Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Chapter 5 - The Moment-Area Method

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3

5.1.1 Background .................................................................................................... 3
5.1.2 Theoretical Basis ........................................................................................... 4
5.1.3 Mohr’s First Theorem (Mohr I) ..................................................................... 6
5.1.4 Example 1 ...................................................................................................... 8
5.1.5 Mohr’s Second Theorem (Mohr II) ............................................................... 9
5.1.6 Example 2 .................................................................................................... 11
5.1.7 Sign Convention .......................................................................................... 12
5.2 Application to Determinate Structures ........................................................... 13
5.2.1 Basic Examples ............................................................................................ 13
5.2.2 Finding Deflections ..................................................................................... 16
5.2.3 Problems ...................................................................................................... 23
5.3 Application to Indeterminate Structures ........................................................ 25
5.3.1 Basis of Approach........................................................................................ 25
5.3.2 Example 6: Propped Cantilever ................................................................... 26
5.3.3 Example 7: 2-Span Beam ............................................................................ 35
5.3.4 Example 8: Simple Frame ........................................................................... 42
5.3.5 Example 9: Complex Frame ........................................................................ 50
5.3.6 Problems ...................................................................................................... 60
5.4 Further Developments ...................................................................................... 64
5.4.1 Theorem of Three Moments ........................................................................ 64
5.4.2 Numerical Calculation of Deformation ....................................................... 73

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.4.3 Non-Prismatic Members .............................................................................. 82

5.4.4 Problems ...................................................................................................... 89
5.5 Appendix ............................................................................................................ 94
5.5.1 Past Exam Questions ................................................................................... 94
5.5.2 Area Properties .......................................................................................... 102
5.6 References ........................................................................................................ 103

Rev. 1

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Background
The moment-area method, developed by Otto Mohr in 1868, is a powerful tool for
finding the deflections of structures primarily subjected to bending. Its ease of finding
deflections of determinate structures makes it ideal for solving indeterminate
structures, using compatibility of displacement.

Otto C. Mohr (1835-1918)

Mohr’s Theorems also provide a relatively easy way to derive many of the classical
methods of structural analysis. For example, we will use Mohr’s Theorems later to
derive the equations used in Moment Distribution. The derivation of Clayperon’s
Three Moment Theorem also follows readily from application of Mohr’s Theorems.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1.2 Theoretical Basis

We consider a length of beam AB in its undeformed and deformed state, as shown on
the next page. Studying this diagram carefully, we note:

1. AB is the original unloaded length of the beam and A’B’ is the deflected
position of AB when loaded.

2. The angle subtended at the centre of the arc A’OB’ is  and is the change in
slope from A’ to B’.

3. PQ is a very short length of the beam, measured as ds along the curve and dx
along the x-axis.

4. d is the angle subtended at the centre of the arc ds .

5. d is the change in slope from P to Q.

6. M is the average bending moment over the portion dx between P and Q.

7. The distance  is known as the vertical intercept and is the distance from B’ to
the produced tangent to the curve at A’ which crosses under B’ at C. It is
measured perpendicular to the undeformed neutral axis (i.e. the x-axis) and so
is ‘vertical’.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Basis of Theory

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5.1.3 Mohr’s First Theorem (Mohr I)

Development
Noting that the angles are always measured in radians, we have:

ds  R  d
ds
R 
d

From the Euler-Bernoulli Theory of Bending, we know:

1 M

R EI

Hence:

M
d   ds
EI

But for small deflections, the chord and arc length are similar, i.e. ds  dx , giving:

M
d   dx
EI

The total change in slope between A and B is thus:

B B
M
 d  
A A
EI
dx

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

The term M EI is the curvature and the diagram of this term as it changes along a
beam is the curvature diagram (or more simply the M EI diagram). Thus we have:

B
M
d BA   B   A   dx
A
EI

This is interpreted as:

Change in slopeAB  Area of 

M
diagram 
 EI  AB

This is Mohr’s First Theorem (Mohr I):

The change in slope over any length of a member subjected to bending is equal
to the area of the curvature diagram over that length.

Usually the beam is prismatic and so E and I do not change over the length AB,
whereas the bending moment M will change. Thus:

B
1
EI A
 AB  M dx

 Area of M diagramAB
Change in slopeAB 
EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1.4 Example 1
For the cantilever beam shown, we can find the slope at B easily:

Thus, from Mohr I, we have:

Change in slopeAB  Area of 

M
diagram 
 EI  AB
1 PL
B   A   L 
2 EI

Since the slope at A is zero (it is a fixed support), i.e.  A  0 , we have:

PL2
B 
2 EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1.5 Mohr’s Second Theorem (Mohr II)

Development
From the main diagram, we can see that:

d   x  d

But, as we know from previous,

M
d   dx
EI

Thus:

M
d   x  dx
EI

And so for the portion AB, we have:

B B
M
 d  
A A
EI
 x  dx

B M 
 BA     dx  x
 A EI 
M
 First moment of diagram about B
EI

This is easily interpreted as:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

 Area of   Distance from B to centroid 

 Vertical 
 Intercept   M    M 

  BA  diagram   of   diagram 
 EI  BA   EI  BA 

This is Mohr’s Second Theorem (Mohr II):

For an originally straight beam, subject to bending moment, the vertical

intercept between one terminal and the tangent to the curve of another
terminal is the first moment of the curvature diagram about the terminal where
the intercept is measured.

There are two crucial things to note from this definition:

 Vertical intercept is not deflection; look again at the fundamental diagram – it

is the distance from the deformed position of the beam to the tangent of the
deformed shape of the beam at another location. That is:

 

 The moment of the curvature diagram must be taken about the point where the
vertical intercept is required. That is:

 BA   AB

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1.6 Example 2
For the cantilever beam, we can find the defection at B since the produced tangent at
A is horizontal, i.e.  A  0 . Thus it can be used to measure deflections from:

Thus, from Mohr II, we have:

1 PL   2 L 
 BA    L 
2 EI   3 

And so the deflection at B is:

PL3
B 
3EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.1.7 Sign Convention

Though the sign convention for Mohr’s Theorems is below, it is usually easier to note
the sense of displacements instead.

Positive Values
If the net area of the BMD is positive (mostly sagging), then:
 the change in slope between two points is measured anti-clockwise from the
tangent of the first point (Mohr’s First Theorem);
 the deflected position of the member lies above the produced tangent (Mohr’s
Second Theorem).

Negative Values
If the net area of the BMD is negative (mostly hogging), then:
 the change in slope between two points is measured clockwise from the tangent of
the first point (Mohr’s First Theorem);
 the deflected position of the member lies below the produced tangent (Mohr’s
Second Theorem).

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.2 Application to Determinate Structures

5.2.1 Basic Examples

Example 3
For the following beam, find  B ,  C ,  B and  C given the section dimensions shown

and E  10 kN/mm2 .

To be done in class.

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Example 4
For the following simply-supported beam, we can find the slope at A using Mohr’s
Second Theorem. The deflected shape diagram is used to identify relationships
between vertical intercepts and slopes:

The key to the solution here is that we can calculate  BA using Mohr II but from the
diagram we can see that we can use the formula S  R for small angles:

 BA  L   A

Therefore once we know  BA using Mohr II, we can find  A   BA L .

To calculate  BA using Mohr II we need the bending moment and curvature

diagrams:

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Thus, from Mohr II, we have:

1 PL   L 
 BA    L 
2 4 EI   2 
PL3

16 EI

But,  BA  L   A and so we have:

 BA
A 
L
PL2

16 EI

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5.2.2 Finding Deflections

General Procedure
To find the deflection at any location x from a support use the following relationships
between slopes and vertical intercepts:

Thus we:
1. Find the slope at the support using Mohr II as before;
2. For the location x, and from the diagram we have:

 x  x   B   xB

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Maximum Deflection
To find the maximum deflection we first need to find the location at which this
occurs. We know from beam theory that:

d

dx

Hence, from basic calculus, the maximum deflection occurs at a slope,   0 :

To find where the slope is zero:

1. Calculate a slope at some point, say support A, using Mohr II say;
2. Using Mohr I, determine at what distance from the point of known slope (A)
the change in slope (Mohr I), d Ax equals the known slope ( A ).
3. This is the point of maximum deflection since:

 A  d Ax   A   A  0

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Example 5
For the following beam of constant EI:
(a) Determine  A ,  B and  C ;
(b) What is the maximum deflection and where is it located?
Give your answers in terms of EI.

The first step is to determine the BMD and draw the deflected shape diagram with
slopes and tangents indicated:

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Slopes at A and B
To calculate the slopes, we need to calculate the vertical intercepts and use the fact
that the intercept is length times rotation (or slope). Thus, for the slope at B:

 2  1   4  1 
EI  AB    2   2  53.4    2    4  53.4 
 3  2   3  2 
 4 20 
 53.4   
3 3 
 427.2
427.2
 AB 
EI

But, we also know that  AB  6 B . Hence:

427.2
6 B 
EI
71.2
 B 
EI

Similarly for the slope at A:

 2  1   1  1 
EI  BA    4   4  53.4    4   2   2  53.4 
 3  2   3  2 
 16 14 
 53.4   
 3 3
 534
534
 BA 
EI

But, we also know that  BA  6 A and so:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

534
6 A 
EI
89.2
 A 
EI

Deflection at C
To find the deflection at C, we use the vertical intercept  CB and  B :

From the figure, we see:

 C  4 B  CB

And so from the BMD and slope at B:

1  4 
EI  C  4 1.33  53.4     4  53.4  
2  3 
142.3
 C 
EI

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Maximum Deflection
The first step in finding the maximum deflection is to locate it. We know two things:
1. Maximum deflection occurs where there is zero slope;
2. Maximum deflection is always close to the centre of the span.
Based on these facts, we work with Mohr I to find the point of zero slope, which will
be located between B and C, as follows:

Change in rotation   B  0   B

But since we know that the change in slope is also the area of the M EI diagram we
need to find the point x where the area of the M EI diagram is equal to  B :

Thus:

 x 1
EI  B  0    53.4     x
 4 2
x2
EI B  53.4
8

71.2
But we know that  B  , hence:
EI

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 71.2 
2
x
EI    53.4
 EI  8
x 2  10.66
x  3.265 m from B or 2.735 m from A

So we can see that the maximum deflection is 265 mm shifted from the centre of the
beam towards the load. Once we know where the maximum deflection is, we can
calculate is based on the following diagram:

Thus:

 max  x B   xB
 x2   x 
EI  max  x 1.33  53.4    53.4   
 8  3 
 M  4.342  1.450 
154.4
 max 
EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.2.3 Problems

Problem 1
For the beam of Example 3, using only Mohr’s First Theorem, show that the slope at
support B is equal in magnitude but not direction to that at A.

