PROBLEM 

   15 – 0475:      A structure consisting of two horizontal bars AC and CB,

                                                each of length L, is shown in Fig. 1(a). The bars have pinned
                                                supports and are linked together at C. The material of the
                                                bars is linearly elastic, and each bar has constant axial
                                                rigidity EA. If a vertical load P is applied at C, the bars will be
                                                incapable of supporting the load as long as they remain in
                                                their initial horizontal position. However, as the load is
                                                applied gradually, joint C will deflect downward and tensile
                                                forces will develop in the bars. Thus, an equilibrium position
                                                of the structure can be reached with a small deflection δ
                                                under the load (see Fig. 1(b)). Obtain the strain energy and
                                                complementary energy for this structure. 
 

                                    
 
Solution:                    In order to evaluate the strain energy and complementary energy
                        for the given structure, we must first obtain the relationship between the
                        load P and the deflection δ. This relation can be found from the
                        expressions for the forces and elongations of the bars. Thus, the tensile
                        force N in each bar, from statics, is
                                                N = [P / (2 sin β)]
                        where β is the angle of rotation of the bars. However, both the deflection
                        δ and the angle β are assumed to be small quantities, hence we can
                        replace β by δ/L and sin β by β. Therefore, the preceding equation
                        becomes
                                                N = [(PL) / (2δ)]                                                                     (a)
                        The elongation Δ of each individual bar can now be found from Hooke's
                        law:
                                                Δ = [(NL) / (EA)] = [(PL2) / (2EAδ)]                                      (b)
                        A second equation relating the deflection δ of the structure and the
                        elongation Δ of the bars can be found from the geometry of the deflected
                        structure. The increase in length of each bar (from Fig. 1(b)) is
                                                Δ = √(L2 + δ2) – L = L√[1 + (δ/L)2] – L
                        Expansion of the expression under the radical sign according to the
                        binomial theorem gives
                                                Δ = L[1 + (1/2)(δ/L)2 – (1/8)(δ/L)4 + . . . ] – L
                        For small deflections we can drop the terms containing powers of δ/L
                        higher than two. Thus keeping only the first two terms in the brackets, the
                        expression for Δ simplifies to
                                                Δ = [δ2 / (2L)]
                        Now we can eliminate Δ between Eqs. (b) and (c), thereby producing the
                        desired load-deflection relationship for the structure. This relation may be
                        expressed in either of the following two forms:
                                                P = [(EAδ3) / (L3)]      δ = 3√[(PL3) / (EA)]
                        The graph of these equations is shown in Fig. 1(c). It is important to note
                        that the structure analyzed in this example is geometrically nonlinear,
                        even though the material itself follows Hooke's law.
                        Now we can easily find the strain energy of the structure as follows:
                                                U = δ∫0 Pdδ = δ∫0 [(EAδ3) / (L3)]dδ = [(EAδ4) / (4L3)]
                        The complementary energy is given by
                                                U* = P∫0 δdP = P∫0 3√[(PL3) / (EA)]dP = [(3P(4/3)L) / {43√(EA)}]
                        Note again that the strain energy is expressed in terms of the
                        displacement and the complementary energy is expressed in terms of the
                        load.