PHYSICS II

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

BUTTERWORTH CAMPUS

COURSE NOTES

Prepared by N twana VU
Butterworth Campus
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Physics II COURSE NOTES - 2021 ........................... 1

Chapter 1: .................................................................................................. 2
Introduction to Structural Behavior ........................................................... 2

1.1. Background .............................................................................. 2

1.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes ..................................................... 3
1.3. Introduction ............................................................................. 4
1.4. Purpose of Civil engineering structures .................................... 4
1.5. Loads........................................................................................ 5
1.6. Supports .................................................................................. 6
1.7. Common types of structural construction materials ................. 7
1.8. Types of structures ................................................................... 8
1.9. Learning Outcomes review...................................................... 11

Chapter 2 ................................................................................................. 12
Section properties .................................................................................... 12

2.1. Background ............................................................................ 12

2.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes ................................................... 13
2.3. Introduction ........................................................................... 14
2.4. Centroid ................................................................................. 14
2.5. Second moment of area .......................................................... 15
2.6. Compound section.................................................................. 16
2.7. Radius of gyration .................................................................. 17
2.8. Elastic section modulus.......................................................... 17
2.9. Polar second moment of area .................................................. 17
2.10. Sample Problems: Second Moment of Area ............................. 18
2.11. Review Exercises: Section Properties ...................................... 23
2.12. Using Computer Software: Prokon’s Prosec ............................ 28
2.13. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review ....................................... 33

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SOUTH AFRICAN STEEL TABLES ............................................................34

I-Section Parallel Flange.......................................................................35

I-Section Parallel Flange.......................................................................36
I-Section Taper Flange .........................................................................37
H-Section Taper Flange ........................................................................38
Channel Sections .................................................................................39
Equal Leg Angles..................................................................................40
Equal Leg Angles..................................................................................41
Equal Leg Angles..................................................................................42

Chapter 3 .................................................................................................43
stress and strain ......................................................................................43

3.1. Background ............................................................................43

3.2. Chapter learning outcomes .....................................................44
3.3. Introduction............................................................................45
3.4. Direct Stress ...........................................................................45
3.5. Direct Strain ...........................................................................45
3.6. Sample Problems: Direct Stress and Strain.............................46
3.7. Modulus of Elasticity ..............................................................47
3.7.1. Curve characteristics..........................................................49
3.7.2. Sample Problems: Modulus of elasticity..............................50
3.8. Compound members...............................................................55
3.8.1. Sample Problems: Compound members .............................56
3.9. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review........................................59

Chapter 4 .................................................................................................60
Shear force and bending moment .............................................................60

4.1. Background ............................................................................60

4.2. Chapter Learning outcomes ....................................................61
4.3. Introduction............................................................................62
4.4. Types of beams .......................................................................62
4.5. Shear Force ............................................................................62
4.6. Bending moment ....................................................................63

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4.7. Shear Force Diagram (SDF) and Bending Moment Diagrams

(BMD) 63
4.8. General guidelines on construction of SFD and BMD ............. 63
4.9. Maximum bending moment .................................................... 64
4.10. Point of contraflexure ............................................................. 64
4.11. Sample Problems: SDF and BMD ........................................... 65
4.12. Review exercises: Shear force and bending moment ............... 69
4.13. Using Computer application: Prokon’s Frame Analysis module
70
4.13.1. Step 1: Settings .................................................................. 70
4.13.2. Step 2: Input-General ........................................................ 71
4.13.3. Step 3: Nodes ..................................................................... 72
4.13.4. Step 4: Beams Sections ...................................................... 73
4.13.5. Step 5: Beams .................................................................... 74
4.13.6. Step 6: Supports ................................................................ 75
4.13.7. Step 7: Nodal Loads ........................................................... 76
4.13.8. Step 8: Beam loads ............................................................ 76
4.13.9. Step 9: Analysis ................................................................. 77
4.13.10. Step 10: View Output ......................................................... 78
4.14. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review ....................................... 81

Chapter 5 ................................................................................................. 82
Analysis of Statically Determiante Pin-jointed trusses.............................. 82

5.1. Background ............................................................................ 82

5.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes ................................................... 83
5.3. Introduction ........................................................................... 84
5.4. Roof Trusses ........................................................................... 84
5.5. Bridge Trusses........................................................................ 85
5.6. Assumptions for analysis........................................................ 87
5.7. Determinacy ........................................................................... 87
5.8. Method of section ................................................................... 88
5.9. Sample Problem No. 1: Analysis of statically determinate pin-
jointed trusses using method of section. .............................................. 89
5.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review ....................................... 94

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Chapter 6 .................................................................................................95
Deflection of Beams ..................................................................................95

6.1. Background ............................................................................95

6.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes ...................................................96
6.3. Introduction............................................................................97
6.4. Deflection of beams.................................................................97
6.5. Integration method for calculation deflections of beams .........98
6.6. Sample problems: Deflection of beams – Integration method ..99
6.7. Standard beam cases ............................................................101
6.8. Macaulay’s integration method for calculating deflections of
beams 102
6.9. Beams with partial uniformly distributed loads ....................103
6.10. Sample Problems: Deflection of beams – Macaulay’s Method 105
6.11. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review......................................108

Chapter 7 ...............................................................................................109
Theory of Elastic Bending .......................................................................109

7.1. Background ..........................................................................109

7.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes .................................................110
7.3. Introduction..........................................................................111
7.4. Derivation of the bending formula.........................................112
7.5. Determining the moment of resistance of a given beam section
113
7.6. Sample Problems: Bending Stress .........................................114
7.7. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review......................................118

Chapter 8 ...............................................................................................119
Introduction to Fluid Mechanics.............................................................119

8.1. Background ..........................................................................119

8.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review......................................120
8.3. Introduction..........................................................................121
8.4. Pascal’s law ..........................................................................121
8.5. Pressure and Head................................................................121
8.6. Variation of Pressure with depth ...........................................122

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8.7. Sample Problems: Pressure and Head .................................. 124

8.8. Buoyancy and stability of floating bodies .............................. 125
8.9. Sample Problems: Buoyancy and stability of floating bodies . 127
8.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review ..................................... 129

Chapter 9 ............................................................................................... 130

Impulse and Momentum ........................................................................ 130

9.1. Background .......................................................................... 130

9.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes ................................................. 131
9.3. Introduction ......................................................................... 132
9.4. Momentum and Impulse....................................................... 132
9.5. Linear momentum ................................................................ 133
9.6. Impulse ................................................................................ 134
9.7. Conservation of Momentum .................................................. 134
9.8. Systems of Particles .............................................................. 135
9.9. Sample Problems: Impulse and Momentum .......................... 136
9.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes ................................................. 138

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“Let the youth be impressed with the thought that education is not to teach them how to escape life's
disagreeable tasks and heavy burdens; that its purpose is to lighten the work by teaching better
methods and higher aims.” - EG White

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CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR

1.1. Background
This chapter introduces the learner to the behavior structures when they are loaded. In
order to appreciate this behavior, the learner will be given a basic understanding of
different types of loads that structures may have to carry and the types of supports and
materials used when designing and constructing civil engineering structures.

Figure 1

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1.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge of:
1. Types loading, including point loads, uniformly distributed loads and uniformly
varying loads.
2. Types of supports, including roller, pin and fixed.
3. Common types of structural construction materials including steel, concrete and
timber.

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” -B.B. King

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1.3. Introduction
There are many different types of structures all around us. Each structure has a specific
purpose or function. Some structures are simple, while others are complex. However,
there are two basic principles of composing structures.

 They must be capable of carrying the loads that they are designed for without
collapsing.
 They must support the various parts of the external load in the correct relative
position.
A structure refers to a system with connected parts used to support a load. Some
examples related to civil engineering are buildings, bridges and towers. However, these
structures are very complex to analyze and design.

1.4. Purpose of Civil engineering structures

Structures may have many purposes such as to cross a river in the case of a bridge, to
support powerlines, to house people etc.

Crossing

Housing

Powerlines
Figure 2: Some uses of civil engineering structures

The main purpose of any structure is to support a given set of loads with an adequate
factor of safety and ultimately to carry these loads through the structure safely to the
ground. In order to fulfill this purpose, we are therefore initially concerned with the
analysis of the response of the structure sand-witched between the action of the loads
and the reaction of the earth.

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Figure 3: Structural analysis

1.5. Loads
Once the dimensional requirements for a structure have been defined, it becomes
necessary to determine the loads the structure must support. These are categorized into
two: dead and live loads.

Dead Loads
Dead loads consist of the structure’s self-weight and the weights of the various objects
that are permanently attached to the structure, immovable and constant over time, such
as walls, carpets, cabinets etc.

Normally, the dead load is not large compared to the design load for simple structures
such as a beam or a single-story frame; however, for multi-storey buildings it is
important to have an accurate accounting of all the dead loads in order to properly design
the columns, especially for the lower floors.

Live Loads
Live loads are the temporary, short duration, or moving loads. These dynamic loads may
involve considerations such as impact, momentum, vibration, fluid dynamics, fatigue
etc. These include all forces that are variable within the normal life cycle not including
construction.

Figure 4: Types of loads in a structure

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1.6. Supports
Structural members are joined together in various ways depending on the intent of the
designer. The three types of joints most often specified are the pin connection, the
roller support, and the fixed joint.

A pin-connected joint and a roller support allow some freedom for slight rotation,
whereas a fixed joint allows no relative rotation between the connected members and is
consequently more expensive to fabricate.

Fixed Support

The fixed support allows no displacement or rotation, so for no rotation to occur the
support must resist the tendency for rotation by supplying a twisting effect (called a
moment in addition to vertical and horizontal reactions.

Figure 5: Fixed support

Pin Support

The pinned support allows rotation but no displacement of the structure.

Figure 6: Pin support

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Roller Support

The roller support both displacement and rotation of the structure can take place.

Summary

1.7. Common types of structural construction materials

Structures can be constructed out of various types of material, but for the purpose of
this course we will only deal with the most common ones viz. steel, concrete and timber.

Concrete
Concrete is strong in compression but has a low and unreliable tensile strength and its
physical properties vary widely.

Figure 7: concrete structure

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Steel
Steel is a reliable material to use in structures owing to its well defined properties as well
as its ability to withstand tension.

Figure 8: steel structure

Timber
While timber does not have the strength of either concrete or steel, it has the advantage
of being readily workable and is widely used in smaller structural elements e.g. roof
structures.

Figure 9: Roof made from timber

1.8. Types of structures

There are many types of structures that are used in the civil engineering profession,
but for the purpose of this course, we will only look at two: 1. beams and 2. Pin-jointed
Frames.

Beams
A beam is defined as a structural member subject to lateral loading in which the
developed resistance to deformation is of a flexural character. The primary load-effect
that a beam is designed to sustain is that of bending moment, but, in addition, the
effects of shearing force must be considered.

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They may be statically determinate, that is, their reactions can be solved using
equilibrium conditions, or they can be statically indeterminate. In this course our focus
will be only on statically determinate beams.

Beams may be:

Cantilevered: supported only at one end, and free on the other.

Simply supported: that is, they are supported at both ends but are free to rotate.

Overhanging: overhanging their supports at one or both ends.

Continuous: extending over more than two supports.

Fixed ended: Supported at both ends and fixed to resist rotation or built-in walls. It is
also known as a built-in or encastred beam.

Pin jointed frames

The built-up structures may be made up of several members such as angles, channels
etc. to resist the external loads are known as FRAMES.

Figure 10: Pin-jointed frame

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The pin-jointed frames form truss system that has a triangular planar framework with
straight members. They are jointed together at their ends either by riveting or by welding.
The truss systems are mainly used in the construction of bridge and roof construction.
A triangular formed out of 3 members will form the basic unit of a simple truss.

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1.9. Learning Outcomes review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge of:
1. Types loading, including point loads, uniformly distributed loads and uniformly
varying loads.
2. Types of supports, including roller, pin and fixed.
3. Common types of structural construction materials including steel, concrete and
timber.

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CHAPTER 2
SECTION PROPERTIES

2.1. Background
The geometric properties of sections, are indicators of the structural performance and
load resistance capacity of sections, and are characterized by the section shape and
dimensions, regardless of material properties. These section properties are needed to
calculate the bending/shear stresses, deflections, strength, and buckling, which are
essential factors for the overall structural design of bridges.

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2.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to

1. Demonstrate a contextualized understanding and ability to perform calculations in

determining the sectional properties of various shapes and compound steel sections
that include:
a. The area of the section
b. The center of gravity
c. The moment of inertia of the section
d. The Polar Moment of Inertia of the section
e. Radius of Gyration of the section
2. Demonstrate a contextualized understanding and ability to correctly select and apply
Structural Steel Tables when dealing with pre-fabricated standard steel sections.

“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”-

Walter Cronkite

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2.3. Introduction
The strength of a component of a structure is influenced by the geometrical properties
of its cross section, besides its material and other properties.

A beam with a large cross section will, in general, be able to resist a bending moment
more readily than a beam with a smaller cross-section.

2.4. Centroid
The position of the centroid of a cross-section is the center of the moment of area of the
cross section. If the cross-section is constructed from a homogenous material, its
centroid will lie at the same position as its center of gravity.

A thin plate of uniform thickness and of homogenous material, its center of gravity will
occur at the point where (theoretically) a single point support could be placed to obtain
a perfect balance.

Figure 11: Finding a centroid by balancing an object

An object is in state of equilibrium if balanced along its centroid.

Centroid location is determined by an object’s line of symmetry. Centroid is located on

the line of symmetry, as shown below:

Figure 12: Triangle showing line of symmetry

When an object has multiple lines of symmetry, its centroid is located at the intersection
of the lines of symmetry.

Figure 13: Multiple lines of symmetry in objects

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Below are sectional properties of some common shapes:

Table 1: Sectional properties of common shapes

Shape ̅
𝒙 ̅
𝒚 A
Rectangle 𝑏 ℎ bh
2 2

Triangle 1 1 1
𝑏 ℎ ×𝑏×ℎ
3 3 2

Circle r r 𝜋𝑟 2

Quarter- 4𝑟 4𝑟 𝜋𝑟 2
crcle 3𝜋 3𝜋 4
Semi- 0 4𝑟 𝜋𝑟 2
circle 3𝜋 2
Quarter- 4𝑎 4𝑏 𝜋𝑎𝑏
eliptical 3𝜋 3𝜋 4
Semi- 0 4𝑏 𝜋𝑎𝑏
elliptical 3𝜋 2

2.5. Second moment of area

Whereas the first moment of area is the product of the are and the distance from its
centroid to the axis, the second moment of area is the sum of the rea and the square of
the distance from the centroid to the axis.