Problem 2
For the following beam, of dimensions b  150 mm and d  225 mm and
E  10 kN/mm2 , show that  B  7  104 rads and  B  9.36 mm .

Problem 3
For a cantilever AB of length L and stiffness EI, subjected to a UDL, show that:

wL3 wL4
B  ; B 
6 EI 8EI

Problem 4
For a simply-supported beam AB with a point load at mid span (C), show that:

PL3
C 
48EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 5
For a simply-supported beam AB of length L and stiffness EI, subjected to a UDL,
show that:

wL3 wL3 5wL4

A  ; B   ; C 
24 EI 24 EI 384 EI

Problem 6
For the following beam, determine the deflections at A, E and the maximum overall
deflection in the span. Take EI  40 MNm2

Ans. 6.00 mm, 2.67 mm, 8.00 mm

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.3 Application to Indeterminate Structures

5.3.1 Basis of Approach

Using the principle of superposition we will separate indeterminate structures into a
primary and reactant structures.

For these structures we will calculate the deflections at a point for which the
deflection is known in the original structure.

We will then use compatibility of displacement to equate the two calculated

deflections to the known deflection in the original structure.

Doing so will yield the value of the redundant reaction chosen for the reactant
structure.

Once this is known all other load effects (bending, shear, deflections, slopes) can be
calculated.

See the chapter on the Basis for the Analysis of Indeterminate Structures for more on
this approach.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.3.2 Example 6: Propped Cantilever

Problem
For the following prismatic beam, find the maximum deflection in span AB and the
deflection at C in terms of EI.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Solution

Find the reaction at B

Since this is an indeterminate structure, we first need to solve for one of the unknown
reactions. Choosing VB as our redundant reaction, using the principle of
superposition, we can split the structure up as shown:

Final = Primary + Reactant

In which R is the value of the chosen redundant.

In the final structure we know that the deflection at B,  B , must be zero as it is a

roller support. So from the BMD that results from the superposition of the primary
and reactant structures we can calculate  B in terms of R and solve since  B  0 .

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

We have from Mohr II:

 1  2    1  2  
EI  BA    2  200  2   2        4  4 R   4  
 2  3    2  3  
2000 64
  R
3 3
1
  2000  64 R 
3

But since  A  0 ,  B   BA  0 and so we have:

EI  BA  0
1
 2000  64 R   0
3
64 R  2000
R  31.25 kN

The positive sign for R means that the direction we originally assumed for it
(upwards) was correct.

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At this point the final BMD can be drawn but since its shape would be more complex
we continue to perform calculations using the primary and reactant structure BMDs.

Find the location of the maximum deflection

This is the next step in determining the maximum deflection in span AB. Using the
knowledge that the tangent at A is horizontal, i.e.  A  0 , we look for the distance x
from A that satisfies:

d Ax   A   x  0

By inspection on the deflected shape, it is apparent that the maximum deflection

occurs to the right of the point load. Hence we have the following:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

So using Mohr I we calculate the change in slope by finding the area of the curvature
diagram between A and x. The diagram is split for ease:

The Area 1 is trivial:

1 200 200
A1   2  
2 EI EI

For Area 2, we need the height first which is:

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4  x 4 R 4 125  125 125 125

h2      x
4 EI 4 EI EI EI

And so the area itself is:

125 125 
A2  x    x
 EI EI 

For Area 3 the height is:

125 125 125  125

h3    x  x
EI  EI EI  EI
And so the area is:

1 125
A3   x  x
2 EI

Being careful of the signs for the curvatures, the total area is:

EId Ax   A1  A2  A3
 125  125 2
 200  x 125  x  x
 4  8
 125 125  2
   x  125 x  200
 8 4 

Setting this equal to zero to find the location of the maximum deflection, we have:

125 2
 x  125 x  200  0
8
5 x 2  40 x  64  0

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Thus, x  5.89 m or x  2.21 m . Since we are dealing with the portion AB,
x  2.21 m .

Find the maximum deflection

Since the tangent at both A and x are horizontal, i.e.  A  0 and  x  0 , the deflection
is given by:

 max   xA

Using Mohr II and Areas 1, 2 and 3 as previous, we have:

Area 1:

200
A1 x1    1.543
EI
308.67

EI

Area 2:
4  2.21 4 R 55.94
h2   
4 EI EI

55.94 2.21
A2 x2  2.21  
EI 2
136.61

EI

Area 3:

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125 69.06
h3  2.21  
EI EI

1 69.06 
A3 x3    2.21   1.473
2 EI 
112.43

EI

Thus:

EI  xB  EI  max  308.67  136.61  112.43

59.63
  max 
EI

Since we already know the direction of the deflection (downwards) we neglect the
sign and focus only on the magnitude of the deflection:

59.63
 max 
EI

Find the deflection at C

For the deflection at C we again use the fact that  A  0 with Mohr II to give:

 C  CA

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From the diagram we have:

1  4  1  8
EI CA     2  200   4     4  125  2  
2  3  2  3
100
C 
EI

Again, since we already know the direction of the displacement (upwards) we will
neglect the sign and concentrate on the magnitude of the deflection:

100
C 
EI

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5.3.3 Example 7: 2-Span Beam

Problem
For the following beam of constant EI, using Mohr’s theorems:
(a) Draw the bending moment diagram;
(b) Determine,  D and  E ;
Give your answers in terms of EI.

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Solution
In the last example we knew the slope at A and this made finding the deflection at the
redundant support relatively easy. Once again we will choose a redundant support, in
this case the support at B.

In the present example, we do not know the slope at A – it must be calculated – and
so finding the deflection at B is more involved. We can certainly use compatibility of
displacement at B, but in doing so we will have to calculate the vertical intercept
from B to A,  BA , twice. Therefore, to save effort, we use  BA as the measure which
we apply compatibility of displacement to. We will calculate  BA through calculation
of  A (and using the small angle approximation) and through direct calculation from
the bending moment diagram. We will then have an equation in R which can be
solved.

Slope at A
Breaking the structure up into primary and redundant structures:

So we can see that the final slope at A is:

 A   AP   AR

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

To find the slope at A in the primary structure, consider the following:

By Mohr II we have:
EICA   240  9  6   12960

But we know, from the small angle approximation, CA  12 A , hence:

 CA 12960
EI AP    1080
12 12
1080
 AP 
EI

To find the slope at A for the reactant structure, we have:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

1 
EI CA    12  3R   6   108R
2 
CA  12 A
 CA 108R
EI AR    9R
12 12
9R
 AR  
EI

Notice that we assign a negative sign to the reactant slope at A since it is in the
opposite sense to the primary slope (which we expect to dominate).

Thus, we have:

 A   AP   AR
1080 9 R
 
EI EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Vertical Intercept from B to A

The second part of the calculation is to find  BA directly from calculation of the
curvature diagram:

Thus we have:

1  1  3 1  3
EI  BA     6  3R   6    240  3      3  240  3  
2  3  2  2  3
EI  BA  18R  1080  1440
2520  18R
 BA 
EI

Solution for R
Now we recognize that  BA  6 A by compatibility of displacement, and so we can
substitute the above relationships into the following equation to find R:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

 BA  6 A
2520  18 R  1080 9 R 
 6  
EI  EI EI 
2520  18 R  6 1080  9 R 
36 R  3960
R  110 kN

Solution to Part (a)

With this we can immediately solve for the final bending moment diagram by
superposition of the primary and reactant BMDs:

Solution to Part (b)

We are asked to calculate the deflection at D and E. However, since the beam is
symmetrical  D   E and so we need only calculate one of them – say  D . Using the
(now standard) diagram for the calculation of deflection:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

1080 9 110  90
A   
EI EI EI
1  3 
EI  DA    3  75    112.5
3  3 

But  D  3 A   DA , thus:

EI  D  3  90   112.5
 157.5
157.5
D  E 
EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.3.4 Example 8: Simple Frame

Problem

For the following frame of constant EI  40 MNm2 , using Mohr’s theorems:

(a) Draw the bending moment and shear force diagram;
(b) Determine the horizontal deflection at E.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Solution - Part (a)

Solve for a Redundant

As with the beams, we split the structure into primary and reactant structures:

We also need to draw the deflected shape diagram of the original structure to identify
displacements that we can use:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

To solve for R we could use any known displacement. In this case we will use the
vertical intercept  DB as shown, because:

 We can determine  DB for the original structure in terms of R using Mohr’s

Second Theorem;
 We see that  DB  6 B and so using Mohr’s First Theorem for the original
structure we will find  B , again in terms of R;

 We equate the two methods of calculating  DB (both are in terms of R) and

solve for R.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Find  DB by Mohr II
Looking at the combined bending moment diagram, we have:

1  2  1   2 
EI  DB    6  6 R     6    3  120  3   3
2  3  2   3 
 72 R  900

Find  B by Mohr I
Since the tangent at A is vertical, the slope at B will be the change in slope from A to
B:

d BA   B   A
 B  0
 B
M 
 Area of  
 EI  B to A

However, in this case we must be very careful. Looking at the net BMD and the
deflected shape of member AB we see that the negative area must be larger since the
member has tension on the left hand side (since, it is bending to the right):

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Thus the area is:

M 
Area of    120  6  6  6 R
 EI  B to A
 720  36 R

However, we are interested in the magnitude of the area (not its sign) to find the
magnitude of the slope at B. Therefore, by Mohr I:

M 
EI B  Area of  
 EI  B to A
 720  36 R
 720  36 R

This is so since we know the negative area (i.e. the 720) to be bigger than the positive
area (i.e. the 36R).

