Chapter 7

UNSYMMETRICAL BENDING
Topics
Symmetric bending

Combined bending and axial load

Unsymmetrical bending

Bending stress

Position of the neutral axis

SYMMETRIC BENDING
Our analysis of pure bending has been limited so far to members
possessing at least one plane of symmetry and subjected to couples
acting in that plane. This is called symmetrical bending.
They arise in beams which have either double or single symmetrical
cross sections.

Figure 1 Symmetrical cross-sections

(A) (B)
Part (A) of the above figure shows the cross section of a member
possessing two planes of symmetry, one vertical and one horizontal,
part (B) shows the cross section of a member with a single, vertical
plane of symmetry.

In both cases the couple exerted on the section acts in the vertical plane
of symmetry of the member and is represented by the horizontal couple
vector M, and in both cases the neutral axis of the cross section is
found to coincide with the axis of the couple.
 Figure 2. Symmetrical section beams

Suppose a beam of some length and of rectangular cross-section is

subjected to a pure sagging bending moment, M, applied in a vertical
plane. The length of the beam will bend into the shape shown in fig. 3 in
which the upper surface is concave and the lower convex. It follows that
between these two extremes there are fibres that remain unchanged in
length.
Figure 3 Beam subjected to pure sagging bending moment
The first moment of area of the cross-section of the beam with respect
to the neutral axis, i.e. the x axis, is equal to zero.

…………Eqn 1
The second moment of area of the cross-section of the beam about the
neutral axis is Moment of Inertia, I.
………Eqn 2
The direct stress at any point in the cross-section of a beam is directly
proportional to the distance of the point from the neutral axis and so
varies linearly through the depth of the beam.
The famous flexure formula:
……….Eqn 3
If there are more than one bending moment applied about the two axis
of symmetry:
……….Eqn 4

Ixx = Second moment of area of the beam section about the X axis.
Iyy = Second moment of area of the beam section about the Y axis.
Combined bending and axial load
In many practical situations beams and columns are subjected to
combinations of axial loads and bending moments.
For example, the column shown in Fig. 4 supports a beam seated
on a bracket attached to the column. The loads on the beam
produce a vertical load, P, on the bracket, the load being offset a
distance e from the neutral plane of the column.
The action of P on the column is therefore equivalent to an axial
load, P, plus a bending moment, Pe.
The direct stress at any point in the cross-section of the column is
therefore the algebraic sum of the direct stress due to the axial load and
the direct stress due to bending.
Thus at any point (x,y) the direct stress due to the combined force
system is,

………..Eqn 5

Figure 4 Combined bending and axial load on a column

 UNSYMMETRICAL BENDING
There are situations where the bending couples do not act in a plane of
symmetry of the member, either because they act in a different plane, or
because the member does not possess any plane of symmetry.
In such situations, we cannot assume that the member will bend in the
plane of the couples. This is known as unsymmetrical bending.
Assumptions:
Plane cross-sections of the beam remain plane and normal to the
longitudinal fibers of the beam after bending.
The material of the beam is linearly elastic, i.e. it obeys Hooke’s law,
and that the material of the beam is homogeneous.
This is illustrated in Fig.5. In each part of the figure, the couple exerted
on the section has again been assumed to act in a vertical plane and has
been represented by a horizontal couple vector M.
However, since the vertical plane is not a plane of symmetry, we cannot
expect the member to bend in that plane, or the neutral axis of the section
to coincide with the axis of the couple.

a b c
Figure 5 Different axis for Couple and Neutral axis
Sign conventions and notations
Force , moments and displacements are referred to an arbitrary system
of axes Oxyz, of which Oz is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the
beam and Oxyz are axes in the plane of the cross-section.
We assign the symbols M, S, P, T and w to bending moment, shear
force, axial or direct load, torque and distributed load intensity,
respectively, with suffixes where appropriate to indicate sense or
direction.
Thus, Mx is a bending moment about the x axis, Sx is a shear force in
the x direction and so on.
Mx and My are positive when they induce tension in the positive xy
quadrant of the beam cross-section.
 Figure 6 Notation and sign convention for forces , moments and displacements

