the load P is applied, i.e.,
Pab (4.0 )(2.0)(3.0)

Mmax =
=
= 4.8 kN m = 4.8 106 N mm
L
5.0
where L = 5.0 m , a = 2.0 m , and b = 3.0 m . The y and z components of this moment are

My = Mmax sin = 0.834 106 N mm

Mz = Mmax cos = 4.727 106 N mm

From Fig.2 it is easy to see that the two locations denoted by A and B are the farthest from the neutral
axis, hence would experience the highest tensile or compressive stresses. The y and z coordinates of
those two points are A(39.74 , 19.74 ) and B(80.26 , 9.74 ) , respectively. The maximum tensile stress,
occurs at point A, is given by

x =

M z (y z tan )
I z I yz tan

(4.727 10 )[ 39.74 (19.74)tan(30.12 )]

2.783 10 (0.973 10 )tan(30.12 )
6

N
= 109.0 MPa
mm 2
The maximum compressive stress, occurs at point B, is given by
M (y z tan )
x = z
I z I yz tan
= 109.0 106

(4.727 10 )[80.26 (9.74)tan(30.12 )]

2.783 10 (0.973 10 )tan(30.12 )
6

N
= 159.0 MPa
mm 2
(e) Solve the same problem by using the method outlined in Section 6-5 of the textbook:
The principal axes are denoted as Y and Z, respectively, in Fig.3. The directions of the principal axes
and the principal moments of inertia of the cross section can be obtained by using (A-11) and (A-12)
in the textbook. Let be the angle between the principal axis and y-axis (see Fig.2), then from (A-11)
= 159.0 106

tan 2 p = tan 2 =

2 I yz
Iy Iz

2(0.973 106 )
= 1.093
1.003 10 6 2.783 10 6

and

1
2
The principal moments of inertia can be obtained by substituting the value of in (A-10), or using

= tan 1 (1.093) = 23.8

(A-12):

P
10

10

Figure 3 Neutral Axis and Principal Axes

I max,min =

Thus,

Iy + Iz
2

I y I z
2
+ I yz

= 3.212 106 mm 4 , 0.574 106 mm 4 ,
2

IY = 0.574 106 mm 4

I Z = 3.212 106 mm 4

The components of M in the Y and Z directions, respectively, are now given by

MY = M sin( 10 ) = 1.143 106 N mm

MZ = M cos( 10 ) = 4.662 106 N mm

The angle , which determines the orientation of neutral axis and is measured clockwise from the Z-
axis as shown in Fig.3, is given by
Y M I
I

tan = = Y Z = Z tan 10 = 1.374
Z MZ I Y I Y

from which

It can be seen from Fig.3 that

= tan 1 (1.374 ) = 53.9

= = 30.1

which matches the value obtained previously. With respect to the principal axes, the stresses are
given by
M Z M Y

x = Y Z
IY
IZ
At point A, the coordinates are
YA = y A cos + z A sin = 28.4 mm


Z A = y A sin + z A cos = 34.1 mm
and the stress is given by

MY Z MZY (1.143 10 3 )(34.1) (4.662 10 3 )( 28.4 )

= 109.0 MPa
IY
IZ
0.574 106
3.212 106
At point B, the coordinates are
YB = y B cos + zB sin = 77.4 mm


ZB = y B sin + zB cos = 23.5 mm
and the stress is given by
M Z M Y (1.143 10 3 )( 23.5 ) (4.662 10 3 )(77.4 )

x = Y Z =

= 159.0 MPa
IY
IZ
0.574 106
3.212 106

x =