CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

LECTURE 3: Internal Stresses of Structural Members

3.1 Concept of axial, shear, and torsion
3.2 Flexural Rigidities and Stiffness of Structural Members

LEARNING OUTCOME (LO):

LO 6: Demonstrate an understanding on the concept of internal stresses of structural
members.

DISCUSSION/PRESENTATION OF THE LESSON:

3.1 Concept of Axial, Shear, and Torsion

External Forces including moments acting on a structure produce at any section along
a structural member certain internal forces including moments which are called stress
resultant, because they are due to internal stresses developed in the material of member.
The maximum number of stress resultant that can occur at any section is six, the three
orthogonal moments and three orthogonal forces. These may also describe as the biactions
acting at the section of a member, which includes, the axial force acting along x-axis of the
member, two bending moments acting about the principal y and z axes of the cross section of
the member, two corresponding shear forces acting along the principal y and z axes, and the
torsional moment acting about x-axis of the member (refer to the figures below).

Figure 19: Internal Forces at a Section of a member under General Loading

Figure 20: Biactions at the Section of a member

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 In a truss structure, considering a cut member, the forces exerted on the member must
be concentrated at the two ends of the member through the centers of pins. These two system
of concurrent forces can be combined into two resultant forces that must be equal, opposite,
and collinear. In other words, each member of a truss is a two-force member. Hence, the
internal forces existing in any cut section of a truss member must be a pair of equal and
opposite axial forces to balance the axial forces exerted on the other ends.
Members of structures, such as beams and rigid frames, are acted on by more than two
forces. Considering any cut section a-a of the beam in figure 21(a) or a rigid frame in figure
21(b), and taking the free bodies as shown in figure 21(c) and 21(d), the forces of internal
constraint must exist between these two portions in order to hold them together. Such internal
forces always occur in pairs of equal and opposite forces. To maintain the equilibrium of the
free body, however, the internal forces must be statically equal and opposite to the system of
forces acting externally on the portion considered, and the internal forces can always be with
a couple of moment 𝑀. Furthermore, the forces can, in turn, be resolved into a normal
component 𝑁 and a tangential component 𝑉. Thus, these unknown magnitudes 𝑀, 𝑁, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉are
the internal forces acting in any cut section of beam or a frame, called, respectively, the
resisting moment, the normal force, and the shearing force.

Figure 21 (a) and (b): Diagrams indicating cut

section a-a through the Beam and Rigid Frame

(a) (b)

(d)

Figure 21 (c) and (d): Free body diagrams indicating the

Internal Forces of Beam and Rigid Frame

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3.2 Flexural Rigidities and Stiffness of Structural Members
Flexural rigidity 𝑓 of a member is a measure of the resistance of the member to bending,
that is, the larger the flexural rigidity, the smaller the curvature for a given bending moment.
Flexural rigidity is the product of modulus of elasticity, 𝐸 and moment of Inertia, 𝐼 of a section.
The axial rigidity per unit length of a member is referred to as stiffness 𝑘, of the member. It is
the reciprocal of flexural rigidity. This properties of material are taken into consideration when
computing deflection of structures.

REFERENCES:
A. BOOKS
• Hibbler, R.C., Structural Analysis, 9th Ed., Prentice Hall
• Rajan. S.D., Introduction to Structural Analysis and Design, John Wiley &
Sons, 2001
• Hsieh, Yuan-Yu, Elementary Theory of Structures 2nd Ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
2982

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