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Equate and Solve for R

As identified previously:

 DB  6 B
72 R  900  6  720  36 R 
R  18.13 kN

Diagrams
Knowing R we can then solve for the reactions, bending moment and shear force
diagrams. The results are:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Solution – Part (b)

The movement at E is comprised of  Dx and 6 D as shown in the deflection diagram.
These are found as:
 Since the length of member BD doesn’t change,  Dx   Bx . Further, by Mohr II,
 Bx   BA . Thus we have:

EI  BA  6 R  63  120  63

 202.5

 By Mohr I,  D   B  d BD , that is, the slope at D is the slope at B minus the

change in slope from B to D:

And so we have:

1  1 
EId BD    6 R  6    120  3
2  2 
 146.25

Notice that we still use the primary and reactant diagrams even though we know R.
We do this because the shapes and distances are simpler to deal with.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

From before we know:

EI B  36R  720  67.5

Thus, we have:

EI D  EI B  d BD
 67.5  146.25
 78.75

The minus indicates that it is a slope in opposite direction to that of  B which is clear
from the previous diagram. Since we have taken account of the sense of the slope, we
are only interested in its absolute value. A similar argument applies to the minus sign
for the deflection at B. Therefore:

 Ex   Bx  6 D
202.5 78.75
  6
EI EI
675

EI

Using EI  40 MNm2 gives (showing the unit conversions first):

 kN  m3   kN  m3 
 Ex  2
 3
  m    mm  103  
 MN  m   kN  m  10 
2

675

40
 16.9 mm

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.3.5 Example 9: Complex Frame

Problem

For the following frame of constant EI  40 MNm2 , using Mohr’s theorems:

(a) Determine the reactions and draw the bending moment diagram;
(b) Determine the horizontal deflection at D.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Solution
In this frame we have the following added complexities:
 There is a UDL and a point load which leads to a mix of parabolic, triangular
and rectangular BMDs;
 There is a different EI value for different parts of the frame – we must take this
into account when performing calculations and not just consider the M diagram
but the M EI diagram as per Mohr’s Theorems.

Solve for a Redundant

As is usual, we split the frame up:

Next we draw the deflected shape diagram of the original structure to identify
displacements that we can use:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

To solve for R we will use the vertical intercept  DC as shown, because:

 We can determine  DC for the original structure in terms of R using Mohr II;
 We see that  DC  6C and so using Mohr I for the original structure we will
find  B , again in terms of R;
 As usual, we equate the two methods of calculating  DC (both are in terms of
R) and solve for R.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

The Slope at C
To find the slope at C, we must base our thoughts on the fact that we are only able to
calculate the change in slope from one point to another using Mohr I. Thus we
identify that we know the slope at A is zero – since it is a fixed support – and we can
find the change in slope from A to C, using Mohr I. Therefore:

d A to C  C   A
 C  0
 C

At this point we must recognize that since the frame is swaying to the right, the
bending moment on the outside ‘dominates’ (as we saw for the maximum deflection
calculation in Example 6). The change in slope is the difference of the absolute
values of the two diagrams, hence we have, from the figure, and from Mohr I:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

1 
EId A to C   360  8     240  4    6 R  8 
2 
EIC  3360  48R
3360  48R
C 
EI

The Vertical Intercept DC

Using Mohr II and from the figure we have:

 1  2    1  3  
1.5 EI  DC    6  6 R   6      6  360   6  
 2  3    3  4  
1.5 EI  DC  72 R  3240
48R  2160
 DC 
EI

Note that to have neglected the different EI value for member CD would change the
result significantly.

Solve for R
By compatibility of displacement we have  DC  6C and so:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

48R  2160  6  3360  48R 

336 R  22320
R  66.43 kN

With R now known we can calculate the horizontal deflection at D.

Part (b) - Horizontal Deflection at D

From the deflected shape diagram of the final frame and by neglecting axial
deformation of member CD, we see that the horizontal displacement at D must be the
same as that at C. Note that it is easier at this stage to work with the simpler shape of
the separate primary and reactant BMDs. Using Mohr II we can find  Cx as shown:

 1  2 
EI  CA   6 R  8  4     360  8  4     4  240  4   4  
 2  3 
 192 R  14720

Now substituting R  66.4 kN and  Dx   Cx   BA :

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

1971.2
 Dx   49.3 mm 
EI

Note that the negative sign indicates that the bending on the outside of the frame
dominates, pushing the frame to the right as we expected.

Part (a) – Reactions and Bending Moment Diagram

Reactions
Taking the whole frame, and showing the calculated value for R, we have:

F y 0   20  6   66.4  VA  0 VA  53.6 kN 

F x 0  H A  60  0  H A  60 kN 

62
 M about A  0  M A  66.4  6  20  2  60  4  0  M A  201.6 kNm

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Note that it is easier to use the superposition of the primary and reactant BMDs to
find the moment at A:

M A  6  66.4   600  201.6 kNm

The negative sign indicate the moment on the outside of the frame dominates and so
tension is on the left.

Bending Moment Diagram

We find the moments at salient points:

 M about C  0
62
 M C  20   66.4  6  0
2
 M C  38.4 kNm
And so tension is on the bottom at C.

The moment at B is most easily found from superposition of the BMDs as before:

M B  6  66.4   360  38.4 kNm

And so tension is on the inside of the frame at B. Lastly we must find the value of
maximum moment in span CD. The position of zero shear is found as:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

53.6
x  2.68 m
20

And so the distance from D is:

6  2.68  3.32 m

The maximum moment is thus found from a free body diagram as follows:

 M about X  0
3.322
 M max  20   66.4  3.32  0
2
 M C  110.2 kNm
And so tension is on the bottom as
expected.

Summary of Solution
In summary the final solution for this frame is:

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59 Dr. C. Caprani
Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.3.6 Problems

Problem 1
For the following prismatic beam, find the bending moment diagram and the slope at
E in terms of EI.

Ans. VC  25kN  ,  E  130 EI

Problem 2
For the following prismatic beam, find the bending moment diagram and the slope at
C in terms of EI and the maximum deflection in the span AB.

Ans. VC  150kN  ,  E  1125 EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 3
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force diagrams
and the horizontal deflection at E in terms of EI.

Ans. VC  27.5kN  ,  Ex  540 EI , C  45 EI

Problem 4
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force diagrams
and the horizontal deflection at C and the rotation of joint B. Take
EI  40 103 kNm2 .

Ans. VC  32kN  ,  Cx  12.8 mm  ,  B  2.4 mrad

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 5
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force diagrams
and the horizontal and vertical deflections at D. Take EI  40 103 kNm2 .

Ans. VC  14.4kN  ,  Dx  0.865mm ,  Dy  5.58 mm

Problem 6
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force diagrams
and the horizontal deflection at D. Take EI  40 103 kNm2 .

Ans. VE  56.25kN  ,  Dx  19.5mm

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 7
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force diagrams
and the horizontal deflection at E. Take EI  40 103 kNm2 .

Ans. VF  5kN  ,  Ex  15.47mm 

Problem 8
For the following prismatic frame, find the bending moment and shear force
diagrams, the vertical deflection at E, and the horizontal deflection at B. Take
EI  40 103 kNm2 .

Ans. H A  15.75kN  ,  Fy  3.32 mm ,  Bx  5.625 mm

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.4 Further Developments

5.4.1 Theorem of Three Moments

Introduction
Continuous beams feature in many structures, and as such the ability to analyse them
is crucial to efficient design. Clapeyron derived the Three Moment Theorem in about
1857 for this purpose, thereby enabling the design of the previously ‘undesignable’.
He derived them using Mohr’s Theorems.

They were initially derived for the very general case of spans with different flexural
rigidities, span lengths and support levels. We will only consider the case of different
span lengths to keep the problem simple. Even so, the solution procedure is exactly
the same and the result is widely applicable.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Development
We consider the following two internal spans of an arbitrary continuous beam:

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To solve the problem we will identify two relationships and join them to form an
equation that enables us to solve continuous beams.

First, we calculate the two vertical intercepts,  AB and  CB :

A1 x1
 AB    B L1 (1)
EI
A2 x2
CB    B L2 (2)
EI

Note that  CB is negative since it is upwards. We can solve these two equations for
B :

A1 x1
 B
EIL1
A2 x2
  B
EIL2

And then add them to get:

A1 x1 A2 x2
 0
EIL1 EIL2

And since EI is common we have our first relationship:

A1 x1 A2 x2
 0 (3)
L1 L2

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The next step involves determining the first moment of area of the two final bending
moment diagrams in terms of the free and reactant bending moment diagrams. In
words, the first moment of the final BMD about A is equal to the sum of the first
moments of the free BMD and reactant BMDs about A. Mathematically, from the
figure, we thus have:

 L  1  2  
A1 x1  S1 x1   M A L1   1     M B  M A  L1  L1   (4)
  2  2  3  

In which the reactant BMD has been broken into a rectangular and triangular parts
(dotted in the figure). Similarly, we have:

 L  1  2  
A2 x2  S2 x2   M C L2   2     M B  M C  L2  L2   (5)
  2  2  3  

Introducing equations (4) and (5) into equation (3) gives:

 S1 x1 M A L1  M B  M A  L1   S2 x2 M C L2  M B  M C  L2 
      0
 L1 2 3   L2 2 3 

Carrying out the algebra:

 M A L1 M B L1 M A L1   M C L2 M B L2 M C L2   S1x1 S 2 x2 
          
 2 3 3   2 3 3   L1 L2 

 M A L1 2M B L1   M C L2 2M B L2   S1 x1 S2 x2 
        
 6 6   6 6   1L L2 

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And finally we arrive at the Three Moment Equation:

Sx S x 
M A L1  2M B  L1  L2   M C L2  6  1 1  2 2  (6)
 L1 L2 

This equation relates the unknown reactant moments to the free bending moment
diagram for each two spans of a continuous beam. By writing this equation for each
adjacent pair of spans, a sufficient number of equations to solve for the unknown
reactant moments result.

The term in brackets on the right of the equation represents the total angular
discontinuity ( EI  BA   BC  ) at B if A, B and C were pinned supports.

As a further development, we can use equations (1) and (2) with Mohr’s First
Theorem to find:

1   x1  L1 
A   S1 1     2 M A  M B  
EI   L1  6 
1  x1 L1 
B    S1   M A  2 M B  
EI  L1 6 
(7)
1  x2 L2 
   S 2
  M C
 2 M B  
EI  L2 6 
1   x2  L2 
C   2
S 1     2 M C
 M 
B 
EI   L2  6 

With this information, all deflections along the beam can be found using the
numerical procedure to be explained later.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Example 10
To illustrate the application of the Three Moment Theorem, and also to derive a
useful result, we will consider the general case of a four-span beam with equal spans,
L, subject to a UDL, w:

In the figure, the areas of the free BMDs are all:

2  wL2  wL3
S1,2,3,4   
3  8 
L
12

And the distances to the centroids are all L 2 . Thus we can write:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Sx 1  wL3   L  wL3
  
L L  12   2  24

Next, we apply the Three Moment Equation to each pair of spans:

 wL3 wL3 
ABC: 2M B  L  L   M C L  6  
 24 24 

 wL3 wL3 
BCD: M B L  2M C  L  L   M D L  6  
 24 24 

 wL3 wL3 
CDE: M C L  2M D  L  L   6  
 24 24 

Simplifying:

wL2
4M B  M C  
2
wL2
M B  4M C  M D  
2
wL2
M C  4M D  
2

This is three equations with three unknowns and is thus readily solvable.