The units of this property will be length4, since the value is the product of area and
distance squared.

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Table 2: Second moment of area for common shapes

Shape Ixx IYY
Rectangl 𝑏ℎ3 ℎ𝑏 3
e 12 12

Triangle 𝑏ℎ3 ℎ𝑏 3
36 36

Circle 𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋𝐷4
𝑜𝑟
4 64

Quarter- 𝜋 8 𝜋𝑟 4
( − ) 𝑟4
crcle 8 9𝜋 8
Semi- 𝜋𝑟 4 𝜋𝑟 4
circle
16 16
Quarter- 𝜋𝑎𝑏 3 𝜋𝑎3 𝑏
eliptical
16 16
Semi- 𝜋𝑎𝑏 3 𝜋𝑎3 𝑏
elliptical
8 8

2.6. Compound section

A section made up of a number of gemetrically finite areas is called a compound section.
It is usually necesaary firt to locate the position of the centroid. The second moments of
area can then be determined as required, using the parallel axis principle together with
standard case expressions obtained from Table 1.

Figure 14: Compound section

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2.7. Radius of gyration

If all of the area of a section could be concentrated into a single point, without
altering the value of the second moment of area about a given axis, then the
distance between this point and the axis would have to be equal to r, where are
is termed the RADIUS OF GYRATION.

The radius of gyration is used in the design of compression members, such as

columns and struts. Slender compression members fail by buckling rather than
crushing or shearing, and tend to do so about the axis for which the radius of
gyration is a minimum value.

𝐼𝑋𝑋
𝑟𝑥𝑥 = √
𝐴

𝐼𝑦𝑦
𝑟𝑦𝑦 = √
𝐴

2.8. Elastic section modulus

Elastic section modulus is a property that is used to express the bending/stress
relationship in problems involving bending stresses in beams, including the
design of beam sections. This is the ratio of the second moment of area to the
distance between the point in question and the relevant axis.

𝐼𝑥𝑥
𝑧𝑥𝑥 =
𝐴

𝐼𝑦𝑦
𝑧𝑦𝑦 =
𝐴

2.9. Polar second moment of area

The second moment of area about the longitudinal axis, which is perpendicular to the
cross-section is called the POLAR MOMENT OF AREA (J).

𝐽 = 𝐼𝑋𝑋 + 𝐼𝑌𝑌

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2.10. Sample Problems: Second Moment of Area

a) For the compound section shown below in Figure 15, find:
i. Centroid of the shape
ii. the second moment of area, Ixx and Iyy
iii. the radii of gyration (rxx and ryy)
iv. Least elastic modulus about x-axis and about y-axis (zxx and zyy).

Figure 15

Solution:

Step 1: Divide the shape into two shape (1 & 2).

Element Area Y AY X AX
(mm2) (mm) (mm3) (mm) (mm3)

1 2400 90 216000 10 24000

2 3000 15 45000 50 150000
∑ 5400 26100 174000

216000
̅̅̅
𝑌𝐵 = = 𝟒𝟖. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝒎𝒎
5400
174000
̅̅̅
𝑋𝐿 = = 𝟑𝟐. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎
5400

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Element Area Cx AC2 Iown Ixx

(mm2) (mm) (mm x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 2400 41.667 4.167 2.88 7.0467
2 3000 33.333 3.333 0.255 3.588
IXX = 0.635x106 mm4

Element Area CY AC2 Iown IYY

(mm2) (mm) (mm4 x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 2400 22.333 1.197 0.08 1.277
2 3000 17.778 0.948 2.5 3.448
IYY = 4.725x106 mm4

0.635 × 106
𝑟𝑥𝑥 = √ = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟖𝟒𝟒𝒎𝒎
5400

4.725 × 106
𝑟𝑦𝑦 = √ = 𝟐𝟗. 𝟓𝟖𝟎𝒎𝒎
5400

0.635 × 106
𝑧𝑥𝑥 = = 𝟏𝟑. 𝟏𝟑𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
48.333

4.725 × 106
𝑧𝑦𝑦 = = 𝟏𝟒𝟔. 𝟔𝟑𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝟑
32.222

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b) For the compound section shown below in Figure 16, find:

 Centroid of the shape
 the second moment of area, Ixx and Iyy
 the radii of gyration (rxx and ryy)
 Least elastic modulus about x-axis and about y-axis (zxx and zyy).

Figure 16
Solution:
Element Area Y AY X AX
(mm2) (mm) (mm3) (mm) (mm3)
1 28800 60 1728000 120 3456000
2 -3180.863 100.901 -320952.258 120 -381703.56
∑ 25619.137 1407047.742 3074296.44

1407047.742
̅̅̅
𝑌𝐵 = = 𝟓𝟒. 𝟗𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎
25619.137
3074296.440
̅̅̅
𝑋𝐿 = = 𝟏𝟐𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎
25619.137
Element Area Cx AC2 Iown Ixx
(mm2) (mm) (mm x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 28800 5.078 0.743 34.560 35.303
2 -3180.863 45.979 -6.725 -00450 -7.175
IXX = 28.128x106 mm4

Element Area CY AC2 Iown IYY

(mm2) (mm) (mm4 x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 2800 - - 138.240 138.240
2 -3180.863 - - -1.610 -1.610
IYY = 136.630x106 mm4
28.128 × 106
𝑟𝑥𝑥 = √ = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟐𝟐𝒎𝒎
54025619.1370

136.630 × 106
𝑟𝑦𝑦 = √ = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟗𝟎𝒎𝒎
54025619.1370

28.128 × 106
𝑧𝑥𝑥 = = 𝟓𝟏𝟐. 𝟏𝟒𝟒 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
54.922

136.630 × 106
𝑧𝑦𝑦 = = 𝟏𝟏𝟑𝟖. 𝟓𝟖𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
120.00

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c) Find the second moment of area, Ixx and Iyy for the compound section shown below:

Solution:
Element Area Y AY X AX
(mm2) (mm) (mm3) (mm) (mm3)
1 1413.717 30 42411.501 17.268 24411.501
2 900 45 40500 45 40500
3 450 20 9000 40 18000
4 -706.858 30 -21205.750 30 -
21205.750
∑ 2056.858 70705.750 61705.750
70705.750
̅̅̅
𝑌𝐵 = = 𝟑𝟒. 𝟑𝟕𝟔𝒎𝒎
2056.585
61705.750
̅̅̅
𝑋𝐿 = = 𝟑𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝒎𝒎
2056.585
Element Area Cx AC2 Iown Ixx
(mm2) (mm) (mm x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 1413.717 4.376 0.0271 0.318 0.345
2 900 10.624 0.102 0.0675 0.169
3 450 14.376 0.0930 0.0255 0.116
4 -706.858 4.376 -0.0135 -0.0398 -0.0533
IXX = 0.576x106 mm4

Element Area CY AC2 Iown IYY

(mm2) (mm) (mm4 x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 1413.717 12.732 0.229 0.0889 0.318
2 900 15 0.203 0.0675 0.270
3 450 10 0.045 0.0255 0.0675
4 -706.858 - - -0.040 -0.0398
IYY = 0.616x106 mm4

0.576 × 106
𝑟𝑥𝑥 = √ = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟕𝟑𝟒𝒎𝒎
2056.858

0.616 × 106
𝑟𝑦𝑦 = √ = 𝟏𝟕. 𝟑𝟎𝟔𝒎𝒎
2056.858

0.576 × 106
𝑧𝑥𝑥 = = 𝟐𝟐. 𝟒𝟕𝟗 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
25.624

0.616 × 106
𝑧𝑦𝑦 = = 𝟐𝟎. 𝟓𝟑𝟑 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
30.00

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d) Find the second moment of area, Ixx and Iyy for the compound section shown below:

Solution
Element Area Y AY X AX
(mm2) (mm) (mm3) (mm) (mm3)
1 7696.902 179.709 1383201.967 90 692721.18
2 2000 100 200000 90 180000
3 -1413.717 37.268 -52685.846 50 -70685.85
4 3926.991 28.779 113016.213 50 196349.55
∑ 12210.176 1643532.333 998384.880
1643532.33
̅̅̅
𝑌𝐵 = = 𝟏𝟑𝟒. 𝟔𝟎𝟒𝒎𝒎
12210.176
998384.880
̅̅̅
𝑋𝐿 = = 𝟖𝟏. 𝟕𝟔𝟕𝒎𝒎
12210.176
Element Area CY AC2 Iown IYY
(mm2) (mm) (mm4 x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 7696.902 8.233 0.522 9.429 9.950
2 2000 8.233 0.136 0.0667 0.202
3 -1413.717 31.767 -1.427 -0.0889 -1.516
4 3926.991 31.767 3.963 0.686 4.649
IYY = 13.286x106 mm4

Element Area Cx AC2 Iown Ixx

(mm2) (mm) (mm x 106) (mm x 106) (mm4 x 106)
1 7696.902 45.105 15.659 2.635 18.294
2 2000 34.604 2.53 1.667 4.0615
3 -1413.717 97.336 -13.394 -0.0889 -13.483
4 3926.991 105.825 43.978 0.686 44.664
IXX = 53.537x106 mm4
53.537 × 106
𝑟𝑥𝑥 = √ = 𝟔𝟔. 𝟐𝟏𝟔𝒎𝒎
12210.176

13.286 × 106
𝑟𝑦𝑦 = √ = 𝟑𝟐. 𝟗𝟖𝟔𝒎𝒎
12210.176

53.537 × 106
𝑧𝑥𝑥 = = 𝟔𝟐𝟔. 𝟗𝟐𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
85.396

13.286 × 106
𝑧𝑦𝑦 = = 𝟏𝟔𝟐. 𝟒𝟖𝟔 × 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝒎𝒎𝟑
81.767

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2.11. Review Exercises: Section Properties

For the shapes below, determine the following:

i.
Centroid of the shape
ii.
Second moment of inertia about x-axis (𝐼𝑋𝑋) and about y-axis (𝐼𝑌𝑌)
of the shaded area.
iii. the radii of gyration (𝑟𝑋𝑋 and 𝑟𝑌𝑌).
iv. Least elastic modulus about x-axis (𝑧𝑋𝑋) and about y-axis (𝑧𝑌𝑌).
v. Polar second moment of area.
2.11.1.

2.11.2.

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2.11.3.

2.11.4.

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2.11.5.

2.11.6.

2.11.7.
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2.11.8.

2.11.9.

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2.12. Using Computer Software: Prokon’s Prosec

You can use the Section Properties Calculation module, Prosec, to calculate the bending,
shear and torsional properties of any arbitrary section. For the purpose of this course,
we only look at the bending properties.

Prosec can be used to calculate the properties of any arbitrary section. The section can
be solid or have one or more openings.

Analysis techniques
For bending property calculation, the program uses a simple technique of division into
sub-sections. More information.

Input
To define a section, enter one or more shapes (polygons) that define its outline.

The input table

The Code column is used for categorize the data that follows in the next columns:

+ : The start of a new polygon or circle. An absolute reference coordinate must be entered
in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.
- : Start of an opening. An absolute reference coordinate must be entered in the X/Radius
and Y/Angle columns.
R : Indicates a line drawn with relative coordinates. If the code column is left blank, a
relative coordinate is also used.
L : Indicates a line drawn with absolute coordinates.

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A : An arc that continues from the last line or arc. The arc radius and angle are entered
in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns respectively. The angle is measured clockwise
from the previous line or arc end point.
C : A circle with the radius entered in the X/Radius column.
B : Bulge altitude to apply to the previous line, changing it to an arc segment. Enter the
bulge altitude in X/Radius column. A positive bulge value corresponds to an upward
bulge for a line drawn from left to right.

The X/Radius and Y/Angle columns are used for entering coordinates, radii and angles:

 X : Absolute or relative X-coordinate. Values are taken positive to the right and
negative to the left.
 Radius : Radius of a circle or an arc.
 Y : Absolute or relative Y-coordinate. Values are taken positive upward and
negative downward.
 Angle : Angle that an arc is extending through

Procedures for entering shapes

Below are step-by-step procedures for entering typical sections.

Entering a polygon comprising straight lines

A polygon is defined by entering a start point followed by a few lines of additional
coordinates. The polygon can be defined using relative or absolute coordinates or both.

Using relative coordinates:

 Define the start position of the polygon by setting the Code to '+' and entering the
absolute coordinate in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.
 Next, leaving the Code column blank, enter the consecutive corner points of the
polygon in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns. By leaving the Code column
blank, the entered coordinates are set to relative coordinates.

Using absolute coordinates:

 Define the start position of the polygon by setting the Code to '+' and entering the
absolute coordinate in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.
 For each following coordinate, enter an 'L' in the Code column and enter the
absolute coordinate values in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.

Entering a polygon comprising lines and arcs

 A polygon with one or more arcs is defined in a similar way as a normal polygon:
 Define the start position of the polygon by setting the Code to '+' and entering the
absolute coordinate in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.
 Define straight lines by entering the consecutive corner points using relative or
absolute coordinates.
 For an arc, set the Code to A and enter its radius and angle in the X/Radius and
Y/Angle columns. The arc will be taken to extend from the previous line/arc
through the specified angle. A positive angle is taken as a clockwise rotation and
a negative angle as an anti-clockwise rotation.
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Suggestion: If an arc is to start at a certain angle, simply precede it with a short line at
that angle.

An alternative way of entering an arc, is to use a bulge:

 Define a straight line segment between the start and end points of the arc.
 On the next input line, enter 'B' in the Code column, followed by the bulge altitude
in the X/Radius column.

Entering a circle
A circle is defined by entering the centre point followed by its radius in the next line:

 Define the centre point of the circle by setting the Code to '+' and entering the
absolute X and Y-coordinates. If you leave either of the coordinates blank, a value
of zero is used.
 On the next line, set the Code to 'C' and enter the radius of the circle in the
X/Radius column.

Entering an opening
An opening is defined exactly like any other shape, with the exception that it is entered
as a negative shape:

 Define the start position of the polygon by setting the Code to '–' and entering the
absolute coordinate in the X/Radius and Y/Angle columns.
 Define lines, arcs or a circle by entering the relevant points as described in the
examples above.

Section Analysis
To calculate the bending section properties, or shear and torsional section properties,
display the Properties or Shear and Torsion screen respectively.

Bending section properties

The program calculated the bending section properties using a method of division into
sub-sections:

 Circles and arcs are first converted to polygons with approximately the same
shapes. The program uses lines at 1° angle increments for this purpose.
 The section is then sub-divided into a series of trapeziums and the properties are
calculated for each trapezium.
 The global section properties are finally calculated through summation of the
values obtained for each trapezium.

