Integration for Shear

and Moment Diagrams

Me En 101 Static Systems in Mechanical Engineering
C. Sorensen | Rev. 1.2
When determining stresses and displacements in slender beams subject to transverse loads and applied mo-
ments, shear and moment diagrams are very helpful. The use of shear and moment diagrams to predict stress
and displacement is beyond the scope of this sheet; this sheet focuses on sketching appropriate shear and moment
diagrams.

1 Conventions
By convention, beams are oriented in the x direction, which is to the right on the page. The y direction is up.
A distributed load w per unit length of the beam acts in the −y direction, that is, vertically down.
A positive internal shear V acts in the −y direction when on the right-hand end of a beam or section, and in the
+y direction when on the left-hand end of a beam or section.
A positive internal moment M acts in a counterclockwise direction when on the right-hand end of a beam or
section, and in a clockwise direction when on the left-hand end of a beam or section.
A positive external load P acts in the +y direction, or up.
A positive external moment Mext acts in a counterclockwise direction.

w
V
y Mext
M M
x

V P

Figure 1: Sign conventions for shear and moment diagrams. The figure shows a beam that has been cut in order to calculate the
internal forces at a point. All forces and moments shown in the figure are positive forces and moments.

2 Relationships
The following mathematical relationships apply between the distributed load and the internal shear:

dV ∫x
= −w; V2 − V1 = − x12 w dx (1)
dx
The physical meaning of these equations include the fact that at any point x, the slope of the shear diagram will
be equal to −w(x); and the difference in the value of the shear between two points x1 and x2 will be equal to the
area under the w vs. x plot between x1 and x2 .
A similar relationship applies between the internal shear and the internal moment:

dM ∫x
= V ; M2 − M1 = x12 V dx (2)
dx
The physical meaning of these equations includes the fact that at any point x, the slope of the moment diagram
will be equal to V ; and the difference in the value of the moment between two points x1 and x2 will be equal to the
area under the V vs. x plot between x1 and x2 .
Note that the above relations apply only in regions where no external forces or moments are applied.
When an external force P is applied at point x,

lim V (x + ϵ) = lim V (x − ϵ) + P (3)

ϵ→0 ϵ→0

This means that as we move from the left of x to the right of x, V increases by P .
 When an external moment Mext is applied at point x,

lim M (x + ϵ) = lim M (x − ϵ) − Mext (4)

ϵ→0 ϵ→0

This means that as we move from the left of x to the right of x, M decreases by Mext .

3 Finding V and M curves by integration

The following steps can be used to find shear and moment diagrams by integration:

0. If they are not given, find all reaction forces by solving for equilibrium of the beam. Sketch a free-body diagram
with all loads including the reaction forces.

1. Sketch the distributed load (w) diagram for the beam. Only include distributed loads. Point loads and mo-
ments do not appear on the w diagram. Remember that distributed loads in the −y direction are positive w,
and that the w diagram vertical scale has units of force/length.

2. Identify all of the x coordinates where the V (shear) function will change. This includes the following three
cases:

a) The beginning (left-hand end) and end (right-hand end) of the beam
b) Any location where the w function changes
c) Any location with point loads (either applied loads or reaction forces)

Number the points you identified from 0 (at the left-hand end) to 1 (at the right-hand end).

3. Establish intervals between the points identified in step 2. Interval j extends from point xj − 1 to point xj . For
each interval, determine the appropriate function wj (x) for that interval on the w plot.

4. Determine the value of V (x0 ). In most cases, x0 will be 0, because the left hand end of the beam is typically
x = 0. If the left end is free or there is no point load at the left end, V (x0 ) will be 0. If there is a point load
P (x0 ) at point x0 , V (x0 ) = P (x0 ).

5. Find the function for Vj (x) over each interval j by repeating the following steps:

a) For interval j, the function describing V (x) for that interval is

∫ x
Vj (x) = V (xj−1 ) + −wj (x)dx; xj−1 < x < xj (5)
xj−1

where wj (x) is the function you determined for the given interval on the w plot in step 3.
b) Determine the value V (xj− ) by substituting x = xj in equation (5)
c) If there is a point load at xj , add the value of the point load to V (xj− ) to get V (xj ). Otherwise V (xj ) =
V (xj− ).
d) Move on to the next interval

At the completion of this step, you will have functional values for Vj (x) in each interval.

6. Identify all of the x coordinates where the M (internal moment) function will change. This includes the fol-
lowing three cases:

a) The beginning (left-hand end) and end (right-hand end) of the beam
b) Any location where the V function changes
c) Any location with external moments (either applied moments or reaction moments)

Number the points you identified from 0 (at the left-hand end) to 1 (at the right-hand end). There will often
will be more points (and intervals) on the M plot than on the V plot .