An algebraic approach is perfectly reasonable, but we can make better use of the tools
at our disposal if we rewrite this in matrix form:

4 1 0  M B  1
1 4 1   M    
2
wL
  C  2
1
 0 1 4   M D  
1

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Now we can write can solve for the moment vector suing matrix inversion:

1
M B   4 1 0  1
  wL2  
M C    1 4 1  1
M  2  

 D 
 0 1 4  1

To obtain the inverse of the 3×3 matrix we could resort to algebra, but a better idea is
to use Excel or Matlab. Using Matlab:

We can see that the decimal results of the matrix inverse are really just multiples of
1/56 (the matrix determinant). In Excel we can find the matrix inverse (using
MINVERSE), but cannot find the determinant directly, so we use the Matlab result:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Thus our solution becomes:

M B  15 4 1  1 12 

  wL2  1     wL2  
M C       4 16 4  1   8
M  2  56   112 12
 D  1 4 15  1  

It is quite useful to know the denominators for easier comparisons, thus:

  wL2  wL2  wL2 

M MC MD  
9.33 
B
 9.33 14

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.4.2 Numerical Calculation of Deformation

Introduction
One of the main applications of the Moment-Area method in the modern structural
analysis environment, where use of computers is prevalent, is in the calculation of
displacements. Most structural analysis software is based on the matrix stiffness (or
finite element) method. This analysis procedure returns the displacements and slopes
at node points only. The problem then remains to determine the displacements along
members, in between the nodes. This is where the moment-area method is applied in
typical analysis software programs.

We will demonstrate a simple procedure to find the deflections and slopes along a
member once the bending moments are known at discrete points along the member.
In addition, we will consider the member prismatic: EI will be taken as constant,
though this not need be so in general.

You can download all the files and scripts from the course website.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Development
Consider a portion of a deformed member with bending moments known:

Our aim is to determine the slope and deflection at each station (1, 2, …) given the
values of bending moment M1 , M 2 , and the starting slope and deflection,  0 ,  0 .
We base our development on the fundamental Euler-Bernoulli relationships upon
which Mohr’s Theorems were developed:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

i
M
i  i 1   EI dx (8)
i 1

 i   i 1    dx (9)
i 1

From these equations, and from the diagram, we can see that:

1
   Mdx
EI
    dx

Thus we have:

1
i  i 1    i 1   Mdx (10)
EI
 i   i 1     i 1   dx (11)

In this way once  0 ,  0 are known, we can proceed along the member establishing
slopes and deflections at each point.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Implementation
To implement this method, it just remains to carry out the integrations. To keep
things simple, we will use the Trapezoidal Rule. More accurate methods are possible,
such as Simpson’s Rule, but since we can usually choose the number of stations to be
large, little error will result.

Thus equations (10) and (11) become:

1 h
i  i 1   M i1  M i  (12)
2 EI
1
 i   i 1  i1  i  h (13)
2

To proceed we will consider the following example, for which we know the result:
 Simply-support beam;
 L  6 m;
 EI  180 103 kNm2 ;
 Loading: UDL of 20 kN/m.

Our main theoretical result is:

5wL4 5  20  64 1
   1.885mm
384 EI 384 1.8  105  1000

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

MS Excel
We can implement the formulas as follows:

And drag down these formulas for 100 points to get the following spreadsheet:

The deflection with 100 points along the beam is 1.875 mm – a very slight difference
to the theoretical result.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Matlab
Matlab has a very useful function for our purposes here: cumtrapz. This function
returns the cumulative results of trapezoidal integration along a function. Thus our
script becomes:

% Using Moment-Area to find deformations along members

L = 6;
EI = 1.8e5;
w = 20;
h = 0.05;

x = 0:h:L;
Va = w*L/2;
M = Va.*x-w*x.^2./2;
Ro = -w*(L)^3/(24*EI);
Ri = cumtrapz(M)*h/EI + Ro;
d = cumtrapz(Ri)*h;

subplot(3,1,1);
plot(x,M);
ylabel('Bending Moment (kNm)');
subplot(3,1,2);
plot(x,1e3*Ri);
ylabel('Slope (mrads)');
subplot(3,1,3);
plot(x,d*1e3);
xlabel ('Distance Along Member (m)');
ylabel('Deflection (mm)');

As may be seen, most of this script is to generate the plots. The cumtrapz function
takes the hard work out of this approach.

The central deflection result is 1.875 mm again.

The output is in this screenshot:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

For maximum flexibility, it is better to write a generic function to perform these

tasks:

function [R d] = MomentArea(M, EI, h, Ro, do)

% This function calculates the slopes and deflections along a flexural
% member given the bending moment vector, M, a distance step, h, initial
% deflection and slope at node 0, do, Ro, and the flexural rigidity, EI.

n = length(M); % number of stations

R = zeros(n,1); % vector of slopes
d = zeros(n,1); % vector of deflections

R(1) = Ro; % assign starting slope and deflection

d(1) = do;

R = cumtrapz(M)*h/EI + Ro; % Do moment area calcs

d = cumtrapz(R)*h;

To use this function for our example we make the following calls:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

L = 6;
EI = 1.8e5;
w = 20;
h = 0.05;
x = 0:h:L;
Va = w*L/2;
M = Va.*x-w*x.^2./2;
Ro = -w*(L)^3/(24*EI);
[R d] = MomentArea(M, EI, h, Ro, 0);

And once again, of course, our result is 1.875 mm.

As one final example, we calculate deflections for the beam of Example 7. To do this
we make use of the calculated value for  A  90 EI and use the following script:

% Ex. 7: 2-span beam - calculate deformed shape

EI = 1e6;
h = 0.1;
x = 0:h:12;
Mfree = 80*x - 80*max(x-3,0) - 80*max(x-9,0);
Mreactant = 55*x-110*max(x-6,0);
M = Mfree - Mreactant;
Ro = -90/EI;
[R d] = MomentArea(M, EI, h, Ro, 0);
subplot(3,1,1);
plot(x,M); grid on;
ylabel('Bending Moment (kNm)');
subplot(3,1,2);
plot(x,1e3*R); grid on;
ylabel('Slope (mrads)');
subplot(3,1,3);
plot(x,d*1e3); grid on;
xlabel ('Distance Along Member (m)');
ylabel('Deflection (mm)');

Note that we have used a value of EI that makes it easy to interpret the results in
terms of EI.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

As can be seen, the complete deflected profile is now available to us. Further, the
deflection at D is found to be 157.4 EI , which compares well to the theoretical value
of 157.5 EI , found in Example 7.
Rotation (mrads) Bending Moment (kNm)

100

-100
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0.1

-0.1
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0
Deflection (mm)

-0.1

-0.2 X: 3
0 2 4
Y: -0.1574 6 8 10 12
Distance Along Member (m)

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.4.3 Non-Prismatic Members

Introduction
In all examples so far we have only considered members whose properties do not
change along their length. This is clearly quite a simplification since it is necessary
for maximum structural efficiency that structures change shape to deal with
increasing or reducing bending moments etc. The Moment-Area Method is ideally
suited to such analyses. We will consider one simple example and one slightly more
complex and general.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Example 11
We consider the following cantilever and determine the deflections at B and C:

The BMD and curvature diagrams thus become:

To calculate the deflections, consider the deflected shape diagram:

From Mohr’s First Theorem:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

 25 
 B   BA    2 1
 EI 

Thus:

50
B 
EI

Similarly, though with more terms for the deflection at C we have:

 25   50 
 C  CA    2 3    2 1
 EI   EI 

250
C 
EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Example 12
We determine here an expression for the deflection at the end of a cantilever subject
to a point load at its tip which has linearly varying flexural rigidity:

We must derive expression for both the moment and the flexural rigidity. Considering
the coordinate x, increasing from zero at B to L at A:

M  x   Px

x
EI  x   EI B   EI A  EI B 
L

If we introduce the following measure of the increase in EI:

EI A  EI B
k
EI B

We can write:

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

 x
EI  x   EI B 1  k 
 L

Now we can write the equation for curvature:

M Px
 x 
EI  x
EI B 1  k 
 L
PL x
 
EI B L  kx

To find the tip deflection we write:

L
M
 B   BA    x  x dx
0 EI

And solving this (using symbolic computation!) gives:

PL3  2k  2log 1  k   k 

2

B   
2 EI  k3 

To retrieve our more familiar result for a prismatic member, we must use L’Hopital’s
Rule to find the limit as k  0 . As may be verified by symbolic computation:

PL3  2k  2log 1  k   k  PL3

2

 B Prismatic  lim  
k 0
2 EI  k3  3EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

As a sample application, let’s take the following parameters:

 P  10 kN ;
 L  4 m;
 EI B  10 MNm2 .

We will investigate the change in deflection with the increase in EI at A. Firstly, we

find our prismatic result:

PL3 10  4  3

 B Prismatic    21.33 mm
3EI 310  103 

And then we plot the deflection for a range of k values:

25 X: 0.01
Y: 21.17

20
Deflection (mm)

15

X: 2
Y: 8.789
10

5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Stiffness Increase at A (k)

As can be seen, when k  2 , in other words when EI A  3EI B , our deflection is 8.79
mm – a reduction to 41% of the prismatic deflection.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Matlab Scripts
The Matlab scripts to calculate the previous results are:

% Use Symbolic Toolbox to perform integration

syms P L EI x k positive;

M = sym('P*x'); % M equation
EI = sym('EI*(1+k*x/L)'); % EI equation
Mohr2 = M/EI*x; % 1st moment of M/EI diagram
def = int(Mohr2,x,0,L); % definite integral
pretty(def); % display result

% Prove limit as k->0 is prismatic result

d1 = P*L^3/(3*EI) % prismatic result
d2 = limit(def,k,0) % limit of non-prismatic

% Plot change in deflection by varying k

clear all;
P = 10; L = 4; EI = 10e3; k = 0.01:0.01:2;
d = 1/2*P*L^3*(-2.*k+2*log(1+k)+k.^2)/EI./k.^3;
plot(k,d*1e3); xlabel('Stiffness Increase at A (k)');
ylabel('Deflection (mm)')

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.4.4 Problems

Problem 1
Use the Three Moment Theorem to analyze the following beam for the bending
moment diagram.