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Example 1

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2.13. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to

1. Demonstrate a contextualized understanding and ability to perform calculations

in determining the sectional properties of various shapes and compound steel
sections that include:
a. The area of the section
b. The center of gravity
c. The moment of inertia of the section
d. The Polar Moment of Inertia of the section
e. Radius of Gyration of the section
2. Demonstrate a contextualized understanding and ability to correctly select and apply
Structural Steel Tables when dealing with pre-fabricated standard steel sections.

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I-Section Parallel Flange

h b tw tf r1 m A Ix Zx rx Iy Zy ry J Cw Zplx Zply h/tf hw

Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 E9 E3 E3 (mm)
IPE-AA 100 97.6 55 3.6 4.5 7 6.72 .856 1.36 27.8 39.8 .126 4.57 12.1 7.33 .272 31.9 7.23 21.7 74.6
IPE 100 100 55 4.1 5.7 7 8.10 1.03 1.71 34.2 40.7 .159 5.79 12.4 12.1 .354 39.4 9.15 17.5 74.6
IPE-AA 120 117 64 3.8 4.8 7 8.36 1.06 2.44 41.7 47.9 .211 6.59 14.1 9.55 .663 47.6 10.4 24.4 93.4
IPE 120 120 64 4.4 6.3 7 10.4 1.32 3.18 53.0 49.0 .277 8.65 14.5 17.4 .894 60.7 13.6 19.0 93.4
IPE-AA 140 136.6 73 3.8 5.2 7 10.1 1.28 4.07 59.7 56.4 .338 9.27 16.3 12.0 1.46 67.6 14.5 26.3 112
IPE 140 140 73 4.7 6.9 7 12.9 1.64 5.41 77.3 57.4 .449 12.3 16.5 24.6 1.99 88.3 19.2 20.3 112

IPE-AA 160 156.4 82 4 5.6 9 12.3 1.57 6.59 84.3 64.8 .517 12.6 18.1 18.2 2.94 95.2 19.7 27.9 127
IPE 160 160 82 5 7.4 9 15.8 2.01 8.69 109 65.8 .683 16.7 18.4 36.2 3.98 124 26.1 21.6 127
IPE-AA 180 176.4 91 4.3 6.2 9 14.9 1.90 10.2 116 73.2 .781 17.2 20.3 24.9 5.66 131 26.7 28.5 146
IPE 180 180 91 5.3 8 9 18.8 2.39 13.2 146 74.2 1.01 22.2 20.5 48.1 7.46 166 34.6 22.5 146
IPE-AA 200 196.4 100 4.5 6.7 12 18.0 2.29 15.3 156 81.9 1.12 22.4 22.1 38.7 10.1 176 35.0 29.3 159
IPE 200 200 100 5.6 8.5 12 22.4 2.85 19.4 194 82.6 1.42 28.5 22.4 70.2 13.1 221 44.6 23.5 159

203x133x25 203.2 133.4 5.7 7.8 7.6 25.1 3.20 23.4 231 85.6 3.09 46.3 31.1 61.2 29.5 258 71.2 26.1 172
203x133x30 206.8 133.8 6.4 9.6 7.6 30.0 3.82 28.9 280 87.0 3.84 57.4 31.7 105 37.3 314 88.1 21.5 172

254x146x31 251.5 146.1 6 8.6 7.6 31.2 3.97 44.2 351 106 4.48 61.3 33.6 87.0 66.0 393 94.1 29.2 219
254x146x37 256 146.4 6.3 10.9 7.6 37.0 4.72 55.4 433 108 5.71 78.0 34.8 154 85.7 483 119 23.5 219
254x146x43 259.6 147.3 7.2 12.7 7.6 43.0 5.48 65.4 504 109 6.77 92.0 35.2 240 103 566 141 20.4 219

305x102x25 304.8 101.6 5.8 7 7.6 24.8 3.16 44.5 292 119 1.23 24.2 19.7 49.9 27.3 342 38.8 43.5 276
305x102x28 308.9 101.9 6 8.8 7.6 28.2 3.59 53.8 348 122 1.56 30.6 20.8 75.4 35.1 404 48.5 35.1 276
305x102x33 312.7 102.4 6.6 10.8 7.6 32.8 4.18 65.0 416 125 1.94 37.9 21.5 123 44.2 481 60.0 29.0 276
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I-Section Parallel Flange

h b tw tf r1 m A Ix Zx rx Iy Zy ry J Cw Zplx Zply h/tf hw

Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 E9 E3 E3 (mm)
305x165x40 303.8 165.1 6.1 10.2 8.9 40.5 5.16 85.5 563 129 7.66 92.8 38.5 149 165 626 142 29.8 266
305x165x46 307.1 165.7 6.7 11.8 8.9 46.1 5.88 99.3 647 130 8.96 108 39.0 223 195 722 166 26.0 266
305x165x54 310.9 166.8 7.7 13.7 8.9 53.5 6.82 117 752 131 10.6 127 39.4 345 234 843 195 22.7 266

356x171x45 352 171 6.9 9.7 10.2 44.8 5.70 121 686 146 8.10 94.7 37.7 160 237 773 146 36.3 312
356x171x51 355.6 171.5 7.3 11.5 10.2 50.7 6.46 142 796 148 9.68 113 38.7 238 287 895 174 30.9 312
356x171x57 358.6 172.1 8 13 10.2 56.7 7.22 161 896 149 11.1 129 39.1 334 330 1009 198 27.6 312
356x171x67 364 173.2 9.1 15.7 10.2 67.2 8.55 195 1073 151 13.6 157 39.9 560 413 1213 243 23.2 312

406x140x39 397.3 141.8 6.3 8.6 10.2 38.6 4.92 124 625 159 4.10 57.8 28.9 108 155 718 90.7 46.2 360
406x140x46 402.3 142.4 6.9 11.2 10.2 46.3 5.90 157 779 163 5.40 75.9 30.3 194 207 889 119 35.9 360

406x178x54 402.6 177.6 7.6 10.9 10.2 53.8 6.86 187 927 165 10.2 115 38.6 233 391 1051 178 36.9 360
406x178x60 406.4 177.8 7.8 12.8 10.2 59.7 7.61 215 1060 168 12.0 135 39.7 332 465 1195 209 31.7 360
406x178x67 409.4 178.8 8.8 14.3 10.2 67.1 8.55 243 1189 169 13.6 153 39.9 465 533 1346 237 28.6 360
406x178x74 412.8 179.7 9.7 16 10.2 74.8 9.53 274 1329 170 15.5 173 40.3 642 610 1509 268 25.8 360

457x191x67 453.6 189.9 8.5 12.7 10.2 67.1 8.55 294 1297 185 14.5 153 41.2 376 706 1472 237 35.7 408
457x191x74 457.2 190.5 9.1 14.5 10.2 74.7 9.51 334 1462 187 16.7 176 42.0 527 820 1659 273 31.5 408
457x191x82 460.2 191.3 9.9 16 10.2 82.0 10.5 371 1612 188 18.7 196 42.3 699 923 1832 304 28.8 408
457x191x89 463.6 192 10.6 17.7 10.2 89.7 11.4 411 1775 190 20.9 218 42.8 921 1040 2020 339 26.2 408
457x191x98 467.6 192.8 11.4 19.6 10.2 98.4 12.5 458 1960 191 23.5 243 43.3 1223 1178 2235 379 23.9 408

533x210x82 528.3 208.7 9.6 13.2 12.7 82.2 10.5 475 1799 213 20.0 192 43.8 527 1330 2058 300 40.0 476
533x210x92 533.1 209.3 10.2 15.6 12.7 92.5 11.8 553 2076 217 23.9 228 45.0 772 1600 2366 356 34.2 477
533x210x101 536.7 210.1 10.9 17.4 12.7 101 12.9 616 2297 218 27.0 257 45.7 1027 1818 2619 400 30.8 477
533x210x109 539.5 210.7 11.6 18.8 12.7 109 13.9 668 2476 219 29.4 279 46.0 1275 1992 2827 435 28.7 477
533x210x122 544.6 211.9 12.8 21.3 12.7 122 15.6 762 2798 221 33.9 320 46.6 1811 2319 3203 500 25.6 477

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I-Section Taper Flange

h b tw tf r1 r1 Beta m A Ix Zx rx Iy Zy ry J Cw Zplx Zply h/tf hw

Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) deg (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 E9 E3 E3 (mm)
203x152x52 203 152 8.9 16.5 15.5 7.60 98.0 52.1 6.64 47.8 471 84.8 8.10 107 34.9 667 70.4 539 175 12.3 133
127x76x13 127 76.2 4.5 7.6 7.9 2.4 95 13.4 1.70 4.76 75.0 52.9 .502 13.2 17.2 37.6 1.79 85.2 21.3 16.7 94.2
152x89x17 152.4 88.9 4.9 8.3 7.9 2.4 95 17.1 2.18 8.84 116 63.7 .865 19.5 19.9 53.9 4.49 131 31.5 18.4 118
178x102x22 177.8 101.6 5.3 9 9.4 3.2 95 21.4 2.73 15.1 170 74.4 1.38 27.3 22.5 81.5 9.86 192 44.2 19.8 138
203x102x25 203.2 101.6 5.8 10.4 9.4 3.2 95 25.3 3.23 23.0 226 84.4 1.63 32.1 22.5 117 15.2 257 51.9 19.5 161

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H-Section Taper Flange

h b tw tf r1 m A Ix Zx rx Iy Zy ry J Cw Zplx Zply h/tf hw

Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 E9 E3 E3 (mm)
152x152x23 152.4 152.4 6.1 6.8 7.6 23.3 2.97 12.6 165 65.1 4.02 52.7 36.8 51.1 21.3 184 80.5 22.4 124
152x152x30 157.5 152.9 6.6 9.4 7.6 30.1 3.84 17.5 222 67.5 5.60 73.3 38.2 108 30.7 248 112 16.8 124
152x152x37 161.8 154.4 8.1 11.5 7.6 37.1 4.73 22.1 274 68.4 7.06 91.5 38.7 197 39.9 309 140 14.1 124

203x203x46 203.2 203.2 7.3 11 10.2 46.2 5.88 45.6 449 88.1 15.4 151 51.2 225 142 497 230 18.5 161
203x203x52 206.2 203.9 8 12.5 10.2 52.1 6.64 52.5 510 89.0 17.7 173 51.6 322 166 567 263 16.5 161
203x203x60 209.6 205.2 9.3 14.2 10.2 59.7 7.60 61.0 582 89.6 20.5 199 51.9 475 195 654 303 14.8 161
203x203x71 215.9 206.2 10.3 17.3 10.2 71.4 9.09 76.3 707 91.6 25.3 245 52.8 817 249 801 373 12.5 161
203x203x86 222.3 208.8 13.0 20.5 10.2 86.4 11.0 94.6 851 92.7 31.1 298 53.2 1399 317 979 455 10.8 161

254x254x73 254.2 254 8.6 14.2 12.7 73.0 9.29 114 896 111 38.8 306 64.6 578 559 990 463 17.9 200
254x254x89 260.4 255.9 10.5 17.3 12.7 89.2 11.4 143 1097 112 48.3 378 65.2 1036 714 1225 574 15.1 200
254x254x107 266.7 258.3 13.0 20.5 12.7 107 13.7 175 1312 113 58.9 456 65.7 1753 893 1484 695 13.0 200
254x254x132 276.4 261 15.6 25.1 12.7 132 16.8 224 1623 116 74.5 571 66.6 3182 1176 1861 870 11.0 201
254x254x167 289.1 264.5 19.2 31.7 12.7 167 21.2 299 2070 119 97.9 740 67.9 6339 1622 2418 1131 9.12 200

305x305x97 307.8 304.8 9.9 15.4 15.2 96.8 12.3 222 1443 134 72.7 477 76.8 919 1554 1589 724 20.0 247
305x305x118 314.5 306.8 11.9 18.7 15.2 118 15.0 276 1756 136 90.1 587 77.6 1618 1970 1952 892 16.8 247
305x305x137 320.5 308.7 13.8 21.7 15.2 137 17.4 328 2045 137 106 690 78.2 2514 2377 2293 1049 14.8 247
305x305x158 327.2 310.6 15.7 25.0 15.2 158 20.1 387 2365 139 125 805 78.9 3808 2853 2675 1225 13.1 247
305x305x198 339.9 314.1 19.2 31.4 15.2 198 25.2 509 2993 142 162 1034 80.2 7438 3863 3438 1577 10.8 247
305x305x240 352.6 317.9 23 37.7 15.2 240 30.5 642 3639 145 202 1272 81.4 1,30E+04 5012 4243 1945 9.35 247
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Channel Sections

h b tw tf r1 m A Ix Zx rx Iy Zy ry J Cw Zplx Zply h/tf hw ac ay

Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 E9 E3 E3 (mm) (mm) (mm)
PC100x50 100 50 5 8.4 8.4 10.1 1.29 2.05 41.1 40.0 .320 9.79 15.8 24.2 .490 48.3 17.4 11.9 66.4 34.1 17.3
PC180x70 180 70 7 10.9 10.9 21.1 2.68 13.5 150 71.0 1.27 26.2 21.8 82.3 6.52 177 47.6 16.5 136 43.5 21.5
PC200x75 200 75 7.5 11.4 11.4 24.3 3.09 19.1 191 78.6 1.67 31.8 23.2 104 10.6 225 57.6 17.5 154 45.7 22.5

PC230x90 230 90 7.5 14 12 32.2 4.10 35.2 306 92.7 3.34 55.0 28.6 193 27.9 355 99.1 16.4 178 60.0 29.2
PC260x90 260 90 8 14 12 34.8 4.44 47.3 364 103 3.53 56.3 28.2 206 38.0 425 102 18.6 208 56.5 27.4
PC300x100 300 100 9 16.5 12 45.3 5.76 81.7 545 119 5.67 81.7 31.4 358 81.0 636 148 18.2 243 63.1 30.6

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Equal Leg Angles

h,b t r1 r2 m A Ix Zx rx Iu Zu ru Iv Zv rv J ay
Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 (mm)
25x25x3 25 3 3.5 2 1.11 .142 .008 .448 7.49 .013 .714 9.43 .003 .324 4.83 .476 7.21
25x25x5 25 5 3.5 2 1.77 .226 .012 .708 7.30 .019 1.07 9.14 .005 .462 4.80 1.98 7.98

