Stresses in Beams

I. Introduction
In this chapter, we derive the relations between the bending moment and the flexure stresses it
causes, and between the vertical shear and the shearing stresses. In deriving these relations, the
following assumptions are made:

1. Plane sections of the beam, originally plane, remain plane.

2. The material in the beam is homogeneous and obeys Hooke’s Law.
3. The moduli of elasticity for tension and compression are equal.
4. The beam is initially straight and of constant cross section.
5. The plane of loading must contain a principal axis of the beam cross section and the load
must be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beam.

II. Objectives
After completion of this course the student should be able to:

1. Understand the concepts of stresses in beams such as flexural stresses and shear stresses.
2. Solve problems relating to stresses in beams

III. Bending Stresses

Bending Stress (Flexural Stress)

- Stress caused by the bending moment.

To determine the bending stresses in a beam, the normal strains will be analyzed first. And, then
Hooke's law will be applied to determine the bending stresses (or normal stresses).
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An element of length is taken from a beam, as shown in Fig. 7.1. At the section shown, the
beam is assumed to be curved about the center of curvature O with radius of curvature ρ. The length of
the top of the element is the same as the length of the bottom of the element before loading, but after
loading, the top is shorter and the bottom is longer, so the top portion is in compression and the
bottom portion in tension. Obviously, at some location between the top and bottom, the length
remains unchanged. That location is called the neutral axis (N.A.) and y is always measured from the
neutral axis.

Figure 7.1 An element from a loaded beam.

The deformation of a longitudinal fiber of the beam a distance y above the neutral axis gives rise
to a normal stress due to the strain of that fiber. The normal strain is

(7.1)

where Li is the initial length of the fiber before loading and Lf is the final length of the fiber after loading.
Referring to Fig. 7.1, the strain can be expressed as

(7.2)

So, the normal strain is directly proportional to the distance y from the neutral axis. Now, apply
Hooke's law and the normal stress is

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(7.3)

This shows that the normal (flexural) stress is also a linear function of the distance y from the
neutral axis. So, with a positive moment, as shown[2] in Fig. 7.1, the normal stress is negative
(compression) above the neutral axis and positive (tension) below the neutral axis.

The total longitudinal force F acting on the cross-sectional area A in Fig. 7.2 is zero since we have
assumed no axial forces acting on the beam, only transverse forces. An integral of the differential force
must therefore be zero, that is,

(7.4)

Figure 7.2 Normal stress acting on an element of a cross section.

But, ̿ showing that ̿ , which means that the centroid of a cross section must be
coincident with the neutral axis since y was measured from the neutral axis. This is true provided that
Hooke's law is applicable, i.e., a linear relationship between stress and strain.

Now, let us investigate the moments of the differential forces about the neutral axis. When summed
over the entire cross section, they should equal the bending moment M of Fig. 7.1. The differential
moment of the differential force is, using σ from Eq. (7.3),

(7.5)
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which is integrated to provide

(7.6)

where:

is the second moment of an area, or the moment of inertia

(7.7)

This equation is known as the elastic flexure formula; it provides the flexural
stresses or bending stresses in the beam. The sign has been dropped since the decision whether the top
or bottom of the beam is in tension or compression can be determined at each location of interest.

At a given section of a beam where M and I have certain values, the bending stress will be
maximum at the surface where is maximum. We often let at the surface where y is maximum
(either top or bottom), so the value of the stress is

(7.8)

The flexure formula is often written as

(7.9)

Where:

, with units of m3, is the section modulus of the beam.

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Example No. 1

The beam of Example 6.4 has the cross section shown in Fig. 7.3. Calculate the maximum and
minimum bending (flexural) stresses in the beam.

Figure 7.3

SOLUTION:

Observing the beam, it is obvious that the top fibers are in tension and the bottom fibers are in
compression. The stress distribution is linear, as shown, since it depends directly on y (see Eq. [7.8]),
which is measured from the neutral axis. The neutral axis passes through the centroid of the cross
section. The bending stress is found using Eq. (7.8). The moment of inertia
is bh3/12=0.06×0.123/12=8.64×10−6 m4bh3/12=0.06×0.123/12=8.64×10−6 m4 and the maximum
moment exists at the wall. It is

The maximum bending stress is then

The minimum bending stress is 50.9 MPa (comp) because of the symmetry of the cross section.