Problem 2
Use the Three Moment Theorem to analyze the following beam for the bending
moment diagram.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 3
Use the Three Moment Theorem to analyze the following beam for the bending
moment diagram.

Problem 4
Determine the bending moment diagram for the following beam. Determine the
vertical displacement of D in terms of EI.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 5
Determine the bending moment diagram for the following motorway signage support
frame. Take EI AB  1.5EI BC and determine the vertical deflection of C.

Problem 6
Determine the bending moment diagram for the following frame.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

The following problems are considered Genius Level!

For the following problems, you may use any computational tool to assist the solution
of this problem. Verify your general solution by assuming numerical values for the
variables and checking with an appropriate structural analysis software package.
Check your general solution also reduces to the prismatic case.

Problem 7
Determine the bending moment diagram and deflection at C for the following beam
in terms of the ratio of the flexural rigidities at A and C.

Problem 8
Determine the deflection at C for the following frame in terms of the ratio of the
flexural rigidities at A and C.

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Problem 8
Determine the deflection at C for the following frame. Take EI1  10 103 kNm2 and
EI 2  25  103 kNm2 .

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.5 Appendix

5.5.1 Past Exam Questions

Summer 1998

Ans. VC  75kN  ,  Dx  4500 EI 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Summer 2005

Ans. VD  22.5kN  ,  Dx  1519 EI 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Summer 2006

Ans.  C  36 mm  ,  max AB  27.6 mm 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Summer 2007

4. (a) For the frame shown in Fig. Q4(a), using Mohr’s Theorems:

(i) Determine the vertical reaction at joint C;

(ii) Draw the bending moment diagram;

(iii) Determine the horizontal deflection of joint C.

Note:
You may neglect axial effects in the members.
Take EI  36 103 kNm2 for all members.
(15 marks)

 


 


A

 

FIG. Q4
FIG. Q4(a)

Ans. VC  15kN  ,  Cx  495 EI 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Semester 1 2007/8

QUESTION 3

For the beam shown in Fig. Q3, using the Moment-Area Method (Mohr’s Theorems):

(i) Draw the bending moment diagram;

(ii) Determine the maximum deflection;

(iii) Draw the deflected shape diagram.

Note:
Take EI  20 103 kNm2 .
(40 marks)




    
   

FIG. Q3

Ans. VB  70kN  ,  max, AC  47.4 EI ,  C  267 EI ,  E  481 EI

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Semester 1 2008/9

QUESTION 3

For the frame shown in Fig. Q3, using the Moment-Area Method (Mohr’s Theorems):

(i) Draw the bending moment diagram;

(ii) Determine the vertical and horizontal deflection of joint E;

(iii) Draw the deflected shape diagram.

Note:
Take EI  20 103 kNm2 .
(40 marks)





   
 

FIG. Q3

Ans. VB  37.5kN  ,  Ey  20 mm  ,  Ex  65 mm 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Semester 1 2009/10

QUESTION 4

For the frame shown in Fig. Q4, using the Moment-Area Method (Mohr’s Theorems):

(i) Draw the bending moment diagram;

(ii) Determine the horizontal deflection of joint D;

(iii) Draw the deflected shape diagram.

(25 marks)

Note:
Take EI  20 103 kNm2 .


 



 

 

FIG. Q4

Ans. VD  4.7kN  ,  Dx  725.6 mm 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

Semester 1 2010/11

QUESTION 4

For the beam shown in Fig. Q4, using the Moment-Area Method (Mohr’s Theorems):

(i) Draw the bending moment diagram;

(ii) Determine the deflection at D;

(iii) Draw the deflected shape diagram.

(25 marks)

Note:
 The beam has flexural rigidity of 2EI from A to B and EI for B to D.
 Take EI  20 103 kNm2 .


 
   
  

FIG. Q4

Ans. VC  155.5kN  ,  D  41 mm 

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.5.2 Area Properties

These are well known for triangular and rectangular areas. For parabolic areas we
have:

Shape Area Centroid

2 1
A xy x x
3 2

2 5
A xy x x
3 8

1 3
A  xy x x
3 4

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Structural Analysis III Chapter 5 – The Moment-Area Method

5.6 References
 Benham, P.P., Crawford, R.J., and Armstrong, C.G., Mechanics of Engineering
Materials, 2nd Edn., Pearson Prentice Hall, Harlow, 1996.
 Coates, R.C., Coutie, M.G., and Kong, F.K., Structural Analysis, 3rd Edn.,
Chapman & Hall, 1987.
 Ghali, A., Neville, A., and Brown, T.G., Structural Analysis: A Unified
Classical and Matrix Approach, 6th Edn., Taylor & Francis, 2009.
 Neal, B.G., Structural Theorems and their Applications, Pergamon Press, 1964.
 Rees, D.W.A., Mechanics of Solids and Structures, Imperial College Press,
London, 2000.

103 Dr. C. Caprani

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

2.5 Plastic analysis

In plastic analysis and design of a structure, the ultimate load of the

structure as a whole is regarded as the design criterion. The term plastic has

occurred due to the fact that the ultimate load is found from the strength of steel

in the plastic range. This method is rapid and provides a rational approach for the

analysis of the structure. It also provides striking economy as regards the weight

of steel since the sections required by this method are smaller in size than those

required by the method of elastic analysis. Plastic analysis and design has its

main application in the analysis and design of statically indeterminate framed

structures.

2.5.1 Basics of plastic analysis

Plastic analysis is based on the idealization of the stress-strain curve as

elastic-perfectly-plastic. It is further assumed that the width-thickness ratio of

plate elements is small so that local buckling does not occur- in other words the

sections will classify as plastic. With these assumptions, it can be said that the

section will reach its plastic moment capacity and then undergo considerable

rotation at this moment. With these assumptions, we will now look at the

behaviour of a beam up to collapse.

Consider a simply supported beam subjected to a point load W at mid-

span. as shown in Fig. 2.14(a). The elastic bending moment at the ends is w 2/12

and at mid-span is w 2/24, where is the span. The stress distribution across any

cross section is linear [Fig. 2.15(a)]. As W is increased gradually, the bending

moment at every section increases and the stresses also increase. At a section

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

close to the support where the bending moment is maximum, the stresses in the

extreme fibers reach the yield stress. The moment corresponding to this state is

called the first yield moment My, of the cross section. But this does not imply

failure as the beam can continue to take additional load. As the load continues to

increase, more and more fibers reach the yield stress and the stress distribution

is as shown in Fig 2.15(b). Eventually the whole of the cross section reaches the

yield stress and the corresponding stress distribution is as shown in Fig. 2.15(c).

The moment corresponding to this state is known as the plastic moment of the

cross section and is denoted by Mp. In order to find out the fully plastic moment

of a yielded section of a beam, we employ the force equilibrium equation, namely

the total force in compression and the total force in tension over that section are

equal.

w Collapse mechanism

Plastic hinges Plastic hinges

Mp

Mp Mp
Bending Moment Diagram

Fig. 2.14 Formation of a collapse mechanism in a fixed beam

(a) at My (b) My < M<Mp (c) at Mp

Fig. 2.15 Plastification of cross-section under

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

The ratio of the plastic moment to the yield moment is known as the

shape factor since it depends on the shape of the cross section. The cross

section is not capable of resisting any additional moment but may maintain this

moment for some amount of rotation in which case it acts like a plastic hinge. If

this is so, then for further loading, the beam, acts as if it is simply supported with

two additional moments Mp on either side, and continues to carry additional loads

until a third plastic hinge forms at mid-span when the bending moment at that

section reaches Mp. The beam is then said to have developed a collapse

mechanism and will collapse as shown in Fig 2.14(b). If the section is thin-

walled, due to local buckling, it may not be able to sustain the moment for

additional rotations and may collapse either before or soon after attaining the

plastic moment. It may be noted that formation of a single plastic hinge gives a

collapse mechanism for a simply supported beam. The ratio of the ultimate

rotation to the yield rotation is called the rotation capacity of the section. The

yield and the plastic moments together with the rotation capacity of the cross-

section are used to classify the sections.

Shape factor

As described previously there will be two stress blocks, one in tension, the other

in compression, both of which will be at yield stress. For equilibrium of the cross

section, the areas in compression and tension must be equal. For a rectangular

cross section, the elastic moment is given by,

bd 2
M= fy (2.21a)
6

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

The plastic moment is obtained from,

d d bd 2
M p = 2.b. . .f y = fy (2.21b)
2 4 4

Thus, for a rectangular section the plastic moment Mp is about 1.5 times

greater than the elastic moment capacity. For an I-section the value of shape

factor is about 1.12.

Theoretically, the plastic hinges are assumed to form at points at which

plastic rotations occur. Thus the length of a plastic hinge is considered as zero.

However, the values of moment, at the adjacent section of the yield zone are

more than the yield moment upto a certain length ∆L, of the structural member.

This length ∆L, is known as the hinged length. The hinged length depends upon

the type of loading and the geometry of the cross-section of the structural

member. The region of hinged length is known as region of yield or plasticity.

Rigid plastic analysis

L/2 L/2 b
x
MY MY
Mp

Fig. 2.16

In a simply supported beam (Fig. 2.16) with central concentrated load, the

maximum bending moment occurs at the centre of the beam. As the load is

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

increased gradually, this moment reaches the fully plastic moment of the section

Mp and a plastic hinge is formed at the centre.

Let x (= ∆L) be the length of plasticity zone.

From the bending moment diagram shown in Fig. 2.16

(L-x)Mp=LMy

x=L/3 (2.22)

Therefore the hinged length of the plasticity zone is equal to one-third of

the span in this case.

Wl
Mp =
4
bh 2 ⎛ bh 2 ⎞
= fy . ∵
⎜⎜ pZ = ⎟
4 ⎝ 4 ⎟⎠

bh 2 ⎛ bh 2 ⎞2
My = fy . = ⎜ fy . ⎟⎟
6 ⎜ 4
⎝ ⎠3
2
My = Mp
3

2.5.2 Principles of plastic analysis

Fundamental conditions for plastic analysis

(i) Mechanism condition: The ultimate or collapse load is reached when a

mechanism is formed. The number of plastic hinges developed should be

just sufficient to form a mechanism.