30x30x3 30 3 5 2.5 1.36 .174 .014 .649 8.99 .022 1.05 11.3 .006 .496 5.81 .635 8.35
30x30x5 30 5 5 2.5 2.18 .278 .022 1.04 8.83 .034 1.61 11.1 .009 .706 5.75 2.58 9.18

40x40x3 40 3 6 3 1.85 .235 .035 1.18 12.1 .055 1.93 15.3 .014 .951 7.84 .882 10.7
40x40x4 40 4 6 3 2.42 .308 .045 1.55 12.1 .071 2.51 15.2 .019 1.17 7.77 1.92 11.2
40x40x5 40 5 6 3 2.97 .379 .054 1.91 12.0 .086 3.04 15.1 .023 1.38 7.73 3.56 11.6

45x45x3 45 3 7 3.5 2.10 .268 .050 1.52 13.7 .079 2.49 17.2 .021 1.25 8.88 1.06 11.9
45x45x4 45 4 7 3.5 2.74 .349 .064 1.97 13.6 .102 3.20 17.1 .027 1.53 8.76 2.27 12.3
45x45x5 45 5 7 3.5 3.38 .430 .078 2.43 13.5 .124 3.90 17.0 .033 1.80 8.71 4.17 12.8

50x50x3 50 3 7 3.5 2.34 .298 .070 1.89 15.3 .110 3.12 19.2 .029 1.58 9.92 1.15 13.1
50x50x4 50 4 7 3.5 3.06 .389 .090 2.46 15.2 .142 4.02 19.1 .037 1.94 9.79 2.48 13.6
50x50x5 50 5 7 3.5 3.77 .480 .110 3.05 15.1 .174 4.92 19.0 .045 2.29 9.73 4.58 14.0
50x50x6 50 6 7 3.5 4.47 .569 .128 3.61 15.0 .203 5.75 18.9 .053 2.61 9.68 7.62 14.5
50x50x8 50 8 7 3.5 5.82 .741 .163 4.68 14.8 .257 7.27 18.6 .069 3.19 9.63 17.0 15.2

60x60x4 60 4 8 4 3.70 .471 .158 3.59 18.3 .250 5.90 23.0 .066 2.92 11.8 3.07 16.0
60x60x5 60 5 8 4 4.57 .582 .194 4.45 18.2 .307 7.24 23.0 .080 3.46 11.7 5.64 16.4
60x60x6 60 6 8 4 5.42 .691 .228 5.29 18.2 .361 8.52 22.9 .094 3.96 11.7 9.36 16.9
60x60x8 60 8 8 4 7.09 .903 .292 6.89 18.0 .461 10.9 22.6 .122 4.86 11.6 21.0 17.7
60x60x10 60 10 8 4 8.69 1.11 .349 8.41 17.8 .551 13.0 22.3 .148 5.67 11.6 39.2 18.5
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Equal Leg Angles

h,b t r1 r2 m A Ix Zx rx Iu Zu ru Iv Zv rv J ay
Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 (mm)
70x70x6 70 6 9 4.5 6.38 .813 .369 7.27 21.3 .585 11.8 26.8 .153 5.60 13.7 11.2 19.3
70x70x8 70 8 9 4.5 8.36 1.06 .475 9.52 21.1 .753 15.2 26.6 .197 6.92 13.6 25.0 20.1
70x70x10 70 10 9 4.5 10.3 1.31 .572 11.7 20.9 .905 18.3 26.3 .240 8.10 13.5 46.8 20.9

80x80x6 80 6 10 5 7.34 .935 .558 9.57 24.4 .885 15.6 30.8 .231 7.55 15.7 13.0 21.7
80x80x8 80 8 10 5 9.63 1.23 .722 12.6 24.3 1.15 20.3 30.6 .299 9.37 15.6 29.1 22.6
80x80x10 80 10 10 5 11.9 1.51 .875 15.4 24.1 1.39 24.5 30.3 .364 11.0 15.5 54.5 23.4
80x80x12 80 12 10 5 14.0 1.79 1.02 18.2 23.9 1.61 28.4 30.0 .427 12.5 15.5 91.2 24.1

90x90x6 90 6 11 5.5 8.30 1.06 .803 12.2 27.6 1.27 20.0 34.7 .333 9.80 17.8 15.0 24.1
90x90x8 90 8 11 5.5 10.9 1.39 1.04 16.1 27.4 1.66 26.0 34.5 .431 12.2 17.6 33.3 25.0
90x90x10 90 10 11 5.5 13.4 1.71 1.27 19.8 27.2 2.01 31.6 34.3 .526 14.4 17.5 62.4 25.8

90x90x12 90 12 11 5.5 15.9 2.03 1.48 23.3 27.0 2.34 36.8 34.0 .617 16.4 17.4 104 26.6

100x100x8 100 8 12 6 12.2 1.55 1.45 19.9 30.6 2.30 32.5 38.5 .599 15.5 19.6 37.6 27.4
100x100x10 100 10 12 6 15.0 1.92 1.77 24.6 30.4 2.80 39.6 38.3 .730 18.3 19.5 70.3 28.2
100x100x12 100 12 12 6 17.8 2.27 2.07 29.1 30.2 3.28 46.3 38.0 .857 20.9 19.4 118 29.0

120x120x8 120 8 13 6.5 14.7 1.87 2.55 29.1 36.9 4.05 47.8 46.5 1.05 23.1 23.7 45.4 32.3
120x120x10 120 10 13 6.5 18.2 2.32 3.13 36.0 36.7 4.97 58.6 46.3 1.29 27.5 23.6 85.1 33.1
120x120x12 120 12 13 6.5 21.6 2.75 3.68 42.7 36.5 5.84 68.8 46.0 1.52 31.6 23.5 143 34.0

120x120x15 120 15 13 6.5 26.6 3.39 4.45 52.4 36.2 7.05 83.1 45.6 1.85 37.1 23.3 269 35.1

150x150x10 150 10 16 8 23.0 2.93 6.24 56.9 46.2 9.91 93.4 58.2 2.58 45.1 29.7 110 40.3
150x150x12 150 12 16 8 27.3 3.48 7.37 67.7 46.0 11.7 110 58.0 3.03 52.0 29.5 184 41.2
150x150x15 150 15 16 8 33.8 4.30 8.98 83.5 45.7 14.3 134 57.6 3.70 61.6 29.3 347 42.5

150x150x18 150 18 16 8 40.1 5.10 10.5 98.7 45.4 16.6 157 57.1 4.35 70.5 29.2 584 43.7

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Equal Leg Angles

h,b t r1 r2 m A Ix Zx rx Iu Zu ru Iv Zv rv J ay
Designation
(mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (kg/m) E3 E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E6 E3 (mm) E3 (mm)
200x200x16 200 16 18 9 48.5 6.18 23.4 162 61.6 37.2 263 77.6 9.60 123 39.4 564 55.2
200x200x18 200 18 18 9 54.2 6.91 26.0 181 61.3 41.3 292 77.3 10.7 135 39.3 790 56.0
200x200x20 200 20 18 9 59.9 7.63 28.5 199 61.1 45.3 320 77.0 11.7 146 39.2 1069 56.8
200x200x24 200 24 18 9 71.1 9.06 33.3 235 60.6 52.8 374 76.4 13.8 167 39.0 1804 58.4

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 Chapter 3
STRESS AND STRAIN

3.1. Background
Stress analysis is a primary task for civil, mechanical and aerospace engineers involved
in the design of structures of all sizes, such as tunnels, bridges and dams, aircraft and
rocket bodies, mechanical parts, and even plastic cutlery and staples. Stress analysis is
also used in the maintenance of such structures, and to investigate the causes of
structural failures.

Typically, the starting point for stress analysis are a geometrical description of the
structure, the properties of the materials used for its parts, how the parts are joined,
and the maximum or typical forces that are expected to be applied to the structure. The
output data is typically a quantitative description of how the applied forces spread
throughout the structure, resulting in stresses, strains and the deflections of the entire
structure and each component of that structure. The analysis may consider forces that
vary with time, such as engine vibrations or the load of moving vehicles. In that case,
the stresses and deformations will also be functions of time and space.

In engineering, stress analysis is often a tool rather than a goal in itself; the ultimate
goal being the design of structures and artifacts that can withstand a specified load,
using the minimum amount of material or that satisfies some other optimality criterion.

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3.2. Chapter learning outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should:

3.2.1. Demonstrated a contextualized understanding and ability in determining the

stress and strains induced in a member, homogenous or composite member with
respect to:
 Axial effects
 Direct stress and strain
 Compound and series loading conditions
 Stress and strain relationships in compound members.
 Thermal strains and thermal stress (temperature changes acting in the member
(with the elastic range of the materials).
3.2.2. Demonstrate a contextualized understanding Shear Stress with particular
reference to Poison’s Ratio and the relationship between the elastic constants.

“Nothing happens until something moves.”― Albert Einstein

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3.3. Introduction
When a force is applied to an elastic body, the body deforms. The way in which the body
deforms depends upon the type of force applied to it.

3.4. Direct Stress

Stress is the mobilized internal force which resists any tendency towards deformation.
However, since it is more convenient to consider how these internal forces are distributed
over surfaces, the usual definition is to describe the force transmitted per unit area as
the intensity of stress or unit stress. Stressed is designated by the symbol sigma (𝜎), and
the units are Pascal (Pa) or N/m2.
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝐹
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝜎 = =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝐴

3.5. Direct Strain

Strain is the ratio of the change in a dimension to the original dimension value, i.e.
length divided by length, area divided by area, volume divided by volume, etc.
Consequently, strain is a dimensionless quantity and has no units.

𝜀
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 =
𝐿

It is quite normal to change small numbers in to the exponent for 10-6(micro strain).

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3.6. Sample Problems: Direct Stress and Strain

a. Determine the tensile stress induced in the rod shown on the right due to an axial
load 60 kN.

Solution:
𝐹
𝜎=
𝐴
60 × 103
𝜎=
(𝜋 × 102 )
= 190.986 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
b. A metal wire is 2.5mm diameter and 2m long. A force of 12N is applied to it and it
stretches 0.3mm. Assume the material is elastic. Determine:
i. The stress in the wire (𝜎)
ii. The strain in the wire (𝜀)

Solution:

𝐹
i. 𝜎=𝐴
12
𝜎=
(𝜋 × 1.252 )
𝜎 = 2.445 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
∆𝐿
ii. 𝜀= 𝐿
0.3
𝜀=
2000
𝜀 = 0.00015

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c. Determine both the compressive stress in shaft and the bearing stress at the base of
the column shown on the right due to an axial load of 10 MN.

Solution:
𝐹
𝜎𝑐 =
𝐴
10
𝜎𝑐 =
(0.8 × 0.8)
𝜎𝑐 = 15.625 𝑁/𝑚2
10
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 @ 𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝜎𝑏 =
1.5 × 1.5
𝜎𝑏 = 4.444 𝑀𝑁/𝑚2

3.7. Modulus of Elasticity

The relationship between the induced strain and the stress causing it is found to be
constant in elastic materials. According to Hooke’s law: strain is proportional to the
stress causing it, providing that the limit of proportionality has not been exceeded.

If a graph is produced of stress against strain as the load is gradually applied, then the
first portion of the graph will be straight line. The slope of this line is the constant of
proportionality known as the MODULUS OF ELASTICITY.

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The modulus of elasticity, E (Young’s modulus) is a material property, that describes its
stiffness and is therefore one of the most important properties of solid materials.

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3.7.1.Curve characteristics
Elastic behavior: the straight line portion of the graph between the origin and the elastic
limit; i.e. the portion over which Hooke’s law is obeyed.

Proportionality limit: This is the upper limit of the linear line of proportionality. The
material still responds elastically. The curve tends to bend and flatten out.

Elastic limit: the stress up to which complete recovery of the strain takes place upon
removal of the load.

Upper yield point: the stress at which the first sudden increase in strain occurs.

Lower yield point: the lowest value of stress during the first sudden yielding; usually this
can be located by using a controlled strain method of testing.

Ultimate or maximum stress: the maximum value of stress attained before the final rapid
yielding leading to failure.

The method that have been used to measure modulus of elasticity are the following:
tension (or compression) test, bending test and natural frequency vibration test. The
tension and bending test are based on the principle of Hook’s law and they are called
static methods. Measuring of the natural frequency of vibration gives dynamic modulus
of elasticity. At our laboratory lesson we will determine static modulus of elasticity.

The static method is based on pulling or bending a sample of the material in an

instrument which measures force and measuring the changes of the length. The change
of the length is usually very small (tenths – hundredths of mm) and it is impossible to
measure it by normal rules. For measuring are used special devices – extensometers.
There are several types of extensometers as mechanical or electrical strain gauges.

The test piece is mounted in the tensile testing machine which allows measurable forces
to be applied. As extensometer is used mechanical strain gauge.

Elastic Moduli for various materials are measured under various physical conditions,
such as varying temperature, and collected in engineering data tables for reference.
These tables are valuable reference for industry and anyone involved in engineering or
construction.

Elastic Moduli for various materials are measured under various physical conditions,
such as varying temperature, and collected in engineering data tables for reference.
These tables are valuable reference for industry and anyone involved in engineering or
construction.

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Table 3: Values of modulus of elasticity for some materials

Material Modulus of elasticity
(GPa)
Aluminium and its alloys 65 – 73
Ceramics 8 -12
Concrete 15 – 40
Copper 125
Diamond 1000
Polystyrene 3.2 – 3.5
Silica glass 60 – 90
Wood 11 – 16
Low alloy steels 200 – 210
Stainless steel 205 – 215
Titanium alloy 120 – 140
Brass 75 – 100
Cast iron 180 - 210

3.7.2.Sample Problems: Modulus of elasticity

a. A steel wire is attached to the ceiling. The stress applied to the wire is 6.37x10 7 Pa
and the strain is 3.08 x 10-4. Find the modulus of elasticity for steel.
Solution:
𝜎
𝐸=
𝜀
6.37 × 107
𝐸=
3.08 × 10−4
𝐸 = 206.818 × 109 𝑁/𝑚2 (Pa)
b. Determine the increase in length of a steel tie-rod 3m long and 30mm diameter when
subjected to a tensile load of 120 kN. E=205 kN/mm2.
Solution:
𝐹𝐿
∆𝐿 =
𝐴𝐸
120 × 3 × 103
∆𝐿 =
(𝜋 × 152 ) × 205
∆𝐿 = 2.48𝑚𝑚

c. A steel column is 3m long and 0.4m in diameter. It carries a load of 50MN. Given
that the modulus of elasticity is 200 GPa, calculate the compressive stress and strain
and determine how much the column is compressed.
Solution:
𝐹
𝜎=
𝐴
50 × 106
𝜎=
𝜋 × 0.22
𝜎 = 397.887 × 106 𝑁/𝑚2
𝜎
𝐸=
𝜀
𝜎
𝜀=
𝐸

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397.887 × 106
𝜀=
200 × 109
𝜀 = 0.00199
∆𝐿
𝜀=
𝐿𝑂
∆𝐿 = 𝜀𝐿𝑂
∆𝐿 = 0.00199 × 3000
∆𝐿 = 5.968𝑚𝑚
d. A mass concrete pier of rectangular cross-section 600mm x 800mm and 2,20 m long
carries an axial compressive load of 2,5 MN.
Determine:
i. The stress at the base of the pier due to the axial compressive load.
ii. The total stress in the concrete at the base of the pier (in 𝑘𝑁/mm2).
iii. The amount of shortening that will occur in the pier (in mm).
iv. What should the diameter of the base be if the bearing capacity of the soil is
0,5MPa?
The density of concrete = 2500 kg/m3); Young′s modulus = 13 kN/mm2.