Example No. 2

The beam of Example 6.3 is shown in Fig. 7.5 with its cross section. Determine the maximum
tensile and compressive bending stresses in the beam.

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Figure 7.5

SOLUTION:

First, let's find the location of the neutral axis and the moment of inertia of the cross section:

where we have used 1 about the base of a rectangle and the parallel-axis transfer
theorem ̿ .

From the N.A. to the top fibers of the beam we have . The
maximum compressive stress occurs at section C where the maximum moment is 3888 N⋅m
(from Example 6.3). At that location the top of the beam is in compression and the bottom in tension.

The maximum tensile stress would occur at the same section on the bottom fibers:

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IV. Shearing Stresses

If a beam were made by stacking a large number of thin slabs on top of each other, a slab would
tend to slip relative to its neighboring slab when the beam was loaded. This is similar to what is
observed when a deck of cards is bent (i.e., loaded); the ends of the cards move relative to each other.
In a beam such relative motion is prohibited by the material so shearing stresses are induced in the
fibers of the beam. The objective of this section is to develop a formula that will allow us to determine
the shearing stresses that occur in a beam after it is loaded. We will again assume that Hooke's law
applies so that the material is not stressed beyond the elastic limit. Also, the equation developed will
apply to rectangular sections only although it does give reasonable results for other cross sections that
have a plane of symmetry, such as the cross section of Example 7.3.

Consider an infinitesimal section of a rectangular beam, as shown in Fig. 7.8a, with the cross section
shown in Fig. 7.8b. The normal stress is given by σ=My/I.σ=My/I. The force due to the normal stresses
acting on the left side of the segment of Fig. 7.8a is

(7.10)

Figure 7.8 A segment of a rectangular beam.

The force on the right side of the segment is:

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(7.11)

The net force in the x-direction is the difference of the above two forces, which must be balanced by a
shear force dV, shown in Fig. 7.8c, acting on the bottom differential area of magnitude

(7.l2)

(The shear forces V1 and V2 in Fig. 7.8c are required for equilibrium.) The shear force is the shearing
stress τ multiplied by the area bdx. Hence, Eq. (7.12) becomes

(7.13)

But, V = dM/dx from Eq. (6.5), and ∫cy1ydA∫y1cydA is the first moment of the area
between yl and c (see Fig. 7.8b), which is historically written as Q=¯yA,Q=y¯A, with units of m3. It's
important to remember that A is the area between the location where the shearing stress acts and the
outermost fiber of the beam. So, the magnitude of the shearing stress is expressed as

(7.14)

The sense of the shearing stress is, as usual, unimportant, unlike the sense of the normal stress
that determines if the stress is tensile or compressive.

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For rectangular section, maximum shearing stress is determined by the following equation:

(7.16)

Figure 7.10 The shearing stress distribution on two symmetrical cross sections.

Example No. 3

Determine the maximum shearing stress and the shearing stress at y = 3 cm at the right end due
to the vertical shear on the beam of shown.

SOLUTION:

The maximum shearing stress occurs at the neutral axis where the vertical shear force is
greatest. The maximum shear force is 3120 N and at the neutral axis the first moment of the 6-cm by 6-
cm area is

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So, the maximum shearing stress is

At the first moment of the area is

The vertical shear force at the right end is 3120 N so the shearing stress at is

Example No. 4
The beam of Examples 6.3 and 7.3 is shown in Fig. 7.11. Determine the maximum shearing stress due to
the vertical shear force and the shearing stress near the right end at the location where the T-section
changes width from 2 cm to 15 cm.

Figure 7.11

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SOLUTION:

The maximum shear force (only the magnitude is of interest since the direction of the shearing
stress is of no concern) is 3240 N and ̅ cm. So, the maximum shearing stress, which occurs at
the neutral axis, is

The shearing stress at the location where the width makes an abrupt change is

V. Summary
The formula in determining the maximum flexural stress is given by:

and for shearing stress is:

VI. References
 Singer and Pytel, Strength of Materials, copyright 1980.
 Hibbeler, Russell C. Mechanics of Materials, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, Inc., 2002.
 Higdon, Archie, et al. Mechanics of Deformable Bodies, 4th ed. John Wiley References & Sons,
1989.
 Merle C. Potter, Schaum's Outline of Strength of Materials, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill Education,
2020
 www.mathalino.com

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