(ii) Equilibrium condition : ∑Fx = 0, ∑Fy = 0, ∑Mxy = 0

(iii) Plastic moment condition: The bending moment at any section of the

structure should not be more than the fully plastic moment of the section.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Collapse mechanisms

When a system of loads is applied to an elastic body, it will deform and will

show a resistance against deformation. Such a body is known as a structure. On

the other hand if no resistance is set up against deformation in the body, then it is

known as a mechanism.

Various types of independent mechanisms are identified to enable

prediction of possible failure modes of a structure.

(i) Beam mechanism

Fig. 2.17 shows a simply supported and a fixed beam and the

corresponding mechanisms.

Fig. 2.17

(ii) Panel or Sway mechanism

Fig. 2.18 (A) shows a panel or sway mechanism for a portal frame fixed at

both ends.

(A) Panel mechanism (B) Gable mechanism (C) Joint mechanism

Fig. 2.18

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

(iii) Gable mechanism

Fig. 2.18(B) shows the gable mechanism for a gable structure fixed at

both the supports.

(iv) Joint mechanism

Fig. 2.18(C) shows a joint mechanism. It occurs at a joint where more than

two structural members meet.

Combined mechanism

Various combinations of independent mechanisms can be made

depending upon whether the frame is made of strong beam and weak column

combination or strong column and weak beam combination. The one shown in

Fig. 2.19 is a combination of a beam and sway mechanism. Failure is triggered

by formation of hinges at the bases of the columns and the weak beam

developing two hinges. This is illustrated by the right hinge being shown on the

beam, in a position slightly away from the joint.

Two hinges developed on

the beam

Fig. 2.19 Combined mechanism

From the above examples, it is seen that the number of hinges needed to

form a mechanism equals the statical redundancy of the structure plus one.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Plastic load factor and theorems of plastic collapse

The plastic load factor at rigid plastic collapse (λp) is defined as the lowest

multiple of the design loads which will cause the whole structure, or any part of it

to become a mechanism.

In a limit state approach, the designer is seeking to ensure that at the

appropriate factored loads the structure will not fail. Thus the rigid plastic load

factor λp must not be less than unity.

The number of independent mechanisms (n) is related to the number of

possible plastic hinge locations (h) and the number of degree of redundancy (r)

of the frame by the equation.

n=h–r (2.23)

The three theorems of plastic collapse are given below.

Lower bound or Static theorem

A load factor (λs ) computed on the basis of an arbitrarily assumed

bending moment diagram which is in equilibrium with the applied loads and

where the fully plastic moment of resistance is nowhere exceeded will always be

less than or at best equal to the load factor at rigid plastic collapse, (λp). In other

words, λp is the highest value of λs which can be found.

Upper bound or Kinematic theorem

A load factor (λk) computed on the basis of an arbitrarily assumed

mechanism will always be greater than, or at best equal to the load factor at rigid

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

plastic collapse (λp ). In other words, λp is the lowest value of λk which can be

found.

Uniqueness theorem

If both the above criteria are satisfied, then the resulting load factor

corresponds to its value at rigid plastic collapse (λp).

Mechanism method

In the mechanism or kinematics method of plastic analysis, various plastic

failure mechanisms are evaluated. The plastic collapse loads corresponding to

various failure mechanisms are obtained by equating the internal work at the

plastic hinges to the external work by loads during the virtual displacement. This

requires evaluation of displacements and plastic hinge rotations.

As the plastic deformations at collapse are considerably larger than elastic

ones, it is assumed that the frame remains rigid between supports and hinge

positions i.e. all plastic rotation occurs at the plastic hinges.

Considering a simply supported beam subjected to a point load at

midspan, the maximum strain will take place at the centre of the span where a

plastic hinge will be formed at yield of full section. The remainder of the beam

will remain straight, thus the entire energy will be absorbed by the rotation of the

plastic hinge.

Considering a centrally loaded simply supported beam at the instant of

plastic collapse (see Fig. 2.17)

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Workdone at the plastic hinge = Mp 2θ (2.24a)

⎛L ⎞
Workdone by the displacement of the load = W ⎜ . θ ⎟ (2.24b)
⎝2 ⎠

At collapse, these two must be equal

⎛L ⎞
2Mp.θ = W ⎜ .θ ⎟
⎝2 ⎠

WL
Mp = (2.25)
4

The moment at collapse of an encastre beam with a uniform load is

similarly worked out from Fig. 2.20. It should be noted that three hinges are

required to be formed at A, B and C just before collapse.

Workdone at the three plastic hinges =Mp (θ + 2θ +θ ) = 4Mpθ (2.26.a)

Workdone by the displacement of the load =W/L . L/2 . L/2 . θ (2.26.b)

W / unit length
P=0 P=0
Loading
A C B
MA MB
L

MP θ θ MP
Collapse

MP MP 2θ

Fig. 2.20 Encastre beam

WL
θ = 4M p θ
4 (2.27)
WL =16 M p

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

WL
Mp = (2.28)
16

In other words the load causing plastic collapse of a section of known

value of Mp is given by eqn. (2.28).

Rectangular portal framework and interaction diagrams

The same principle is applicable to frames as indicated in Fig. 2.21(a)

where a portal frame with constant plastic moment of resistance Mp throughout is

subjected to two independent loads H and V.

V V V
V θ
H H
θ θ H
H
θ 2θ 2θ θ
θ
a

θ θ θ θ
a a
(a) (b (c) (d)

Fig.2.21 Possible failure mechanisms

This frame may distort in more than one mode. There are basic

independent modes for the portal frame, the pure sway of Fig. 2.21 (b) and a

beam collapse as indicated in Fig. 2.21 (c). There is now however the possibility

of the modes combining as shown in Fig. 2.21(d).

From Fig. 2.21(b)

Va / Mp

A B
4

C
2

D
0 2 4 6 Ha
H a/ M
/M
p p

Fig. 2.22

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Work done in hinges = 4 Mpθ

Work done by loads = Haθ

At incipient collapse Ha /Mp= 4 (2.29)

From Fig. 2.21 (c)

Work done in hinges = 4 Mpθ

Work done by loads = Vaθ

At incipient collapse = Va / Mp = 4 (2.30)

From Fig. 2.21(d)

Work done in hinges = 6 Mpθ

Work done by loads = Haθ + Vaθ

At incipient collapse Ha / Mp + Va / Mp = 6 (2.31)

The resulting equations, which represent the collapse criteria, are plotted

on the interaction diagram of Fig. 2.22. Since any line radiating from the origin

represents proportional loading, the first mechanism line intersected represents

failure. The failure condition is therefore the line ABCD and any load condition

within the area OABCD is therefore safe.

Stability

For plastically designed frames three stability criteria have to be considered

for ensuring the safety of the frame. These are

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

1. General Frame Stability.

2. Local Buckling Criterion.

3. Restraints.

Effect of axial load and shear

If a member is subjected to the combined action of bending moment and

axial force, the plastic moment capacity will be reduced.

The presence of an axial load implies that the sum of the tension and

compression forces in the section is not zero (Fig. 2.23). This means that the

neutral axis moves away from the equal area axis providing an additional area in

tension or compression depending on the type of axial load.

the interaction equation can be obtained:

Mx/Mp = 1 – P2/ Py (2.32)

The presence of shear forces will also reduce the moment capacity.

b
fy fy

d/2 C
C
d C
y1
fy
T T
fy fy
Total stresses = Bending + Axial
compression
Fig. 2.23 Effect of axial force on plastic moment capacity

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Design of Steel Structures Prof. S.R.Satish Kumar and Prof. A.R.Santha Kumar

Plastic analysis for more than one condition of loading

When more than one condition of loading can be applied to a beam or

structure, it may not always be obvious which is critical. It is necessary then to

perform separate calculations, one for each loading condition, the section being

determined by the solution requiring the largest plastic moment.

Unlike the elastic method of design in which moments produced by

different loading systems can be added together, plastic moments obtained by

different loading systems cannot be combined, i.e. the plastic moment calculated

for a given set of loads is only valid for that loading condition. This is because the

'Principle of Superposition' becomes invalid when parts of the structure have

yielded.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

www.jntuworld.com

Code No: 05420108 Set No. 1

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD
IV B.Tech. II Sem., I Mid-Term Examinations, March – 2010
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Objective Exam
Name: ______________________________ Hall Ticket No. A
Answer All Questions. All Questions Carry Equal Marks.Time: 20 Min. Marks: 20.

I Choose the correct alternative:

1. Stiffness factor for a beam fixed at one end and freely supported at the other is [ ]
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L

2. Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is simply supported is [ ]
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L

3.

A. k /∑k B. ∑k+k C. ∑k /k

L D
If k is relative stiffness of a member and ∑k is total stiffness of a joint. Then the distribution factor in
any member is given by
D. ∑k x k
[ ]

4.

5.
A. 60 B. 50 C. 25

O R
For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 25 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BA in KN-m is
D. 10
[ ]

For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the member CB is 6/13 then the distribution
factor in the member CD is
A.6/13 B. 7/13
W
C. 13/6

U
D. 13/7
[ ]

T
6. The strain Energy method of structural analysis is a __________ method of analysis [ ]
A. Force method B. Displacement Method C. Statically In-determinate D. Statically determinate

7.

8.
A. ∫ (MdS/2EI

J N
The strain energy stored in a member due to bending (with usual notation) is given as
B. ∫(M2dS/2EI) C. ∫ (M2dS/EI
[ ]
D. ∫(MmdS/2EI)

The strain energy stored in a cantilever beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P at the
free end is [ ]
3 4 2 3 2 3
A. PL /3EI B. PL /8EI C. P L /6EI D. P L /8EI

9. A three hinged arch is a _________ structure [ ]

A. Statically determinate B. Statically Indeterminate
C. Statically determinate & unstable D. Statically Indeterminate & unstable

10. If U is the total energy stored in a structure and if P is the load acting on the structure, then the
deflection under the load is given as [ ]
A. ∂U/∂P B. ∂P/∂U C. ∂2U/∂P2 D. ∂2P/∂U2

Cont….2

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Code No: 05420108 -2- Set No. 1

II. Fill in the blanks:

11. Stiffness factor for a beam freely supported at both ends is ________

12. Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is fixed is ________

13. The sum of distribution factors of all the members meeting at a joint is ________

14. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 60 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BC is

15. Three members OA, OB, OC are meeting at a joint O, if the distribution factors of members OA and OB
are 0.28, 0.18 then the distribution factor in the member OC is _________

16. The strain energy stored in a member due to axial load W is given as _______

17.

