Curved Beams

Before proceeding further, we would like to clarify what we mean by a curved

beam. Beam whose axis is not straight and is curved in the elevation is said to be
a curved beam. If the applied loads are along the y direction and the span of the
beam is along the x direction, the axis of the beam should have a curvature in
the xy plane. On the hand, if the member is curved on the xz plane with the
loading still along the y direction, then it is not a curved beam, as this loading will
cause a bending as well as twisting of the section. Thus, a curved beam does not
have a curvature in the plan. Arches are examples of curved beams.

Shear Centre
In case of beam, the shear centre of any tranverse section is the point of
intersection of the bending axis and the plane of the transverse section.

In the case of beam having two axes of symmetry, the shear center coincides with
the centroid. In the case of beam sections having only one axis of symmetry, the
shear center doesn't coincide with the centroid but lies on the axis of symmetry.

In other words, the shear center of the section can be defined as a point about
which the applied force is balanced by the set of shear forces obtained by
summing the shear stress over the section.

When the load passes through the shear center, there will be only bending in the
cross-section and no twisting. Thus, the shear center is also known as center of
twist.

SHEAR CENTRE -WITH EXAMPLES

If a beam is subjected to bending moments and shear force in a plane,
other than the plane of geometry, which passes through the centroid
of the section, then bending moment will be accompanied by twisting.
In order to avoid twisting and cause bending only, the transverse
forces must act through a point which may not coincide with the
centroid, but will depend upon the shape of the section and such a
point is termed as shear centre.
Consider a channel section as shown in figure 1. Now we shall find the
position of the plane through which the vertical loads must act so as to
produce simple bending, with the x-axis as neutral axis.

It may be assumed that the vertical shearing force, F at the section is

taken up by the web alone. In the flanges, there will be horizontal
shear stresses which will be denoted by q.

Let us consider an element ‘abcd’ cut from the lower flange by two
adjacent cross-sections apart and by a vertical plane parallel to the
web and at distance ’u’ (which is variable) from the free end of the
lower flange. The difference in tensile forces T and must be
equal to the shear force on the side ‘ad’ of the element. Assuming a
uniform distribution of shear stress (since the thickness is small) over

the thickness, we have,

The integration being carried out over the portion ‘ab’ of the flange.

The stress per unit length of the centre line of the section,

Therefore, it is seen that q is proportional to u.

The maximum value of .

At the junction of the flange and web, the distribution of the shear

stress is complicated, so we may assume that the equation

holds good for u = 0 and u = b.

The average shear stress

The longitudinal shear force in the top and bottom of the flange The

couple about the z-axis of these shear forces

Let us assume that the vertical shear force F acts through point ‘o’, the
shear centre at a distance c from O on the centre line of the web.

The twisting of this section is avoided if

which gives the position of the shear centre.

Note: the shear centre for cross-sectional areas having one axis of
symmetry, is always located on the axis of symmetry. In the case of
the I-beam which is symmetrical about both the x-axis and y-axis, the
shear centre coincides with the centroid of the section. The exact
location of the shear centre for unsymmetrical sections are complicated
and can be located by inspection.
https://theconstructor.org/structural-engg/analysis/shear-centre-with-
examples/3677/