7. Establish intervals between the points identified in step 6. Interval j extends from point xj − 1 to point xj .

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 8. Determine the value of M (x0 ). In most cases, x0 will be 0, because the left hand end of the beam is typically
x = 0. If the left end is not fixed, and there is no applied moment at the left enc, M (x0 ) will be 0. If there is a
moment Mext (x0 ) at point x0 (either applied or reaction), M (x0 ) = −Mext (x0 ).

9. Find the function for Mj (x) over each interval j by repeating the following steps:

a) For interval j, the function describing M (x) for that interval is

∫ x
Mj (x) = M (xj−1 ) + Vk (x)dx; xj−1 < x < xj (6)
xj−1

where Vk (x) is the function you determined for the given interval on the V plot in step 5. Because there
may be a different number of intervals in the M (x) plot than the V (x) plot, k may be different from k.
b) Determine the value M (xj− ) by substituting x = xj in equation (6)
c) If there is an external moment at xj , subtract the value of the external moment from M (xj− ) to obtain
M (xj ). Otherwise, M (xj ) = M (xj− ).
d) Move on to the next interval

At the completion of this step, you will have functional values for Mj (x) in each interval.

4 Example
Consider the beam shown in Figure 2. We will follow the procedure listed above to determine V and M plots.
Step 0: Drawing the free-body diagram shown, and summing the forces in the y direction and the moments about
x = 10 allows us to solve for the reaction force and moment at the right hand end, which are shown in Figure 2.

1,000 lb/ft 1,000 lb/ft

y
4,000 lb·ft 4,000 lb·ft

Mext =16,500 lb·ft

x

2,000 lb 2,000 lb P =1,000 lb

1 ft 3 ft 1 ft 2 ft 3 ft 1 ft 3 ft 1 ft 2 ft 3 ft

Figure 2: Beam for example problem. Left diagram shows the beam; right shows the free-body diagram. Reactions are solved
by summing the y forces and summing the moments about x = 10.

Step 1: The w (distributed load) plot for the beam shown in Figure 2 is found in Figure 3. As can be seen in the
free-body diagram of Figure 2, w is zero except between x = ft and x = 4 ft, where it is 1, 000 lb/ft. The point loads
and the moments from the free-body diagram do not appear on the w plot. However, they will affect the V and M
plots.

w, kip/ft
1

0
2 4 6 8 10
x position, ft

Figure 3: Distributed load (w) diagram for the example problem. Note that the external point load and moment do not appear
in the w plot.

Step 2: The shear function will change at the points listed in Table 1 for the reasons given.
Step 3: The w (distributed load) function for each of the intervals is listed in Table 2.

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Table 1: Points where shear function will change for the example beam

Point number x coordinate Reason

x0 0 ft Left end of beam
x1 1 ft w(x) changes from 0 to 1,000 lb/ft
x2 4 ft w(x) changes from 1,000 lb/ft to 0
x3 5 ft External point load of 2,000 lb is applied
x4 10 ft Right end of beam

Table 2: Integration intervals for the distributed load function, with the load function for each interval

Interval w(x) Interval limits

1 w(x) = 0 0 ≤ x < 1 ft
2 w(x) = 1 kip/ft 1 ≤ x < 4 ft
3 w(x) = 0 4 ≤ x < 5 ft
4 w(x) = 0 5 ≤ x ≤ 10 ft

Step 4: Because the left end of the beam is free, we know that V (0) = 0.
Step 5: We now step through the four intervals listed in Table 2. For each interval, we integrate the w function
listed in Table 2 to get the V function for that interval, then calculate the value of V (x) at the end of the interval.
Interval 1:
∫x
V1 (x) = 0 + 0 −0dx = 0; 0 ≤ x < 1 ft (7)
V (1 f t) = 0 (8)

Interval 2:
∫x
V2 (x) = 0 + 1
−1 kip dx = (−1x + 1) kip; 1 ≤ x < 4 ft (9)
V (4 f t) = −3 kip (10)

Interval 3:
∫x
V3 (x) = −3 kip + 4
0dx = −3 kip; 4 ≤ x < 5 ft (11)
V (x3− ) = −3 kip (12)
V (x3 ) = V (5 f t) = −3 kip + 2 kip = −1kip (13)

Interval 4:
∫x
V4 (x) = −1 kip + 5
0dx = −1 kip; 5 ≤ x < 10 ft (14)
V (x4− ) = −1 kip (15)
(16)

The calculated V (shear) function for each of the intervals is listed in Table 3.

Table 3: The calculated shear function for each interval

Interval Vj (x) Interval limits

1 V1 (x) = 0 0 ≤ x < 1 ft
2 V2 (x) = −1x + 1 kip 1 ≤ x < 4 ft
3 V3 (x) = −3 kip 4 ≤ x < 5 ft
4 V4 (x) = −1 kip 5 ≤ x ≤ 10 ft

Note that V (10) is equal and opposite in magnitude to the reaction load at the right end of the beam, so that if
we move past the reaction load, V will return to 0.
The shear diagram is shown in Figure 4.