L D
The strain energy stored in a simply supported beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P
at the center is __________

18.

19.
A Two hinged arch is a _________ structure.

O R
The horizontal thrust H for a 2 hinged arch is given as ________

20.
W
If the end B of a fixed beam AB rotates by an amount of ‘α’ then the vertical reaction at the end A is
_________

U
N T
J -oOo-

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Code No: 05420108 Set No. 2

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD
IV B.Tech. II Sem., I Mid-Term Examinations, March – 2010
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Objective Exam
Name: ______________________________ Hall Ticket No. A
Answer All Questions. All Questions Carry Equal Marks.Time: 20 Min. Marks: 20.

I Choose the correct alternative:

1. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 25 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BA in KN-m is [ ]
A. 60 B. 50 C. 25 D. 10

2. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the member CB is 6/13 then the distribution
factor in the member CD is [ ]

3.
A.6/13 B. 7/13 C. 13/6 D. 13/7

L D
The strain Energy method of structural analysis is a __________ method of analysis [ ]
A. Force method B. Displacement Method C. Statically In-determinate D. Statically determinate

4.

5.
A. ∫ (MdS/2EI 2
B. ∫(M dS/2EI) 2

O
C. ∫ (M dS/EIR
The strain energy stored in a member due to bending (with usual notation) is given as [ ]
D. ∫(MmdS/2EI)

The strain energy stored in a cantilever beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P at the
free end is
A. PL3/3EI B. PL4/8EI

U W C. P2L3/6EI
[
D. P2L3/8EI
]

T
6. A three hinged arch is a _________ structure [ ]
A. Statically determinate B. Statically Indeterminate
C. Statically determinate & unstable D. Statically Indeterminate & unstable

7.

A. ∂U/∂P J N
If U is the total energy stored in a structure and if P is the load acting on the structure, then the
deflection under the load is given as
B. ∂P/∂U 2
C. ∂ U/∂P 2 2
D. ∂ P/∂U 2
[ ]

8. Stiffness factor for a beam fixed at one end and freely supported at the other is [ ]
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L

9. Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is simply supported is [ ]
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L

10. If k is relative stiffness of a member and ∑k is total stiffness of a joint. Then the distribution factor in
any member is given by [ ]
A. k /∑k B. ∑k+k C. ∑k /k D. ∑k x k

Cont….2

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www.jntuworld.com

Code No: 05420108 -2- Set No. 2

II. Fill in the blanks:

11. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 60 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BC is

12. Three members OA, OB, OC are meeting at a joint O, if the distribution factors of members OA and OB
are 0.28, 0.18 then the distribution factor in the member OC is _________

13. The strain energy stored in a member due to axial load W is given as _______

14. The strain energy stored in a simply supported beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P
at the center is __________

15. A Two hinged arch is a _________ structure.

16. The horizontal thrust H for a 2 hinged arch is given as ________

L D
R
17. If the end B of a fixed beam AB rotates by an amount of ‘α’ then the vertical reaction at the end A is
_________

18.
O
Stiffness factor for a beam freely supported at both ends is ________

19.

20.

U W
Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is fixed is ________

The sum of distribution factors of all the members meeting at a joint is ________

N T
J -oOo-

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www.jntuworld.com

Code No: 05420108 Set No. 3

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD
IV B.Tech. II Sem., I Mid-Term Examinations, March – 2010
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Objective Exam
Name: ______________________________ Hall Ticket No. A
Answer All Questions. All Questions Carry Equal Marks.Time: 20 Min. Marks: 20.

I Choose the correct alternative:

1. The strain Energy method of structural analysis is a __________ method of analysis [ ]

A. Force method B. Displacement Method C. Statically In-determinate D. Statically determinate

2. The strain energy stored in a member due to bending (with usual notation) is given as [ ]
2 2
A. ∫ (MdS/2EI B. ∫(M dS/2EI) C. ∫ (M dS/EI D. ∫(MmdS/2EI)

3.
free end is
3
A. PL /3EI 4
B. PL /8EI 2 3
C. P L /6EI

L D
The strain energy stored in a cantilever beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P at the
2 3
[
D. P L /8EI
]

4.

5.
A three hinged arch is a _________ structure
A. Statically determinate
C. Statically determinate & unstable R
B. Statically Indeterminate

O
D. Statically Indeterminate & unstable
[

If U is the total energy stored in a structure and if P is the load acting on the structure, then the
]

deflection under the load is given as

A. ∂U/∂P B. ∂P/∂U

U W
C. ∂2U/∂P2 D. ∂2P/∂U2
[ ]

T
6. Stiffness factor for a beam fixed at one end and freely supported at the other is [ ]
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L

7.

8.
A. 3EI/L

J N
Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is simply supported is
B. 4EI/L C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L
[ ]

If k is relative stiffness of a member and ∑k is total stiffness of a joint. Then the distribution factor in
any member is given by [ ]
A. k /∑k B. ∑k+k C. ∑k /k D. ∑k x k

9. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 25 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BA in KN-m is [ ]
A. 60 B. 50 C. 25 D. 10

10. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the member CB is 6/13 then the distribution
factor in the member CD is [ ]
A.6/13 B. 7/13 C. 13/6 D. 13/7

Cont….2

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Code No: 05420108 -2- Set No. 3

II. Fill in the blanks:

11. The strain energy stored in a member due to axial load W is given as _______

12. The strain energy stored in a simply supported beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P
at the center is __________

13. A Two hinged arch is a _________ structure.

14. The horizontal thrust H for a 2 hinged arch is given as ________

15. If the end B of a fixed beam AB rotates by an amount of ‘α’ then the vertical reaction at the end A is
_________

16. Stiffness factor for a beam freely supported at both ends is ________

17. Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is fixed is ________

L D
R
18. The sum of distribution factors of all the members meeting at a joint is ________

19. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and

O
if a moment of 60 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BC is

20.

W
Three members OA, OB, OC are meeting at a joint O, if the distribution factors of members OA and OB
are 0.28, 0.18 then the distribution factor in the member OC is _________

U
N T
J -oOo-

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Code No: 05420108 Set No. 4

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD
IV B.Tech. II Sem., I Mid-Term Examinations, March – 2010
ADVANCED STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Objective Exam
Name: ______________________________ Hall Ticket No. A
Answer All Questions. All Questions Carry Equal Marks.Time: 20 Min. Marks: 20.

I Choose the correct alternative:

1. The strain energy stored in a cantilever beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P at the
free end is [ ]
A. PL3/3EI B. PL4/8EI C. P2L3/6EI D. P2L3/8EI

2. A three hinged arch is a _________ structure [ ]

A. Statically determinate B. Statically Indeterminate

3.
C. Statically determinate & unstable

D
D. Statically Indeterminate & unstable

L
If U is the total energy stored in a structure and if P is the load acting on the structure, then the
deflection under the load is given as [ ]

4.
A. ∂U/∂P

A. 3EI/L
B. ∂P/∂U

B. 4EI/L
2
C. ∂ U/∂P 2

C. 3EI/4L
O R 2
D. ∂ P/∂U 2

Stiffness factor for a beam fixed at one end and freely supported at the other is
D. 4EI/3L
[ ]

5.
A. 3EI/L B. 4EI/L

U W
Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is simply supported is
C. 3EI/4L D. 4EI/3L
[ ]

T
6. If k is relative stiffness of a member and ∑k is total stiffness of a joint. Then the distribution factor in
any member is given by [ ]
A. k /∑k B. ∑k+k C. ∑k /k D. ∑k x k

7.

A. 60 J N
For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 25 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BA in KN-m is
B. 50 C. 25 D. 10
[ ]

8. For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the member CB is 6/13 then the distribution
factor in the member CD is [ ]
A.6/13 B. 7/13 C. 13/6 D. 13/7

9. The strain Energy method of structural analysis is a __________ method of analysis [ ]

A. Force method B. Displacement Method C. Statically In-determinate D. Statically determinate

10. The strain energy stored in a member due to bending (with usual notation) is given as [ ]
A. ∫ (MdS/2EI B. ∫(M2dS/2EI) C. ∫ (M2dS/EI D. ∫(MmdS/2EI)

Cont….2

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Code No: 05420108 -2- Set No. 4

II. Fill in the blanks:

11. A Two hinged arch is a _________ structure.

12. The horizontal thrust H for a 2 hinged arch is given as ________

13. If the end B of a fixed beam AB rotates by an amount of ‘α’ then the vertical reaction at the end A is
_________
14. Stiffness factor for a beam freely supported at both ends is ________

15. Relative stiffness for a beam when the far end is fixed is ________

16. The sum of distribution factors of all the members meeting at a joint is ________

17.

D
For a continuous beam ABCD, if the distribution factors in the members BA and BC are 0.4 and 0.6 and
if a moment of 60 kN-m acts at joint B. Then the moment in member BC is

L
R
18. Three members OA, OB, OC are meeting at a joint O, if the distribution factors of members OA and OB
are 0.28, 0.18 then the distribution factor in the member OC is _________

19.
O
The strain energy stored in a member due to axial load W is given as _______

20.

