CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr.

Syed Azmat Ali Shah

1.1 Introduction

Mechanics of materials is a branch of mechanics that studies the internal effects of stress and strain in a
solid body that is subjected to an external loading. Stress is associated with the strength of the material from
which the body is made, while strain is a measure of the deformation of the body. In addition to this,
mechanics of materials includes the study of the body’s stability when a body such as a column is subjected
to compressive loading. A thorough understanding of the fundamentals of this subject is of vital importance
because many of the formulas and rules of design cited in engineering codes are based upon the principles
of this subject.

1.2 Equilibrium of a Deformable Body

Since statics has an important role in both the development and application of mechanics of materials, it is
very important to have a good grip of its fundamentals. For this reason, we will review some of the main
principles of statics that will be used throughout the lectures.

External Loads. A body is subjected to only two types of external loads; namely, surface forces or body
forces, Fig. 1–1.

Surface Forces. Surface forces are caused by the direct contact of one body with the surface of another. In
all cases these forces are distributed over the area of contact between the bodies. If this area is small in
comparison with the total surface area of the body, then the surface force can be idealized as a single

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

concentrated force, which is applied to a point on the body. For example, the force of the ground on the
wheels of a bicycle can be considered as a concentrated force. If the surface loading is applied along a
narrow strip of area, the loading can be idealized as a linear distributed load, w(s). Here the loading is
measured as having an intensity of force/length along the strip and is represented graphically by a series of
arrows along the lines. The resultant force FR of w(s) is equivalent to the area under the distributed loading
curve, and this resultant acts through the centroid C or geometric center of this area. The loading along
the length of a beam is a typical example of where this idealization is often applied.

Body Forces. A body force is developed when one body exerts a force on another body without direct
physical contact between the bodies. Examples include the effects caused by the earth’s gravitation or its
electromagnetic field. Although body forces affect each of the particles composing the body, these forces
are normally represented by a single concentrated force acting on the body. In the case of gravitation, this
force is called the weight of the body and acts through the body’s center of gravity.

Support Reactions. The surface forces that develop at the supports

or points of contact between bodies are called reactions. For two
dimensional problems, i.e., bodies subjected to coplanar force
systems, the supports most commonly encountered are shown in
Table 1–1. Note carefully the symbol used to represent each
support and the type of reactions it exerts on its contacting
member. As a general rule, if the support prevents translation in a
given direction, then a force must be developed on the member in
that direction. Likewise, if rotation is prevented, a couple moment
must be exerted on the member. For example, the roller support
only prevents translation perpendicular or normal to the surface.
Hence, the roller exerts a normal force F on the member at its point
of contact. Since the member can freely rotate about the roller, a
couple moment cannot be developed on the member.

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Equations of Equilibrium. Equilibrium of a body requires both a balance of forces, to prevent the body
from translating or having accelerated motion along a straight or curved path, and a balance of moments,
to prevent the body from rotating. These conditions can be expressed mathematically by two vector
equations

Here, ∑F represents the sum of all the forces acting on the body, and ∑Mo is the sum of the moments of
all the forces about any point O either on or off the body. If an x, y, z coordinate system is established with
the origin at point O, the force and moment vectors can be resolved into components along each coordinate
axis and the above two equations can be written in scalar form as six equations, namely,

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Often in engineering practice the loading on a body can be represented as a system of coplanar forces. If
this is the case, and the forces lie in the x–y plane, then the conditions for equilibrium of the body can be
specified with only three scalar equilibrium equations; that is,

Here all the moments are summed about point O and so they will be directed along the z axis.

Successful application of the equations of equilibrium requires complete specification of all the known and
unknown forces that act on the body, and so the best way to account for all these forces is to draw the
body’s free-body diagram.