Solution:

i.
𝐹
𝜎=
𝐴

2.5 × 106
𝜎=
600 × 800

𝜎 = 5.208 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

ii.
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 = 0.6 × 0.8 × 2.2 × 2500 × 9.81 = 25898.400 𝑁

25898.400 + (2.5 × 106 )

𝜎𝑇𝑂𝑇𝐴𝐿 =
600 × 800

𝜎𝑇𝑂𝑇𝐴𝐿 = 5.262 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

iii.
𝜎
𝜀=
𝐸

5.262
𝜀=
13 × 103

𝜀 = 0.000405

∆𝐿 = 𝜀𝐿𝑜

∆𝐿 = 0.000405 × 2200

∆𝐿 = 0.891𝑚𝑚
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iv.

2525898.4 × 4
0.5 × 106 =
𝜋 × 𝐷2

2525898.4 × 4
𝐷=√
𝜋 × 0.5 × 106

𝐷 = 2.536𝑚

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e. The data provided in the table below was recorded during a tensile test on a mild
steel test piece of circular cross-section. Initial diameter of cross-section = 25mm,
gauge length =250mm, diameter of cross-section at fracture after failure =18.6mm.
Plot the load/extension graph and from it find:
i. The modulus of elastic
ii. The limit of proportionality
iii. The yield stress
iv. The percentage elongation
v. The ultimate or maximum stress
vi. Failing stress

Load (kN) Extension (mm)

20 0,05
40 0,1
60 0,16
80 0,21
100 0,26
120 0,31
140 0,36
150 0,38
160 0,41
170 0,44
172 0,47
174 0,5
176 0,55
175 0,62
178 0,72
180 0,76
190 0,9
200 1,07
210 1,25
220 1,46
230 1,7
240 1,99
250 2,51
257 3,12
260 3,75
261 4,5
259 5
256 5,4
250 5,6
242 5,8
229 5,85

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Solution:

Extension vs Load
300

250

200
Load (kN)

150

100

50

0
0,00 1,00 2,00 3,00 4,00 5,00 6,00 7,00
Extension (mm)

i. The modulus of elasticity is determined from the slope of the straight portion of
the graph.
A change in load of 120 kN produces a change in length of 0.31mm
1
Area cross-section = 4 × 𝜋 × 252 = 491𝑚𝑚
120×250
Therefore modulus of elasticity, 𝐸 = 491×0.31
= 197 𝑘𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
ii. From the graph, the load at the limit of proportionality, i.e. the end of the straight
line, is found to be 166 kN.
166 × 103
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 = = 338𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
491
iii. From the graph the load at yield point = 176kN.
176 × 103
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = = 359𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
491
iv. From the graph, the load at failure = 239 kN
239 × 103 × 4
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 = = 897 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2
𝜋 × 18.62

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3.8. Compound members

Sometimes we have to deal with members that are made up of two or more different
materials under axial load. From the relationship: 𝐸 =stress/strain, we can see that
different materials having different E values will give different relationships between
stress and strain.

Let us consider members connected in PARALLEL:

𝜀𝐴 = 𝜀𝐵

𝜎𝐴 𝜎𝐴
𝐸𝐴 = → 𝜀𝐴 =
𝜀𝐴 𝐸𝐴
𝜎𝐵 𝜎𝐵
𝐸𝐵 = → 𝜀𝐵 =
𝜀𝐵 𝐸𝐵

𝐵𝑢𝑡, 𝜀𝐴 = 𝜀𝐵

𝜎𝐴 𝜎𝐵
∴ =
𝐸𝐴 𝐸𝐵

𝜎𝐴 𝐸𝐴
∴ = MODLAR RATIO
𝜎𝐵 𝐸𝐵

𝐹𝑇 = 𝐹𝐴 + 𝐹𝐵

𝐹𝑇 = 𝜎𝐴 𝐴𝐴 + 𝜎𝐵 𝐴𝐵

𝜀𝐴 = 𝜀𝐵

𝐹𝐴 𝐿𝐴
∆𝐿𝐴 =
𝐴𝐴 𝐸𝐴

𝐹𝐵 𝐿𝐵
∆𝐿𝐵 =
𝐴𝐵 𝐸𝐵

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Let us now consider compound members in SERIES:

𝜀𝑇 = 𝜀𝐴 + 𝜀𝐵

∆𝐿 𝑇 = ∆𝐿𝐴 + ∆𝐿𝐵

𝐹𝐴 𝐿𝐴 𝐹𝐵 𝐿𝐵
∆𝐿𝐴 = +
𝐴𝐴 𝐸𝐴 𝐴𝐵 𝐸𝐵

𝐹𝑇 = 𝐹𝐴 = 𝐹𝐵

𝐹𝑇 = 𝜎𝐴 𝐴𝐴 = 𝜎𝐵 𝐴𝐵

3.8.1.Sample Problems: Compound members

a) A short reinforced concrete column is 450mm x 450mm and contains four steel bars
of 25mm diameter. Determine the stress in the steel and the concrete when the total
load on the column is 1.5 MN. Elastic moduli: steel =210 kN/mm2, concrete = 14
kN/mm2.
Solution:
The members are compound parallel members
𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 210
= = 15
𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 14
∴ 𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 15𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒

𝐹𝑇 = 𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 + 𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒

𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 4 × (𝜋 × 12.52 ) = 1963.495𝑚𝑚2

𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 = (450 × 450) − 1963.495 = 200536.505𝑚𝑚2

1.5 × 106 = (15𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 × 1963.495) + (𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 × 200536.505)

1.5 × 106 = 29452.425𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 + 200536.505𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒

𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 = 6.522 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 15𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒

∴ 𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 15 × 6.522

𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 97.831 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

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b) A rigid horizontal beam of length 1.5m carries a uniform inclusive load of 4kN. The
beam is supported by three vertical wires, each initially 2.4m long when unstressed;
two brass wires of diameter 4.0mm are attached to the ends of the beam and a steel
wire of diameter 1.8mm is attached to the mid-point. Determine the stresses and
elongations occurring in the wires due to the loading described. Young’s moduli:
steel = 205 kN/mm2; brass = 85 kN/mm2.
Solution:
The members are compound parallel members
𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 205
= = 2.412
𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 85

𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 2.412𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝐹𝑇 = 𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 + 𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝐴𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = (𝜋 × 0.92 ) = 2.545𝑚𝑚2

𝐴𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 2 × (𝜋 × 22 ) = 25.133𝑚𝑚2

4 × 103 = (2.412𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 2.545) + (𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 25.133)

4 × 103 = 6.139𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 + 25.133𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠

𝜎𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 127.910 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

∴ 𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 2.412 × 127.910 = 308.519 𝑁/𝑚𝑚2

𝜎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙
𝜀𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 𝜀𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑠 =
𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙

308.519
𝜀𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = = 0.00151
205 × 103

∆𝐿 = 𝜀𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 × 𝐿𝑜 = 0.00151 × 2400 = 3.612𝑚𝑚

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c) The length of the rod shown below, before it is loaded is 300mm. It is loaded with a
force of 150KN. Calculate:
i. The diameter of the steel section of the rod if the stress in it is 210 MPa.
ii. The lengths of copper and steel if the total extension of 0.27mm is reached.
Es=210 kN/mm2 and Ec = 90 kN/mm2.

Solution:

i. These are compound members in series. The force in the steel rod is the same
as that in the copper.
𝐹𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 = 150𝑘𝑁
𝐹
𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑙 =
𝐴
150 × 103 × 4
210 =
𝜋 × 𝐷2
150 × 103 × 4
𝐷=√
210 × 𝜋
𝐷 = 30.157𝑚𝑚
ii. ∆𝐿 = ∆𝐿1 + ∆𝐿2
𝐹1 𝐿1 𝐹2 𝐿2
∆𝐿 = +
𝐴1 𝐸1 𝐴2 𝐸2
𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑒 𝑥 𝑚𝑚 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔
150 × 103 × 𝑥 150 × 103 × (300 − 𝑥)
0.27 = +
𝜋 × 252 × 90 × 103 210 × 103 × 𝜋 × 15.12

0.27 = 8.5 × 10−4 𝑥 − 9.97 × 10−4 𝑥 + 0.299

1.47 × 10−4 𝑥 = 0.029

𝑥 = 197𝑚𝑚

∴ 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑑 = 197𝑚𝑚

length of steel rod = 103mm

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3.9. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

After completing this chapter, you should:

Demonstrated a contextualized understanding and ability in determining the stress and

strains induced in a member, homogenous or composite member with respect to:

 Axial effects
 Direct stress and strain
 Compound and series loading conditions
 Stress and strain relationships in compound members.
 Thermal strains and thermal stress (temperature changes acting in the member
(with the elastic range of the materials).

Demonstrate a contextualized understanding Shear Stress with particular reference to

Poison’s Ratio and the relationship between the elastic constants.

“I tend to approach things from a physics framework. And physics teaches you to reason from first
principles rather than by analogy.” Elon Musk

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CHAPTER 4
SHEAR FORCE AND BENDING MOMENT

4.1. Background
In chapter 1 we characterized a beam as a member subject to lateral loading in which
the developed resistance to deformation is of a flexural character. The main load-effect
that a beam is intended to sustain is that of bending moment, but, furthermore, the
impact of shearing force must be considered as well.

Beams are generally placed horizontally; the amount and extent of external load which
a beam can carry depends upon:

 The distance between supports and the overhanging lengths from supports;
 The type and intensity of load;
 The type of supports; and
 The cross-section and elasticity of the beam

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4.2. Chapter Learning outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 determining the reactions (any type of loading condition) of statically determinate

beams with the emphasis on calculating and constructing the Shear Force and
Bending Moment diagrams.
 define the relationship between Load, Shear Force and Bending Moment.
 determining the Shear Force and Bending Moment anywhere along a statistically
determinate beam.
 determining the point/s of contraflexure or point/s inflexion (zero moment),
maximum moment and zero shearing.

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4.3. Introduction
Shear and bending moment diagrams are analytical tools used in conjunction with
structural analysis to help perform structural design by determining the value of shear
force and bending moment at a given point of a structural element such as a beam.
These diagrams can be used to easily determine the type, size, and material of a member
in a structure so that a given set of loads can be supported without structural failure.
Another application of shear and moment diagrams is that the deflection of a beam can
be easily determined using either the moment area method or the conjugate beam
method.

4.4. Types of beams

As already indicated in chapter 1 of these notes, the following are the important types of
beams:

1. Cantilever beam,
2. Simply supported beam,
3. Overhanging beam,
4. Fixed beams, and
5. Continuous beam.

Figure 17: Types of beams

4.5. Shear Force

A shear force (SF) is defined as the algebraic sum of all the vertical forces, either to the
left or to the right hand side of the section.

Sign convention
Working towards the right side of a section, external force acting in upward direction is
treated as negative (remember this convention as RUN —» Right side of a section Upward
force is Negative). It is automatic that a downward force acting to the right side of a
section be treated as positive. The signs become just reversed when we consider left side
of section.
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4.6. Bending moment

A bending moment (BM) is defined as the algebraic sum of the moments of all the forces
either to the left or to the right of a section.

Sign convention
The internal resistive moment at the section that would make the beam to sag (means
to sink down, droop) is treated to be positive. A sagged beam will bend such that it
exhibits concave curvature at top and convex curvature at bottom.

The internal resistive moment that would hog the beam is treated as negative. A hogged
beam will show convex curvature at top and concave curvature at bottom.

4.7. Shear Force Diagram (SDF) and Bending Moment Diagrams (BMD)
It is also understood that the magnitude of bending moment and shear force varies at
different cross sections over the beam. The diagram depicting variation of bending
moment and shear force over the beam is called bending moment diagram [BMD] and
shear force diagram [SFD]. Such graphic representation is useful in determining where
the maximum shearing force and bending moment occur, and we need this information
to calculate the maximum shear stress and the maximum bending stress in a beam. The
moment diagram can also be used to predict the qualitative shape of the deflected axis
of a beam.

4.8. General guidelines on construction of SFD and BMD

Before we proceed to solving problems, several standard procedures (or practices) in
relation with construction of shear force and bending moment diagrams need to be
noted.

1. The load, shear and bending moment diagrams should be constructed one below
the other, in that order, all with the same horizontal scale.
2. The dimension on the beam need not be scaled but should be relative and
proportionate (a 3 m span length should not look more than 5 m length!).
3. Ordinates (i.e., BM and SF values) need not be plotted to scale but should be
relative. Curvature may need to be exaggerated for clarity.
4. Principal ordinates (BM and SF values at salient points) should be labeled on both
SFD and BMD.
5. A clear distinction must be made on all straight lines as to whether the line is
horizontal or has a positive or negative slope.

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4.9. Maximum bending moment

Maximum bending moment occurs at the point of zero shearing force.

4.10. Point of contraflexure

At a point on the beam where the type of bending is changing from sagging to hogging,
the bending moment must be zero, and this is called a point of inflection or
contraflexure (POC).

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4.11. Sample Problems: SDF and BMD

1. A cantilever beam of length 2m carries the point loads as shown the figure below.
Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams (SFD and BMD) for the
cantilever beam.

Solution:
Reactions:
∑𝑉 = 0
𝑉𝐴 − 300 − 500 − 800 = 0
𝑽𝑨 = 𝟏𝟔𝟎𝟎𝑵 (↑)
∑ 𝑀𝐴 = 0
−𝑀𝐴 + (300 × 0.5) + (500 × 1.2) + (800 × 2) = 0
𝑴𝑨 = 𝟐𝟑𝟓𝟎𝑵𝒎 (⟲)

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2. A simply supported beam of length 6m carries point load of 3kN and 6Kn at distances
2m and 4m from the left end. Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams
(SFD and BMD) for the beam.

