CE332 Practice Exam 3

1.) A simply supported timber beam supports a linearly varying load shown in the figure
below. The magnitude of the allowable stress in tension or compression is 7.25 MPa.
Determine, to the nearest 12 mm, the dimension b of the lightest timber beam with
square cross section that can be used for this application.

2.) A with a hole (see figure) has widths b = 3.75 in. and c = 1.8 in. The fillets have radii equal
to 0.35 in. What is the maximum diameter of the largest hole that can be drilled through
the bar without reducing the load-carrying capacity?

3.) A cantilever beam AB of isosceles trapezoidal cross section has length L = 0.9 m,
dimensions b𝟏 = 110 mm, b𝟐 = 120 mm, and height h = 150 mm (see figure). The beam is
kN
made of brass weighing 85 . Determine the maximum tensile stress and maximum
m3
compressive stress due to the beam’s own weight. If the width b𝟏 is doubled, what
happens to the stresses? If the height h is doubled, what happens to the stresses?