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Internal Resultant Loadings. In mechanics of materials, statics is primarily used to determine the resultant
loadings that act within a body. For example, consider the body shown in Fig. 1–2a, which is held in
equilibrium by the four external forces. In order to obtain the internal loadings acting on a specific region
within the body, it is necessary to pass an imaginary section or “cut” through the region where the internal
loadings are to be determined. The two parts of the body are then separated, and a free-body diagram of
one of the parts is drawn, Fig. 1–2b.

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Notice that there is actually a distribution of internal force acting on the “exposed” area of the section.
These forces represent the effects of the material of the top part of the body acting on the adjacent material
of the bottom part.

Although the exact distribution of this internal loading may be unknown, we can use the equations of
equilibrium to relate the external forces on the bottom part of the body to the distribution’s resultant force
and moment, FR and MRo at any specific point O on the sectioned area, Fig. 1–2c. It will be shown in later
portions of the text that point O is most often chosen at the centroid of the sectioned area, and so we will
always choose this location for O, unless otherwise stated. Also, if a member is long and slender, as in the
case of a rod or beam, the section to be considered is generally taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis
of the member. This section is referred to as the cross section.

Three Dimensions. Later we will show how to relate the resultant loadings, FR and MRo to the distribution
of force on the sectioned area, and thereby develop equations that can be used for analysis and design. To
do this, however, the components of FR and MRo acting both normal and perpendicular to the sectioned area
must be considered, Fig. 1–2d. Four different types of resultant loadings can then be defined as follows:

Normal force, N. This force acts perpendicular to the area. It is developed whenever the external loads
tend to push or pull on the two segments of the body.

Shear force, V. The shear force lies in the plane of the area and it is developed when the external loads
tend to cause the two segments of the body to slide over one another.

Torsional moment or torque, T. This effect is developed when the external loads tend to twist one
segment of the body with respect to the other about an axis perpendicular to the area.

Bending moment, M. The bending moment is caused by the external loads that tend to bend the body
about an axis lying within the plane of the area.

In this text, note that graphical representation of a moment or torque is shown in three dimensions as a
vector with an associated curl. By the right hand rule, the thumb gives the arrowhead sense of this vector
and the fingers or curl indicate the tendency for rotation (twisting or bending).

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Coplanar Loadings. If the body is subjected to a coplanar system of forces, Fig. 1–3a, then only normal-
force, shear-force, and bending- moment components will exist at the section, Fig. 1–3b. If we use the x, y,
z coordinate axes, as shown on the left segment, then N can be obtained by applying ∑Fx = 0, and V can be
obtained from ∑Fy = 0. Finally, the bending moment Mo can be determined by summing moments about
point O (the z axis), ∑Mo = 0 in order to eliminate the moments caused by the unknowns N and V.

Important Points

 Mechanics of materials is a study of the relationship between the external loads applied to a body
and the stress and strain caused by the internal loads within the body.
 External forces can be applied to a body as distributed or concentrated surface loadings, or as body
forces that act throughout the volume of the body.
 Linear distributed loadings produce a resultant force having a magnitude equal to the area under
the load diagram, and having a location that passes through the centroid of this area.
 A support produces a force in a particular direction on its attached member if it prevents translation
of the member in that direction, and it produces a couple moment on the member if it prevents
rotation.
 The equations of equilibrium ∑F = 0 and ∑M = 0 must be satisfied in order to prevent a body from
translating with accelerated motion and from rotating.
 When applying the equations of equilibrium, it is important to first draw the free-body diagram for
the body in order to account for all the terms in the equations.
 The method of sections is used to determine the internal resultant loadings acting on the surface of
the sectioned body. In general, these resultants consist of a normal force, shear force, torsional
moment, and bending moment.

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Example 1.1

Determine the resultant internal loadings acting on the

cross section at C of the cantilevered beam shown in Fig.
1–4a.

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

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CE 502: Advanced Mechanics of Solids Instructor: Dr. Syed Azmat Ali Shah

Reference
Mechanics of Materials by R.C Hibbeler

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