Solution:
Reactions:
∑ 𝑀𝐴 = 0
−6𝑉𝐵 + (3 × 2) + (6 × 4) = 0
𝑉𝐵 = 5𝑘𝑁
∑ 𝑀𝐵 = 0
6𝑉𝐴 − (3 × 4) − (6 × 2) = 0
𝑉𝐴 = 4𝑘𝑁

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3. Draw the SFD and BMD for the overhanging beam carrying uniformly distributed
load of 2kN/m over the entire length and a point load of 2kN as shown in the figure
below.

Solutions:

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4. Draw the SFD and BMD for the overhanging beam carrying uniformly distributed
load of 12kN/m for 2m of the length from the right and a point load of 2.4kN at the
right end as shown in the figure below.

Solution:
∑ 𝑀𝐴 = 0
−3.2𝑉𝐵 = −(12 × 1.6 × 0.8) − (2.4 × 4.8)
𝑉𝐵 = 8.400𝑘𝑁 (↑)
∑ 𝑀𝐵 = 0
3.2𝑉𝐴 = (12 × 1.6 × 2.4) − (2.4 × 1.6)
𝑉𝐴 = 13.2𝑘𝑁 (↑)

𝑥 1.6
=
13.2 19.2
𝑥 = 1.1𝑚

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4.12. Review exercises: Shear force and bending moment

For the beams shown below draw the SFD and BMD

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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6. Determine the magnitude of the SF & BM at point K (0,6m from B):

7. Determine the magnitude of the SF & BM at point K (0,75m from D):

4.13. Using Computer application: Prokon’s Frame Analysis module

Prokon’s frame analysis module is used to perform static and dynamic analyses of
framed structures made up of beam, shell and/or solid finite elements.

We will use the following example:

4.13.1. Step 1: Settings

The first step is to set the domain of your model into the correct domain (XY Plane for
our context). To do this you need to go to the setting stab of the module:

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You can set the domain of your model:

 Full 3D (Space Frame): Analysis of three-dimensional structures made up of

beam and/or shell elements and design of concrete shells (requires the 3D add-
on module).
 XY Plane (Plane Frame): Analysis of a frames in a vertical (X-Y) plane.
 XZ Plane (Grillage): Analysis of a structure in a horizontal (X-Z) plane.
 XYZ Space (Space Truss): Analysis of three-dimensional trusses where only axial
forces are considered (requires the 3D add-on module).

For the purpose of analysis shear force and bending moments in beams you will select
XY Plane (Plane Frame), and click ok on the Warning popup, and set up the rest of the
settings as shown below:

4.13.2. Step 2: Input-General

Click on the input tab:

In the general tab select: Do not add own weight

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4.13.3. Step 3: Nodes

Populate the node number, X co-ordinate and Y co-ordinates as shown below:

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4.13.4. Step 4: Beams Sections

Click on the Beams Section tab

Select a profile from the Section Database using the Sections button, or manually enter
the section properties for each section name used in the Beams input table.

In the Section Name Column, give the section a name e.g. A

Click your cursor in the Beam Section designation column, and then click Sections:

Select a section from the section database e.g. 305 x 165 x 40 I-section:

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Then your table will update as follows:

4.13.5. Step 5: Beams

Click on Beams tab

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Define the beam as follows:

4.13.6. Step 6: Supports

Frames require external supports to ensure global stability. Supports can be entered to
prevent any of the six degrees of freedom at a node, i.e. translation in the X Y and Z-
directions and rotation about the X, Y and Z-axes. You can also define elastic supports,
e.g. an elastic soil support, and prescribed displacements, e.g. foundation settlement.

Enter the node number to be supported in the Node No column. In the next column a
combination of the letters 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' can be entered to indicate the direction of fixity.
Use capitals and lowercase to define restraint of translation and rotation respectively,
e.g. 'XYZy' means fixed against movement in the X, Y and Z-direction and rotation about
the Y-axis.

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4.13.7. Step 7: Nodal Loads

Loads on beam elements are categorised as nodal loads, i.e. loads at node points, and
element loads, i.e. loads between nodes. Uniform distributed loads can be applied to
shell elements.

All loads are organised in load cases, e.g. 'DL' for own weight, 'ADL' for additional dead
loads, 'LL' for live load, etc. Load cases apply equally to the various load input screens,
meaning that you can build up a load case using different types of loads.

To define a load case, type a descriptive name for each load case in the Load Case
column. Use up to six characters to describe each load case. If the load case name is not
entered, the load case applicable to the previous line in the table is used.

If you are performing a stage analysis, then enter the starting and ending stage number
for each load, e.g. '3-5' from stages 2 through 5. If you omit the ending stage, then the
program assume the last stage in the analysis, e.g. '2' means stage 2 to the final stage.
You can configure construction stages in the stage analysis parameters input.

A nodal load can, as its name implies, only be applied at a node. If a point load is required
on an element, use the beam loads input or shell loads input table instead.

Sign conventions

Nodal loads are applied parallel to the global axes

4.13.8. Step 8: Beam loads

Distributed loads and point loads on beam elements are all referred to as beam loads.
The Nodal loads input page provides the easiest way of applying point loads and
moments at nodes.

The load direction is entered in the Direction column. Enter a global direction 'X', 'Y' or
'Z'. Element loads are applied to the relevant projected length of the elements. Therefore,
if a 'Y' load is entered for a vertical element, for example, the resulting load will be zero.
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You can also load a beam element parallel to its local y-axis by setting the load direction
to 'L', or parallel to its local x-axis by setting the direction to 'K'.

4.13.9. Step 9: Analysis

To analyse the structure, go to the Analysis tab and press Start Analysis:

The analysis progress (including any load steps or iterations) is displayed to help you
judge the time remaining to complete the analysis.

After a successful analysis, the deflected shape is displayed for the first load case or load
combination or, in the case of modal or buckling analysis, the first mode shape.

The program calculates the structure's deformation and internal forces at the ultimate
(ULS) and serviceability limit states (SLS):

 Deflections are calculated for the SLS load combinations as well as for individual
load cases (if included in the analysis).
 Reactions is also calculated for the ULS load combinations at ultimate limit state
as well as for individual load cases (if included in the analysis). A second set of
reactions are calculated at SLS for the purposes of evaluating support stability
and bearing pressures.
 Element forces are determined for the ULS load combinations as well as for
individual load cases (if included in the analysis).

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4.13.10. Step 10: View Output

You can view the analysis results graphically: deflections, beam member forces, shell
stress and concrete reinforcement, and solid element stresses. All diagrams offer the
following functionality:

 Select a load case or combination to display.

 If you are performing a stage analysis, select a stage to display. You can define
the stages retained in the analysis output in the stage analysis options.
 Limit the elements displayed by using group numbers in conjunction with the or
the group numbers control or the graphics options.
 Send the current diagram to the Calcsheets by clicking the Add to Calcsheets
button.

Reactions
The ULS reactions forces and moments at all supported nodes are displayed. The
arrowheads point in the direction of each reaction.

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Shear Forces
Shear: Shear force diagrams are drawn for the local y and x-directions. A beam element's
shear force diagram is constructed by viewing it with its local z-axis pointing to the right.
Since the direction of the z-axis depends on the node numbers, irregular numbering of
nodes can result in apparent irregular signs used in the shear force diagrams. Click here
for detail on the sign conventions used for beam element forces.

Bending Moment
Moments: Bending moments about the local x and y-axes. A plot factor can also be
entered to enlarge or reduce the bending moment diagram on the frame.

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Calcsheets
You can assemble model input and analysis output on the Calcsheets for printing or
sending to PROKON Calcpad.

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4.14. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 determining the reactions (any type of loading condition) of statically determinate

beams with the emphasis on calculating and constructing the Shear Force and
Bending Moment diagrams.
 define the relationship between Load, Shear Force and Bending Moment.
 determining the Shear Force and Bending Moment anywhere along a statistically
determinate beam.
 determining the point/s of contraflexure or point/s inflexion (zero moment),
maximum moment and zero shearing.

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CHAPTER 5
ANALYSIS OF STATICAL LY DETERMIANTE PIN-JOINTED TRUSSES

5.1. Background
A truss is one of the major types of engineering structures which provides a practical
and economical solution for many engineering constructions, especially in the design of
bridges and buildings that demand large spans. A truss is a structure composed of
slender members joined together at their end points. The joint connections are usually
formed by bolting or welding the ends of the members to a common plate called gusset.
Planar trusses lie in a single plane & is often used to support roof or bridges.

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5.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 determine the conditions of static determinacy.

 understand as to the flow of forces when external loads are applied to the truss.
 determine the magnitude and nature of the member of the truss using the
Method of Sections.

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5.3. Introduction
Generally the form selected for a truss depends upon the purpose for which it is required.

5.4. Roof Trusses

Roof trusses are often used as part of an industrial building frame. Roof load is
transmitted to the truss at the joints by means of a series of purlins. To keep the frame
rigid & thereby capable of resisting horizontal wind forces, knee braces are sometimes
used at the supporting column.

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5.5. Bridge Trusses

The main structural elements of a typical bridge truss are shown in figure. Here it is
seen that a load on the deck is first transmitted to stringers, then to floor beams, and
finally to the joints of the two supporting side trusses. The top and bottom cords of these
side trusses are connected by top and bottom lateral bracing, which serves to resist the
lateral forces caused by wind and the sidesway caused by moving vehicles on the bridge.
Additional stability is provided by the portal and sway bracing. As in the case of many
long-span trusses, a roller is provided at one end of a bridge truss to allow for thermal
expansion.

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In particular, the Pratt, Howe, and Warren trusses are normally used for spans up to 61
m in length. The most common form is the Warren truss with verticals.

For larger spans, a truss with a polygonal upper cord, such as the Parker truss, is
used for some savings in material.

The Warren truss with verticals can also be fabricated in this manner for spans up to
91 m.

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The greatest economy of material is obtained if the diagonals have a slope between 450
and 600 with the horizontal. If this rule is maintained, then for spans greater than 91m,
the depth of the truss must increase and consequently the panels will get longer.

This results in a heavy deck system and, to keep the weight of the deck within tolerable
limits, subdivided trusses have been developed. Typical examples include the Baltimore
and subdivided Warren trusses.

The K-truss shown below can also be used in place of a subdivided truss, since it
accomplishes the same purpose.

5.6. Assumptions for analysis

The following assumptions are made when analyzing trusses:

 The members are joined together by smooth pins

 All loadings are applied at the joints

Due to the 2 assumptions, each truss member acts as an axial force member.

5.7. Determinacy
When all the forces (reactions) in a structure can be determined from the equilibrium
equations its called statically determinate structure. The basic triangular pin-jointed
unit is statically determinate.
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The following formula is used to test the determinacy of a structure:

𝑚 = 2𝑗 – 3

m = number of members

j = number of joints

5.8. Method of section

The following principles and conditions apply when applying the method of section:

 Principle: If a body is in equilibrium, then any part of the body is also in

equilibrium.
 Forces in few particular members can be directly found out quickly without
solving each joint of the truss sequentially.
 A section need not be straight.
 More than one section can be used to solve a given problem.

The following steps may be followed:

1. Establish the truss determinacy.

2. Find the magnitude and direction of the horizontal and vertical; components of
the reactions at the supports, if this is required.
3. Draw a line through the truss which cut the truss in two, passing through
among other the member(s) in which the force is required.
4. Do not cut more than three members in which the forces are unknown.
5. Consider either the left or right portion of the truss cut line, draw its free body
diagram assuming the nature of the unknown forces in the cut members.
6. Apply the equations of equilibrium to the free body diagram and solve the
unknown forces.

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5.9. Sample Problem No. 1: Analysis of statically determinate pin-jointed

trusses using method of section.
I. In the truss shown below: Calculate the magnitude and nature of the forces in
members: DE; DF and CE. (Assume each member is pin connected). NB: The vertical
height of the truss is 1m.

Solution:

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II. In the truss shown below: Calculate the magnitude and nature of the forces in
members: CD; CF and GF. (Assume each member is pin connected).

Solution:
Reactions:
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙
∴ 𝑉𝐴 = 𝑉𝐸
10 + 20 + 10
𝑉𝐴 = 𝑉𝐵 = = 20 𝑘𝑁
2
𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝐶𝐷, 𝐶𝐹 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝐺 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒
𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 − ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑠:

𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐹

∑ 𝑀𝐹 = 0
−(𝐶𝐷 × 4) − (20 × 3) = 0
𝐶𝐷 = −15 𝑘𝑁 (𝑐)
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𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑢𝑚

∑𝑉 = 0
𝐶𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛53.130 + 20 − 10 = 0
𝐶𝐹 = −12.5 𝑘𝑁 (𝑐)
𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐶
∑ 𝑀𝐶 = 0
(𝐺𝐹 × 4) + (10 × 3) − (20 × 6) = 0
𝐺𝐹 = 22.5 𝑘𝑁 (𝑐)

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III. In the truss shown below: Calculate the magnitude and nature of the forces in
members: FH; GH and GI. (Assume each member is pin connected).

Solution:

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IV. In the truss shown below: Calculate the magnitude and nature of the forces in
members: BC; GC and GF. (Assume each member is pin connected).

Solution:

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5.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 determine the conditions of static determinacy.

 understand as to the flow of forces when external loads are applied to the truss.
 determine the magnitude and nature of the member of the truss using the
Method of Sections.

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CHAPTER 6
DEFLECTION OF BEAMS

6.1. Background
Because the design of beams is frequently governed by rigidity rather than strength. For
example, building codes specify limits on deflections as well as stresses. Excessive
deflection of a beam not only is visually disturbing but also may cause damage to other
parts of the building.

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6.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 Calculate deflection of beams;

 Using the double integration method;
 Macaulay’s bracket method.
 determine the displacement and slopes at various points on statically determinate
beams, using Integration methods.

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6.3. Introduction
When a loaded beam is analyzed, another factor that has to be considered in addition to
shear force and bending moment and stress, is deflection. The stiffness of a beam is a
measure of the resistance it has to bending deformation: the stiffer the beam, the less it
will bend. The amount of deflection that takes place in a structural member must be
limited since excessive deflection ca be unsightly and cause damage.