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 x position, ft
2 4 6 8 10
0

-3
V , kip

Figure 4: Shear diagram for the example problem. Note that the external point load does not appear in the V plot, but does create
a discontinuity in the plot at x = 5.

Table 4: Points where moment function will change for the example beam

Point number x coordinate Reason

x0 0 ft Left end of beam
x1 1 ft V (x) changes from 0 to -x+1 kip/ft
x2 4 ft V (x) changes from -x+1 kip/ft to -3 kip/ft
x3 5 ft V (x) changes from -3 kip/ft to -1 kip/ft
x4 7 ft External moment of 4 kip-ft applied
x5 10 ft Right end of beam

Step 6:
The moment function will change at the points listed in Table 4 for the reasons given.
Step 7: The integration intervals for the V (shear) function are listed in Table 5.
Step 8: Because the left end of the beam is free, we know that M (0) = 0.
Step 9: We now step through the five intervals listed in Table 5. For each interval, we integrate the V function
listed in Table 5 to get the M function for that interval, then calculate the value of M (x) at the end of the interval.
Interval 1:
∫x
M1 (x) = 0 + 0
−0dx = 0; 0 ≤ x < 1 ft (17)
M (1 f t) = 0 (18)

Interval 2:
∫x
M2 (x) = 0 + 1
(−1x + 1) kip dx = [(−x2 /2 + x) − (−12 /2 + 1)] kip · ft (19)
= (−x2 /2 + x − 1/2) kip · ft; 1 ≤ x < 4 ft (20)
M (4 f t) = −4 /2 + 4 − 1/2 = −4.5 kip · ft
2
(21)

Interval 3:
∫x
M3 (x) = −4.5 kip · ft + 4
−3 kipdx = (−4.5 + [−3x − (−3)(4)]) kip · ft (22)
= (−3x + 7.5) kip · ft; 4 ≤ x < 5 ft (23)
M (x3 ) = −7.5 kip · ft (24)

Table 5: The integration intervals for the shear function, with the shear function for each interval

Interval Vj (x) Interval limits

1 V1 (x) = 0 0 ≤ x < 1 ft
2 V2 (x) = −1x + 1 kip 1 ≤ x < 4 ft
3 V3 (x) = −3 kip 4 ≤ x < 5 ft
4 V4 (x) = −1 kip 5 ≤ x ≤ 7 ft
5 V5 (x) = −1 kip 7 ≤ x ≤ 10 ft

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 Interval 4:
∫x
M4 (x) = −7.5 kip · ft + 5
−1 kipdx = (−7.5 + [−1x − (−1)(5)]) kip · ft (25)
= (−x − 2.5) kip · ft; 5 ≤ x < 7 ft (26)
M (x4− ) = −9.5 kip · ft (27)
M (x4 ) = M (7 f t) = −9.5 kip · ft − 4 kip · ft = −13.5kip (28)

Interval 5:
∫x
M5 (x) = −13.5 kip · ft + 7
−1 kipdx = (−13.5 + [−1x − (−1)(7)]) kip · ft (29)
= (−x − 6.5) kip · ft; 7 ≤ x < 10 ft (30)
M (x5 ) = M (10 f t) = −10, kip · ft − 6.5 kip · ft = −16.5kip · ft (31)

Note that M at the right end of the beam is equal and opposite to the reaction moment at the right end of the
beam, so that as we move past the reaction point, M will be 0.
The calculated M (moment) function for each of the intervals is listed in Table 6.

Table 6: The calculated moment function for each interval

Interval Mj (x) Interval limits

1 M1 (x) = 0 0 ≤ x < 1 ft
2 M2 (x) = (−x2 /2 + x − 1/2) kip · ft 1 ≤ x < 4 ft
3 M3 (x) = (−3x + 7.5) kip · ft 4 ≤ x < 5 ft
4 M4 (x) = −(−x − 2.5) kip · ft 5 ≤ x ≤ 7 ft
5 M5 (x) = −(−x − 6.5) kip · ft 7 ≤ x ≤ 10 ft

The moment diagram is shown in Figure 5.

x position, ft
2 4 6 8 10
0

-10

-20
M , kip·ft

Figure 5: Moment diagram for the example problem. Note that the external moment does not appear in the M plot, but it is
reflected in the discontinuity at x = 7 ft.

5 Practice Problems
Calculate distributed load, shear, and moment curves for the beams in the following free-body diagrams.

A)
1m 1m 1m 2m 1m 3m

10 kN/m
y
-30 kN·m

10 kN 10 kN

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B)
1m 1m 3m 1m 3m

10 kN/m
5 kN/m
y

56.7 kN·m x

10 kN 22.5 kN

C)
1.5 m 1.5 m 2m 1.5 m 1.5 m

10 kN/m
15 kN
y 20 kN·m 20 kN·m

30 kN
5 kN/m

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