W
The strain energy stored in a simply supported beam of span L meter and is subjected to a point load P
at the center is __________

U
N T
J
-oOo-

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2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4-8

¾ Alternative Second Moment Area Equation

⎛M ⎞ Deviation of element dx measured on a

dt = xdθ = x ⎜ dx ⎟
⎝ EI ⎠ normal line at point A

Assume no discontinuity of slope and

displacement (e.g. hinge&shear release)

tA L
M Sum deviation measured on a normal
∫ dt = ∫
tB 0
EI
⋅ xdx
line at point A over the portion AB

Moment of area about point A of M/EI

diagram over a portion AB

(
t A − tB = t A/B = AreaM/EI
AB
⋅ xA) 2nd MOMENT AREA EQUATION

Relative distance of point A relative to B

Graphical Interpretation Sign Convention and Remarks

¾ tA/B is positive when vector emanating

θB from point on the tangent line at B to
point A directs in positive y-direction
vB
¾ Sign convention of bending moment M
x follows same convention shown above
θBL
B ¾ x A is the distance along the x-axis
tA/B vA measured from point A to the centroid
y of M/EI diagram

A ¾ tA/B, vA, vB, and θB are related to

vB− θBL M/EI diagram
t A/B = v A − (v B − θBL )
Centroid
xB

xA L ¾ Sign convention of vA, vB, θA follows

the same convention shown above
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4-9

Length Constraint Equation

¾ No Axial Deformation
¾ Small Displacement and Rotation
¾ No Change in Length of Member

L′ = L

¾ Longitudinal Displacement are Constant

u A = u = uB

Graphical Interpretation Sign Convention and Remarks

¾ L´ is the length of the member AB

measured in the longitudinal direction
of the undeformed state of the member
B´
L´
¾ u is the longitudinal component of the
displacement at any point with the
member AB

¾ uA, uA, and u are positive when they

x direct in positive x-direction
uB
A´ C´
B ¾ The real length of the deformed state
y u can be approximated by the projected
uA C length L´ provided that displacement
and rotation of the member are small
A L
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 10

Application of Moment Area and Length Constraint Equations

¾ Summary of Equations

ƒ 3 independent equations per member

θB/A = θBAB − θ AB
A = AreaM/EI
AB

θBAB

( ) (
tB/A = v BAB − v AAB + θ AABLAB = AreaM/EI
AB
⋅ xB ) v BAB tB/A
x
t A/B = v AB
− (v AB
−θ L
AB
) = (Area )⋅ x
AB
A B B AB M/EI A θ AB
A uBAB
y B
v AAB
u AB
A = u AB
B
u AAB
A
tA/B
M/EI diagram
1st Moment Area Equation
Centroid
xB

2nd Moment Area Equation xA LAB

Length Constraint Equation

Remark: The superscript or subscript “AB” is used to emphasize that quantities are associated
with the member AB

¾ Kinematical Unknowns

ƒ 3 unknowns at point A : u AAB , v AAB , and θ AB

A

ƒ 3 unknowns at point B : uBAB , v BAB , and θBAB

ƒ Total 6 unknowns per member

ƒ The rotations { θ AB
A , θB } and the transverse components of the displacement { v A , v B }
AB AB AB

are related by the 1st and 2nd moment area equations

ƒ The longitudinal components of the displacement { u AAB , uBAB } are related by length
constraint equation
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 11

¾ Useful Remarks

ƒ Remark1: If one of { u AAB , uBAB } is known, the other can be obtained from length
constraint equation

One of { u AAB , uBAB } is known Length Constraint Equation

ƒ Remark2: If one of { θ AB A , θB } and one of { v A , v B } are known, the other two of

AB AB AB

{ θ AB
A , θB , v A , v B } can be computed from the 1
AB AB AB st
moment area equation and then
nd
follow by the 2 moment area equations

One of { θ AB
A , θB } is known
AB

1st & 2nd Moment Area

Equations
One of { v AAB , v BAB } is known

ƒ Remark3: If { v AAB , v BAB } are known, one of rotations { θ AB

A , θB } is computed from 2
AB nd

moment area equation and the other rotation is obtained from 1st moment area
equations

{ v AAB , v BAB } are known 2nd Moment Area Equations

1st Moment Area Equations

ƒ Remark4: If all three unknowns are known at one end, other three unknowns at the
other end of the member can be computed from 1st and 2nd moment area equations
and the length constraint equation

{ u AAB ,v AAB , θ AB
A } are known
1st & 2nd Moment Area
Equations
or

{ uBAB ,v BAB , θBAB } are known Length Constraint Equation

2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 12

¾ Useful Remarks (Cont.)

ƒ Remark5: If there exists a point within the structure where the rotation and the two
components of the displacement are known (e.g. a point at a fixed supports or a point
where their rotation and displacement were already computed), the rotations and
displacements at all other points can be determined from 1st and 2nd moment area
equations and the length constraint equation

uA=vA=θA=0

A
uA=vA=θA=0

ƒ Remark6: A member or a segment used in the calculation must not contain hinge
except at its ends

C D E

A C B
B D
A F

9 Segments AC and CE (contain hinge inside) are not allowed

9 Segments AB, BC,CD, and DE (contain hinge at the ends) can be used
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 13

Example 1 Given a statically determinate frame subjected to a concentrated load P as

shown in the figure. The Young’s modulus and moment of inertia of the cross section are
constant and denoted by E and I, respectively. Determine the displacements and rotations at
A, B, C, D, and E.

D
E
Y
L

A C
X
B
L L L

Solution

¾ Define local coordinate systems for the segments ABC, BD and DE

D x,y
E

A C
x
B
x

¾ Compute support reactions from static equilibrium equations (i.e. ΣFX = ΣFY = ΣM = 0)

D
E
Y

A C
RAX=0 X
B

RAY=2P/3 RCY=P/3
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 14

¾ Obtain BMD and M/EI diagram based on the local coordinate systems
P
-PL/EI
E D
-PL/EI
Y
4PL/3EI
PL/3EI
A C
RAX=0 X
B

RAY=2P/3 RCY=P/3

¾ Sketch Qualitative Elastic Curve

E D

A B C

¾ Start at segment AC since 3 quantities are already known (uA = vA = 0 & vC = 0)

E D Length Constraint Equation

y uCAC = u AAC = 0

A B C
θ AC x 2nd Moment Area Equation
A
θ
AC
C

θC/A
tC/A
( ) (
tC/A = v CAC − v AAC + θ ALAC = AreaM/EI
AC
)
⋅ xC

(
0 − 0 + θ AC )
A (3L ) =
1 ⎛ 4PL ⎞
⎜
2 ⎝ 3EI ⎠
⎛
⎟(2L )⎜ L +
2L ⎞
3 ⎠
⎟
⎝
1 ⎛ PL ⎞ ⎛ 2L ⎞ 7PL3
+ ⎜ ⎟(L )⎜ ⎟ =
2 ⎝ 3EI ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠ 3EI
7PL2 7PL2
θ AC
A = − =
9EI 9EI
1st Moment Area Equation

⎛ 7PL2 ⎞ 1 ⎛ 4PL ⎞ 1 ⎛ PL ⎞ 3PL2

θ ⎜
− ⎜− ⎟ = 2 ⎜ 3EI ⎟(2L ) + 2 ⎜ 3EI ⎟(L ) = 2EI
⎟
AC
θC/A = θ AC
C −θ AC
A = Area AC
M/EI C
⎝ 9EI ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
2
13PL
θCAC =
18EI
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 15

¾ Move to segment AB displacement and rotation at point A are already known

u AAB = 0

v AAB = 0
7PL2
θ AB
A = θA = −
AC

9EI

Length Constraint Equation

E D

uBAB = u AAB = 0
y

A B C 1st Moment Area Equation

θ AB
A x
θBAB
θB/A
tB/A θB/A = θBAB − θ AB
A = AreaM/EI
AB

⎛ 7PL2 ⎞ 1 ⎛ 4PL ⎞ 4PL2

θBAB − ⎜⎜ − ⎟⎟ = ⎜ ⎟(2L ) =
⎝ 9EI ⎠ 2 ⎝ 3EI ⎠ 3EI
5PL2
θBAB =
9EI

2nd Moment Area Equation

⎛ ⎛ 7PL2 ⎞ ⎞
(
tB/A = v BAB − v AAB + θ AB
A LAB ) (
= AreaM/EI
AB
⋅ xB ) v BAB − ⎜⎜ 0 + ⎜⎜ − ⎟⎟(2L ) ⎟⎟ = ⎜
1 ⎛ 4PL ⎞ ⎛ 2L ⎞
⎟(2L )⎜ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ 9EI ⎠ ⎠ 2 ⎝ 3EI ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠
8PL3
=
9EI
3 3
2PL 2PL
v BAB = − =
3EI 3EI

¾ Move to segment BD displacement and rotation at point B are already known

2PL3
uBDB = − v BAB =
3EI
v B = uB = 0
DB AB

5PL2
θDB
B = θ AB
B =
9EI
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 16

Length Constraint Equation

E D
y
tD/B
θB/D
2PL3
θDB u DB
D = u DB
B =
θDB B 3EI
D
A B C
1st Moment Area Equation

x θB/D = θDB
B − θD = AreaM/EI
DB DB

5PL2 ⎛ PL ⎞ PL2
− θDB
D = ⎜ − ⎟ (L ) = −
9EI ⎝ EI ⎠ EI
14PL2
θDB
D =
9EI
2nd Moment Area Equation

⎛ ⎛ 5PL2 ⎞ ⎞ ⎛ PL ⎞ ⎛ L ⎞
t D/B = v DB
D −v( DB
B −θ L DB
B DB ) = (Area )⋅ x
DB
M/EI D v DB
D
⎜
− ⎜ 0 − ⎜⎜ ⎟
⎟⎟(L) ⎟ = ⎜ − ⎟(L )⎜ ⎟ = −
PL3
⎝ ⎝ 9EI ⎠ ⎠ ⎝ EI ⎠ ⎝ 2 ⎠ 2EI
19PL3 19PL3
v DDB = − =
18EI 18EI

¾ Move to segment BD displacement and rotation at point B are already known

19PL3 Length Constraint Equation

uDED = v DDB = −
18EI
2PL3 19PL3 19PL3
v D = −uD = −
ED DB u ED
E = u ED
D =− =
3EI 18EI 18EI
14PL2
θED
D = θ DB
D = 1st Moment Area Equation
9EI
θD/E = θED
D − θE = AreaM/EI
ED ED

14PL2 1 ⎛ PL ⎞ PL2
− θE = ⎜ − ⎟(L ) = −
ED
y 9EI 2 ⎝ EI ⎠ 2EI
E θED
D D
x 37PL2
θD/E
θED
E =
18EI
tE/D
θED
E 2nd Moment Area Equation
A B C

(
tE/D = v EED − v DED − θED ) ( )
D LED = AreaM/EI ⋅ xE
ED

⎛ 2PL3 ⎛ 14PL2 ⎞ ⎞ ⎛ PL ⎞ ⎛ 2L ⎞
v EED − ⎜⎜ − − ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟(L) ⎟⎟ = ⎜ − ⎟(L )⎜ ⎟
⎝ 3EI ⎝ 9EI ⎠ ⎠ ⎝ 2EI ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠
PL3
= −
23PL3 23PL3 3EIEquations
2101-310 Structural Analysis I v DDB = − Method = of Moment Area
9EI 9EI
2101-310 Structural Analysis I 4 - 17