6.4. Deflection of beams

A beam in bending adopts a curved shape and hence has a radius R as shown below:

The curvature of an arc of radius R, is given by

𝑑𝑦
In practice, the bending of beams and hence the slope is very small, so that the term
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑦 2
(𝑑𝑥 ) is negligible.

1 𝑑2 𝑦
∴ = … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … (1)
𝑅 𝑑𝑥 2

Expanding on the theory of elastic bending, it can also be shown that

𝑀 𝑓 𝐸
= =
𝐼 𝑦 𝑅

Where E = young’s modulus and R = radius of curvature of the beam. Using only the
first and last terms of this expression:

𝑀 𝐸
=
𝐼 𝑅
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1 𝑀
∴ = … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . (2)
𝑅 𝐸𝐼

From equations (1) and (2)

𝑀 𝑑2 𝑦
=
𝐸𝐼 𝑑𝑥 2

Or

𝑑2 𝑦
𝐸𝐼 = =𝑀
𝑑𝑥 2

This is called the general differential deflection equation.

6.5. Integration method for calculation deflections of beams

The general differential equation for deflection is used and the procedure is as follows:

1. With the left end of the beam as the origin, set up an equation for bending moment
at a point x meters along the beam.
2. Integrate this expression to obtain the general slope equation, and solve any
integration constants where possible.
3. Integrate the general slope equation to obtain the general deflection equation and
solve any integration constants.

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6.6. Sample problems: Deflection of beams – Integration method

I. Calculate the maximum deflection for the beam shown below.

Solution:
𝑑2 𝑦 𝑊𝑥 2
𝐸𝐼 2 = −
𝑑𝑥 2
𝑑𝑦 𝑊𝑥 3
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒: 𝐸𝐼 =− +𝐶
𝑑𝑥 6
𝑑𝑦
𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒, = 0 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 = 𝑙
𝑑𝑥
𝑊𝑙 3
∴ 𝐸𝐼(0) = +𝐶
6
𝑊𝑙 3
∴𝐶=
6
𝑑𝑦 𝑊𝑥 3 𝑊𝑙 3
∴ 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠: 𝐸𝐼 =− +
𝑑𝑥 6 6
4 3
𝑊𝑙 𝑊𝑙 𝑥
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒: 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = − + + 𝐶2
24 6
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑦 = 0 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 = 𝑙
𝑊𝑙 4 𝑊𝑙 3
∴ 𝐸𝐼(0) = − + + 𝐶2
24 6
𝑊𝑙 4
∴ 𝐶2 =
8
𝑊𝑥 4 𝑊𝑙 3 𝑥 𝑊𝑙 4
∴ 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = − + −
24 6 8
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 = 0
𝑊𝑙 4
∴ 𝐸𝐼𝑦 max = 0 + 0 −
8
4
𝑊𝑙
∴ 𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥 = −
8𝐸𝐼

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II. Calculate the max deflection for the beam shown below.

Solution:
𝑇ℎ𝑒 max 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛.

𝑙
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 0 < 𝑥 <
2
𝑑2 𝑦 𝑊𝑥
𝐸𝐼 2
=−
𝑑𝑥 2
𝑑𝑦 𝑊𝑥 2
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒: 𝐸𝐼 = + 𝐶1
𝑑𝑥 4
𝑑𝑦 𝑙
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = 0 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 =
𝑑𝑥 2
𝑊𝑙 2
∴ 𝐸𝐼(0) = + 𝐶1
16
𝑊𝑙 2
∴ 𝐶1 =
16
𝑊𝑥 2 𝑊𝑙 2
∴ 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠: 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = −
4 16
3 2
𝑊𝑥 𝑊𝑙 𝑥
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒: 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = − + 𝐶2
12 16
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑦) = 0 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 = 0
∴ 𝐶2 = 0
𝑊𝑥 3 𝑊𝑙 2 𝑥
∴ 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = −
12 16
𝑙
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 =
2
3 2
𝑊𝑙 𝑊𝑙 𝑙
∴ 𝐸𝐼𝑦 = − ( )
96 16 2
𝑊𝑙 3
∴ 𝑌𝑚𝑎𝑥 = −
48𝐸𝐼
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑, 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑦:
𝑢𝑝𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 = 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒
𝐷𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 = 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒
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6.7. Standard beam cases

The application of the integration method is relatively quick when applied to beams with
simple, symmetrical loading. However, any deviation from this results in a laborious and
tedious calculation process, and quicker methods are employed their solution, as will be
seen later. Table have been drawn up to be used when finding deflection for so called
standard cases, some of which are listed below.

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6.8. Macaulay’s integration method for calculating deflections of beams

When relatively complex loading systems are present on a beam, Macaulay’s Method will
yield a much quicker solution compared to the integration method, because the
integration constants are minimized. It is an adaptation of the integration method, and
the procedure is as follows:

1. Take the origin at the extreme left end of the beam. For cantilevers use the free
extreme end of the beam.
2. Consider a point just left of the extreme right end of the beam, and write down
the bending moment at this point of the forces left of the point.

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(𝑥−𝑎)2 (𝑥−𝑏)3
3. When integrating terms like (x-a) and (x-b)2, they become 2
and 3
. Note
the difference between this method and mathematical integration of terms in
brackets.
4. When substituting values for x into the brackets, terms that become zero or
negative are ignored.

Note: This method is only applicable to beams where:

a. The material remains constant i.e. the E value does not change and
b. The shape of the cross-section remains constant, i.e. the I –value does not change
over the whole length of the beam.

These conditions are also summarized as a beam having a constant flexural rigidity,
which is a product of E and I. One sometimes deals with cases where the cross-section
does vary, and later on in this course we will see how to handle this problem.

6.9. Beams with partial uniformly distributed loads

Consider the following beams:

Using Macaulay’s method, the differential equation for deflection for the first problem is:

𝑑2 𝑦
𝐸𝐼 =𝑚
𝑑𝑥 2

𝑑2 𝑦
∴ 𝐸𝐼 = 25𝑥 − 50(𝑥 − 2) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … (1)
𝑑𝑥 2

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This expression will yield the correct value for the maximum deflection, a fact which can
be borne out with the standadard tables for deflection.

If we consider the second problem, we will get:

𝑑2 𝑦
𝐸𝐼 =𝑀
𝑑𝑥 2

𝑑2 𝑦
∴ 𝐸𝐼 = 25(𝑥) − 50(𝑥 − 2) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (2)
𝑑𝑥 2

We note that equations (1) and (20 are equal, which immediately tells us that something
must be wrong, as the maximum deflections for these two problems cannot be the same.
Since problem 1 is correct, the fault lies with problem 2. Fortunately Macaulay’s method
has devised a way of dealing with partial UDLs.

The golden rule:

Whenever a partially distributed UDL is encountered, the UDL must be extended to the
limit of x. If not, it must be made to do so and an adjustment made to compensate for
this extension.

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6.10. Sample Problems: Deflection of beams – Macaulay’s Method

I. For the beam shown below, calculate:
a. The deflection at a point 2m away from the left support
b. The maximum deflection.

Solution:

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II. For the beam shown below, calculate:

a. The deflection under the point load
b. The maximum deflection.

Solution:

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III. Calculate the maximum deflection for the beam shown below.

Solution:

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6.11. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 Calculate deflection of beams;

 Using the double integration method;
 Macaulay’s bracket method.
 determine the displacement and slopes at various points on statically determinate
beams, using Integration methods.

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CHAPTER 7
THEORY OF ELASTIC BENDING

7.1. Background
When a beam is subjected to lateral loads it bends until either a state of equilibrium is
reached, or the beams fails. One of the main aims in designing beams is to ensure that,
under the application of the full working loads, the beam reaches a state of equilibrium
at which the stresses induced in the fibres are just below the maximum permitted values.
This chapter will analyze the stress states induced in beams due to lateral loading.

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7.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 Determine the flexural stresses which develop in the statically determinate beam,
with emphasis on determining the size/ load of the beam.
 Derive the bending formula;
 Determine the moment of resistances of a given beam section;
 Select a suitable beam section;
 Derive the stress formula;
 Calculate the distribution of shear stress in various construction sections.

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7.3. Introduction
The aspects of Physics II dealt with in the preceding chapters all serve as building blocks
to the ultimate goal, namely the design of a structural member. This chapter focuses on
the closer step towards the ultimate goal, in that it combines work from previous
modules enabling us to choose a suitable structural member for certain load conditions.
Before doing this, however, we must first look at the principles involved.

Stress
Chapter 3 of these notes dealt extensively with direct stress, found from the formula:

𝐹
𝜎=
𝐴

You may go back to chapter 3 for examples in this regard. As this chapter deals with
members in bending, we must look at the stresses induced by a bending moment.

Stress from a bending moment

This stress is most used in beam analysis. When a member is subjected to a Bending
Moment (BM), stresses are set up as illustrated in the Figure 18 shown below. The
dividing line between the compressive and tensile stresses is called the neutral axis
(N.A.), which always passes through the centroid of the section.

Figure 18: Stresses from a bending moment

When one looks at the bending moment diagram of a beam, one can sat that the neutral
axis is represented by the zero line and the line of the bending moment diagram
represents the tensile situation in the beam.

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7.4. Derivation of the bending formula

Consider the following beam portion

Figure 19: Before bending

Figure 20: After bending

If we refer to Figure 20 we recognize that the fibres above the neutral axis are in
compression and those below are in tension. The fibres at the neutral axis have neither
tension or compression in them. The stress will thus vary linearly from zero at the neutral
axis t a maximum at the point furthest away from it.

Consider any infitesimal element of area dA at a distance x from the neutral axis.

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Using ratios of similar triangles,

𝑥
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = ×𝑓
𝑦

∴ 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 × 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎

𝑥
= × 𝑓 × 𝑑𝐴
𝑦

𝑥
∴ 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 = × 𝑓 × 𝑑𝐴 × 𝑥
𝑦

𝑥2
∴ 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑀) = ∫ 𝑓 × 𝑑𝐴
𝑦

𝑓
= ∫ 𝑥 2 𝑑𝐴
𝑦

𝑥2
𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, ∫ 𝑓 × 𝑑𝐴 = 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝐼
𝑦

𝑓
∴𝑀= ×𝐼
𝑦

𝑂𝑅

𝑀 𝑓
=
𝐼 𝑦

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: 𝑀 = 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡

𝐼 = 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑓 = 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 (𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠

The above formula is known as the bending formula.

7.5. Determining the moment of resistance of a given beam section

The moment of resistance of a beam is simply the max bending moment that the beam
can withstand. This depends on the material from which the beam is constructed and
its cross-sectional properties.

Selecting a suitable beam section:

From the formula:

𝑀 𝑓 𝑀 𝐼
= , 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡 = , = 𝑧
𝐼 𝑦 𝑓 𝑦

The sectional property

𝑀
𝒛= 𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠.
𝑓
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7.6. Sample Problems: Bending Stress

I. Determine the maximum bending stress for the simply supported beam shown
below if it consists of:
a. A rectangular section 280mm wide x 500mm deep.
b. A 406 x 178 x 67.2 kg/m I –section

Solution:

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II. Determine the moment of resistance of an aluminium beam having a cross-section

as shown below. The permissible bending stress of the aluminium = 90 MPa.

Solution:

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III. For the beam in Sample Problem I, select the lightest H-section if the maximum
permissible bending stress = 120 MPa.
Solution:

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IV. What would be the minimum depth of a rectangular section of width 200mm,
assuming a maximum permissible bending stress of 7MPa?
Solution:

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7.7. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge and ability to:

 Determine the flexural stresses which develop in the statically determinate beam,
with emphasis on determining the size/ load of the beam.
 Derive the bending formula;
 Determine the moment of resistances of a given beam section;
 Select a suitable beam section;
 Derive the stress formula;
 Calculate the distribution of shear stress in various construction sections.

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CHAPTER 8
INTRODUCTION TO FLUID MECHANICS

8.1. Background
The term fluid applies to a substance that does not have a fixed shape but is able to flow
and take the shape of its container: liquid or a gas. Fluids have zero shear modulus and
therefore cannot resist any shear force applied to them.

Fluid mechanics is a branch of physics which deals with the behavior of fluids at rest as
well as in motion. This chapter looks at the forces acting and produced by fluids at rest
(Hydrostatics) only. This will be further developed later in the qualification in the course
Hydraulics II.

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8.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge and ability of:

 Fluids
 Static pressure and head
 Buoyancy and floating bodies

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8.3. Introduction
Matter is normally classified as being in one of three states: solid, liquid, or gas. From
everyday experience we know that a solid has a definite volume and shape, a liquid has
a definite volume but no definite shape, and an unconfined gas has neither a definite
volume nor a definite shape. These descriptions help us picture the states of matter, but
they are somewhat artificial. For example, asphalt and plastics are normally considered
solids, but over long time intervals they tend to flow like liquids. Likewise, most
substances can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas (or a combination of any of these three),
depending on the temperature and pressure. In general, the time interval required for a
particular substance to change its shape in response to an external force determines
whether we treat the substance as a solid, a liquid, or a gas.

A fluid is a collection of molecules that are randomly arranged and held together by weak
cohesive forces and by forces exerted by the walls of a container. Both liquids and gases
are fluids.

8.4. Pascal’s law

Pascal’s law states that the pressure at a point in a fluid at rest is the same in all
directions. This means it is independent of the orientation of the surface around the
point.

8.5. Pressure and Head

The hydrostatic pressure intensity, or more simply, a pressure, at any point inside a
liquid is equal to the weight of the liquid above that point. Consider a plane Z-Z at any
depth h below the surface of a liquid of density ρ.

Pressure is defined as the normal force per unit area of a surface. The formula for
pressure is as follows:

𝐹
𝑃=
𝐴
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If we consider a column of liquid with a base area (a x b) and height, h

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛, 𝑃:

𝐹
𝑃=
𝐴

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 = 𝑎 × 𝑏

𝐹 𝑚𝑔
∴𝑃= = … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (1)
𝑎𝑏 𝑎𝑏
𝑚
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝜌 = → 𝑚 = 𝜌𝑉 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . (2)
𝑉
𝜌𝑉𝑔
𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 (2)𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 (1), 𝑤𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑃 =
𝑎𝑏

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑉 = 𝑎 × 𝑏 × ℎ

𝜌𝑎𝑏ℎ𝑔
∴𝑃=
𝑎𝑏

𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑁/𝑚2 𝑜𝑟 𝑃𝑎

It is clear that this pressure is directly proportional to the depth, h, or in other words,
that the pressure increases linearly with depth. Furthermore, the liquid transmits this
pressure in any direction. Put differently, the hydrostatic pressure is the same in all
directions.