Resolution of bending moments

A bending moment M applied in any longitudinal plane parallel to the z axis may
be resolved into components Mx and My by the normal rules of vectors.
Referring to Fig. 8, we can see that a bending moment M in a plane at an angle ɵ
to Ox may have components of differing sign depending on the size of ɵ.
Figure 7 Internal force system
 Figure 8 Resolution of bending moment

In both cases, for the sense of M shown,

Which gives,
For ɵ < π/2 , Mx and My are positive ……Eqn 6
For ɵ > π/2 , Mx is positive and My is negative
 Direct stress distribution due to bending
Consider a beam having the arbitrary cross-section shown in fig. 9 (a).
The beam supports bending moments Mx and My and bends about some
axis in its cross-section which is therefore an axis of zero stress or a
neutral axis (NA).

Figure 9 Determination of neutral axis position and direct stress due to bending
Lets suppose that the origin of the axes coincides with the centroid C of
the cross-section and that the neutral axis is a distance p from C.
The direct stress σz on an element of area dA at a point (x,y) and a
distance ξ from the neutral axis is,

……………………. Eqn 7
From strength I discussion, for a beam with radius of curvature R
measured from the neutral axis and distance of differential element y
from the neutral axis, the longitudinal strain is given by the following
formula.

Figure 10 Bending a symmetric section beam

Likewise for fig. 9, if the beam is bent to a radius of curvature ρ about
the neutral axis at this particular section then, since plane sections are
assumed to remain plane after bending, and by a comparison with
symmetrical bending theory.
…………Eqn 8

Substituting for εz in Eqn. 7, we get, …………Eqn 9

The beam supports pure bending moments so that the resultant normal
load on any section must be zero.
Hence,
…………………..Eqn 10
Therefore, replacing σz in this equation from Eqn 9 and cancellingn the
constants E/ρ gives,

….....……………………………..Eqn 11
Eqn 11 shows that the first moment of area of the cross-section of the
beam about the neutral axis is zero. It follows that the neutral axis
passes through the centroid of the cross-section as shown in fig. 9 (b).
Suppose that the inclination of the neutral axis to Cx is ɑ (measured
clockwise from Cx). For a right angle triangle with an acute angle ɵ,
the following relation is valid.

which is equivalent to:

c = asin(ɵ) +bcos(ɵ)
Therefore, we can make similar relationships from fig. 9 (b);

…………………Eqn 12
And from Eqn 9,

……………………Eqn 13

From our previous sign convention, the moment resultants of the

internal direct stress distribution have the same sense as the applied
moments Mx and My.
Therefore, ………..Eqn 14

substituting for σz from eqn 13 in Eqn 14 and defining the second

moments of area of the section about the axes Cx and Cy as;

Gives,
Or in matrix form

From which
Therefore,

Bringing Eqn 13 gives us,

………….Eqn 15

Rearranging,

…………Eqn 16
From Eqn 16, we can easily see that if, for example, My = 0 , the
moment Mx produces stress which varies with both x and y; similarly for
My if Mx = 0.
In the case where the beam cross-section has either (or both) Cx or Cy as
an axis of symmetry the product second moment of area Ixy is zero and
Cxy are principal axes. And this reduces the previous eqn to;

……………..Eqn 17
Further, if either My or Mx is zero, then,

…………….Eqn 18
 Position of the neutral axis
The neutral axis always passes through the centroid of area of a beam’s
cross-section but its inclination ɑ to the x axis depends on the form of
the applied loading and the geometrical properties of the beam’s cross-
section.
At all points on the neutral axis the direct stress is zero.
Therefore, from Eqn 15,
Where XNA and YNA are the coordinates of any point on the neutral
axis. Hence,

Or referring to fig. 9(b) and noting that when ɑ is positive XNA and YNA
are of opposite sign.

……………….Eqn 18