es2d5.

Normal stress, shear stress, and beam bending

Last updated 08/03/2021 by Petr Denissenko
************** Lecture PD2.13 **************
Now, we apply what we have learned so far to beam bending.
Consider a thin (with L / h  1) horizontal beam
fixed to a wall.
Without going into derivation, the stress
distribution in the beam next to the wall is as
follows (sketch the plots of these functions)
F0 L F
 xx = y = 0  2 Ly
I 2I
 yy = 0
F0  h  h
 xy =  y +  y − 
2I  2  2
Here, the area second moment is I = 121 bh3 , where b is the beam width perpendicular to the paper.
Observe that shear stress is zero at upper and lower surfaces and normal stress is zero at the mid-
plane. Also, observe that the magnitude of the normal stress is much higher than that of shear. Think
why. Recall, from the lecture on Mohr’s diagram, expression for principal stresses and sketch Mohr’s
circles at the top surface, at the bottom surface, and in the middle.
  xx +  yy 1
( xx −  yy ) + 4 xy2
2
 I = +
2 2
 which is now
 =  xx +  yy − 1  −  2 + 4 2
 II 2 2
( xx yy ) xy
  xx 1
  I = 2 + 2  xx + 4 xy
2 2


 =  xx − 1  2 + 4 2
 II 2 2
xx xy

1
(  xx −  yy ) + 4 xy 2
2
 max =
2
F
 max = 0 4 L2 y 2 + y 4 − 12 y 2 h 2 + 161 h 4
2I
2 F0 h 2  y    L    y 2
4 2

=   + 16   − 2    +1
I  h / 2    h   h / 2 
2 F0 h 2   L 2  2
= Y + 2  8   − 1 Y + 1
4

I  h 
 
Where Y = y / ( h / 2 ) varies from -1 to 1.
As L / h  1, the value of  max in the Mohr’s circle will reach its maxima at the lower and upper
2 I Y h
surfaces of the beam y =  h / 2 where the beam will fail at F0 = = bh  Y
Lh 6L
************** End of Lecture PD2.13 **************
 ************** Lecture PD2.14 **************
Lecture 14 is complimentary and aimed at understanding of derivation of beam bending equations.

Normal stress (  xx ) distribution across the beam.

Imagine a beam bent to a circle of radius R .
The centreline of the beam is neither compressed nor stretched.
The length of a circle at the distance y from the centreline is 2 ( R + y ) and the corresponding
2 ( R + y ) − 2 R y
strain is  xx = = and reaches maximum values at inner and outer surfaces.
2 R R
− h /2 − h /2
Eb E bh3 EI
The bending moment is therefore  y  E xx  b dy =
R − h/2
y dy = =
− h /2
R 12 R

Shear stress distribution across the beam.

Considering balance of forces acting on a rectangle of the size dx  dy , we have
 xy  xx
=
y x
F0
As the bending moment is M = F0 L we have, for stress,  xx = ( L − x) y
I
 xy F0
Therefore, =− y
y I
The shear stress is zero at top and bottom surfaces, therefore
 2y  2y  F h 2 3 F0
 xy =  max  − 1  + 1 where  max = 0 =
 h  h  8I 2 bh
Check that the total shear force is equal to the total load:
− h /2


− h /2
xy b dy = F0

************** End of Lecture PD2.14 **************