Note: Since 𝛾 = 𝜌𝑔, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠:

𝑃 = 𝛾ℎ

Important conclusion
Hydrostatic pressure can therefore be expressed as a pressure intensity (in Pa units) or
as a height (or a head) of liquid which would cause the same pressure intensity.

8.6. Variation of Pressure with depth

The pressure intensity at a particular point in a liquid is also the same in all directions.
The horizontal pressure distribution against a retaining wall due to a liquid will therefore
show a linear increase with depth. Furthermore, since the pressure is only a function of
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depth below the surface (P = ρgh) we conclude that the total hydrostatic thrust against
the wall depends only on the height of the wall and not on the extent of the body of liquid
being retained.

In the Figure shown above the pressure in points A, B, C, D and E are equal, because
they are at the same depth in the same liquid. This means that static fluid pressure does
not depend on the shape, total mass, or surface area of the liquid.

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8.7. Sample Problems: Pressure and Head

I. The mattress of a water bed is 2.00 m long by 2.00 m wide and 30.0 cm deep.
a. Find the weight of the water in the mattress.
b. Find the pressure exerted by the water bed on the floor when the bed rests in
its normal position. Assume the entire lower surface of the bed makes contact
with the floor.

Solution:

𝑎. 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒, 𝑉 = 2 × 2 × 0.3 = 1.200𝑚3

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠, 𝑚 = 𝜌𝑉 = 1000 × 1.200 = 1200𝑘𝑔

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔 = 1200 × 9.81 = 11772𝑁

𝐹 1172
𝑏. 𝑃 = = = 2943𝑁/𝑚2 (𝑃𝑎)
𝐴 2×2

II. What is a pressure of 500kN/m2 head of water, if the density of water is 1000
kg/m3 and head of Mercury with a density of 13600 kg/m3?
Solution:
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟:
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ
𝑃
ℎ=
𝜌𝑔
500 × 103
ℎ=
1000 × 9.81
ℎ = 50.868 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
Head of mercury:
500 × 103
ℎ=
13600 × 9.81
ℎ = 3.748𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦
III. Calculate the pressure at a point 18 m below the surface of the sea (Relative
density of sea water =1, 02).
Solution:
𝜌 𝜌
𝑆𝐺 = → 1.02 =
𝜌𝑊 1000
3
𝜌 = 1020 𝑘𝑔/𝑚
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑔ℎ
𝑃 = 1020 × 9.81 × 18
𝑃 = 180111.600 𝑁/𝑚2

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8.8. Buoyancy and stability of floating bodies

Have you ever tried to push a beach ball down under water as shown in Figure 21 below?
It is extremely difficult to do because of the large upward force exerted by the water on
the ball. The upward force exerted by a fluid on any immersed object is called a buoyant
force.

Figure 21: Pushing a beach ball under water and the forces on the ball

We can determine the magnitude of a buoyant force by applying some logic. Imagine a
beach ball–sized parcel of water beneath the water surface as in Figure 21. Because this
parcel is in equilibrium, there must be an upward force that balances the downward
gravitational force on the parcel. This upward force is the buoyant force, and its
magnitude is equal to the weight of the water in the parcel. The buoyant force is the
resultant force on the parcel due to all forces applied by the fluid surrounding the parcel.

Now imagine replacing the beach ball–sized parcel of water with a beach ball of the same
size. The net force applied by the fluid surrounding the beach ball is the same, regardless
of whether it is applied to a beach ball or to a parcel of water. Consequently, the
magnitude of the buoyant force on an object always equals the weight of the fluid
displaced by the object. This statement is known as Archimedes’s principle.

With the beach ball under water, the buoyant force, equal to the weight of a beach ball–
sized parcel of water, is much larger than the weight of the beach ball. Therefore, there
is a large net upward force, which explains why it is so hard to hold the beach ball under
the water. Note that Archimedes’s principle does not refer to the makeup of the object
experiencing the buoyant force. The object’s composition is not a factor in the buoyant
force because the buoyant force is exerted by the surrounding fluid.

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𝐹𝐵 = (𝑃𝑏𝑜𝑡 − 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑝 )𝐴 = (𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔ℎ)𝐴

𝐹𝐵 = 𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑔𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 𝐴ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑒

𝜌𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 𝑚𝑔

∴ 𝐹𝐵 = 𝑚𝑔

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑔 = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒ℎ 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑒.

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8.9. Sample Problems: Buoyancy and stability of floating bodies

I. Archimedes supposedly was asked to determine whether a crown made for the king
consisted of pure gold. According to legend, he solved this problem by weighing the
crown first in air and then in water as shown in Figure 14.11. Suppose the scale
read 7.84 N when the crown was in air and 6.84 N when it was in water. What should
Archimedes have told the king?
Solution:

𝐹𝐵 = 𝐹𝑔 − 𝑇2
𝐹𝐵 = 𝜌𝑤 𝑔𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝
𝑚𝑐
𝜌𝑐 =
𝑉𝑐
𝑚𝑐 𝑔
𝜌𝑐 =
𝑚𝑐 𝑔
𝑚𝑐 𝑔
𝜌𝑐 =
𝐹
(𝜌𝐵 )
𝑤
𝑚𝑐 𝑔𝜌𝑤
𝜌𝑐 =
𝐹𝐵
𝑚𝑐 𝑔𝜌𝑤
𝜌𝑐 =
𝐹𝑔 − 𝑇2
7.84 × 1000
𝜌𝑐 =
7.84 − 6.84
𝜌𝑐 = 7840 𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
II. A spherical ball of density, ρ=0.70 kg/cm3, has a radius of 10cm. If the ball is placed
on the surface of water and released, how much of the ball becomes submerged in
water?
Solution:
4
𝑉 = 𝜋𝑟 3
3
4
𝑉 = 𝜋 × 103
3
𝑉 = 4188.790 𝑐𝑚3
𝑚 = 𝜌𝑉
𝑚 = 0.70 × 4188.79 = 2932.153𝑘𝑔, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑
𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑:
𝑚 2932.153
𝑉= = = 2.932𝑐𝑚3
𝜌 1000

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III. If a 100kg object with a volume of 1m3 is submerged 2 meters below water, what is
the net force acting on the object?
Solution:
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 100 × 9.81 = 981𝑁
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝐹𝐵 = 𝜌𝑔𝑉𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝 = 1000 × 9.81 × 1 = 9810𝑁
𝐹 = 9810 − 981 = 8829𝑁
IV. A ball of mass 4kg is lightly dropped into a tub with a base of 1m3. After it sinks to
the bottom, the water rises by 2.5mm. Determine the density of the ball.
Solution:
𝑉 =𝐴×ℎ
𝑉 = 1 × 0.0025
𝑉 = 0.0025𝑚3
𝑚
𝜌=
𝑉
4
𝜌=
0.0025
𝜌 = 1600𝑘𝑔/𝑚3

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8.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes Review

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge and ability of:

 Fluids
 Static pressure and head
 Buoyancy and floating bodies

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CHAPTER 9
IMPULSE AND MOMENTUM

9.1. Background
This lecture covers another fundamental concept: momentum. The momentum of a body
is the quantity that changes directly as a result of applying a force: the greater the force,
the faster the momentum changes. This is a consequence — in fact, a statement of —
Newton’s second law of motion. The reason that momentum is so important is that in
closed systems1 not subject to external forces, the total momentum is conserved. This
result follows from Newton’s equations and will be proved in the Dynamics and Relativity
course. Momentum is conserved in quite surprising situations, even when kinetic energy
is not conserved, such as during explosions.

Figure 22: A bullet going through a carrot

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9.2. Chapter Learning Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a contextualized
understanding and knowledge of:
1. Momentum
2. Applications of momentum to collision
3. Impulse
4. Systems of particles.
5. Conservation of momentum
6. Elastic and inelastic collisions

“There is nothing that living things do that cannot be understood from the point of view that they are
made of atoms acting according to the laws of physics.” - Richard P. Feynman

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9.3. Introduction
A collision is a short-duration interaction between two objects. The collision between a
tennis ball and a racket, or a baseball and a bat, may seem instantaneous to your eye,
but that is a limitation of your perception. A high-speed photograph reveals that the side
of the ball is significantly flattened during the collision. It takes time to compress the
ball, and more time for the ball to re-expand as it leaves the racket or bat. The duration
of a collision depends on the materials from which the objects are made, but 1 to 10ms
(0.001 to 0.010 s) is fairly typical. This is the time during which the two objects are in
contact with each other. The harder the objects, the shorter the contact time. A collision
between two steel balls lasts less than 200 microseconds.

Figure 23: A tennis ball collides with racket.

9.4. Momentum and Impulse

Figure 24 below shows an object colliding with a wall. The object approaches with an
initial horizontal velocity vix, experiences a force of duration ∆t, and leaves with final
velocity vfx. Notice that the object, as in the photo above, deforms during the collision. A
particle cannot be deformed, so we cannot model colliding objects as particles. Instead,
we model a colliding object as an elastic object that compresses and then expands, much
like a spring. Indeed, that’s exactly what happens during a collision at the microscopic
level: Molecular bonds compress, store elastic potential energy, then transform some or
all of that potential energy back into the kinetic energy of the rebounding object. We’ll
examine the energy issues of collisions later in this chapter. The force of a collision is
usually very large in comparison to other forces exerted on the object. A large force
exerted for a small interval of time is called an impulsive force. The graph of Figure 11.1
shows how a typical impulsive force behaves, rapidly growing to a maximum at the
instant of maximum compression, then decreasing back to zero. The force is zero before
contact begins and after contact ends. Because an impulsive force is a function of time,
we will write it as Fx(t).

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Figure 24: Collision

Note: Both Vx and Fx are components of vectors and thus have signs indicating which
way the vectors point.

We can use Newton’s second law to find how the object’s velocity changes as a result of
𝑑𝑣
the collision. Acceleration in one dimension is 𝑎𝑥 = 𝑥⁄𝑑𝑡, so the second law is:

𝑑𝑣𝑥
𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑚 = 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)
𝑑𝑡

After multiplying both sides by 𝑑𝑡, we can write the second law as:

𝑚𝑑𝑣𝑥 = 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)𝑑𝑡

The force is nonzero only during an interval of time from ti to tf = ti + ∆t, so let’s integrate
the last equation above over this interval. The velocity changes from vix to vfx during the
collision; thus
𝑣𝑓 𝑣𝑓
𝑚 ∫ 𝑑𝑣𝑥 = 𝑚𝑣𝑓𝑥 − 𝑚𝑣𝑖𝑥 = ∫ 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑣𝑖 𝑣𝑖

9.5. Linear momentum

The linear momentum of a particle with mass m moving with velocity v is defined as:

𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣

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Thus momentum is the product of a particle’s mass and velocity. The units of momentum
are kg.m/s. The direction of the momentum of a particle is the same as the direction in
which it is moving.

One of the most common errors in momentum problems is a failure to use the
appropriate signs. The momentum component px has the same sign as vx. Momentum is
negative for a particle moving to the left (on the x-axis) or down (on the y-axis).

An object can have a large momentum by having either a small mass but a large velocity
or a small velocity but a large mass. For example, a 5.5 kg bowling ball rolling at a
modest 2 m/s has momentum of magnitude p = 15.5 kg (212 m/s) = 11 kg m/s. This is
almost exactly the same momentum as a 9 g bullet fired from a high-speed rifle at
1200m/s.

Newton actually formulated his second law in terms of momentum rather than
acceleration:

𝑑𝑣⃗ 𝑑(𝑚𝑣⃗) 𝑑𝑝⃗

𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑎⃗ = 𝑚 = =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

This statement of the second law, saying that force is the rate of change of momentum,
is more general than our earlier version 𝐹⃗ = 𝑚𝑎⃗. It allows for the possibility that the mass
of the object might change, such as a rocket that is losing mass as it burns fuel.
𝑣𝑓
∆𝑝𝑥 = 𝑝𝑓𝑥 − 𝑝𝑖𝑥 = ∫ 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)𝑑𝑡
𝑣𝑖

9.6. Impulse
The last equation tells us that the particle’s change in momentum is related to the time
integral of the force. Let’s define a quantity Jx called the impulse to be:
𝑣𝑓
𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑠𝑒 = 𝐽𝑥 = ∫ 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)𝑑𝑡 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑥 (𝑡)𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑖 𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑡𝑓
𝑣𝑖

Strictly speaking, impulse has units of Ns, but you should be able to show that Ns are
equivalent to kg m/s, the units of momentum.

9.7. Conservation of Momentum

The momentum principle was derived from Newton’s second law and is really just an
alternative way of looking at single-particle dynamics. To discover the real power of
momentum for problem solving, we need also to invoke Newton’s third law, which will
lead us to one of the most important principles in physics: conservation of momentum.

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Figure 25: A collision between two objects

Figure 25 shows two objects with initial velocities (vix)1 and (vix)2. The objects collide, then
bounce apart with final velocities (vfx)1 and (vfx)2. The forces during the collision, as the
objects are interacting, are the action/reaction pair 𝐹 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
1 𝑜𝑛 2 and 𝐹2 𝑜𝑛 1. For now, we’ll
continue to assume the motion is one dimensional along the x-axis.

9.8. Systems of Particles

A system of many particles (or an extended object) in general has a motion for which the
description is very complicated, but it is possible to make a simple statement about the
motion of its center of mass. Each of the particles in the system may feel forces from the
other particles in the system, but it may also experience a net force from the (external)
environment; we will denote this force by Fext.

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9.9. Sample Problems: Impulse and Momentum

I. A 3kg particle has a velocity of (3.0i − 4.0j)m/s. Find its x and y components of
momentum and the magnitude of its total momentum.
Solution:

II. A child bounces a superball on the sidewalk. The linear impulse delivered by the
1
sidewalk is 2.00 N ·s during the s of contact. What is the magnitude of the
800
average force exerted on the ball by the sidewalk?
Solution:

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III. A 3.0 kg steel ball strikes a wall with a speed of 10 m/s at an angle of 60 0 with
the surface. It bounces off with the same speed and angle, as shown in Figure
below. If the ball is in contact with the wall for 0.20 s, what is the average force
exerted on the wall by the ball?

Solution:

IV. A machine gun fires 35.0 g bullets at a speed of 750.0 m/s. If the gun can fire
200 bullets/min, what is the average force the shooter must exert to keep the gun
from moving?
Solution:

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9.10. Chapter Learning Outcomes

Now that you have completed this chapter, you should be able to demonstrate a
contextualized understanding and knowledge of:
1. Momentum
2. Applications of momentum to collision
3. Impulse
4. Systems of particles.
5. Conservation of momentum
6. Elastic and inelastic collisions

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