Beams, Shear Force & Bending
Moment Diagrams
• Shall approach this through examining
BEAMs.
• There are a number of steps that you
MUST go through to get the solution.
• Make sure you follow this every time –
makes solution a lot easier!
Bending of Beams
Many objects in everyday life can be analysed as beams.
The design and analysis of any structural member requires knowledge of
the internal loadings acting within it, not only when it is in place and
subjected to service loads, but also when it is being hoisted.
In this lecture we will discuss how engineers determine these loadings.
If we ignore mass of the beam, the forces on the beam are as shown:
Load
Force
Support reaction forces.
We shall normally ignore the beam mass in these lectures.
Bending of Beams
In the figure, the force shown downwards is acting on the beam.
It is a point load, acting at a single point on the beam.
Load
Force
Support reaction forces.
Bending of Beams
However, in the figure below, the books are exerting a uniformly
distributed load (UDL) on the shelf.
w N/m
A UDL is
represented as
shown in
figure:
Total load is = w length
w
length
length
In calculating Reactions the UDL is considered to act at
the mid-point of its length.
Beam loading:
Point loading
Uniformly Distributed Loading
(UDL) UDL e.g. UDL – 20N/m,
3kN/m
Combined
loading
Beams can have a range of different forms of section.
Example
Determine the reactions of a beam of length 4.5 m which is supported at its
ends and subject to a point load of 9 kN a distance of 1.5 m from the left-
hand end. Neglect the weight of the beam.
9
RA RB
The reactions at the supports can be found by taking moments about LHS:
MA = 0 = RB 4.5 – 9 1.5
RB = (9 1.5)/4.5 = 3kN
Fy = 0 = RB + RA – 9
RA = 6kN
Example
A uniform cantilever of length 3.0m has a uniform weight per metre of
120kN. Determine the reactions at the built-in end.
120 3
Ma
Rx
FBD
Ry
First convert the UDL into a point load:
120 3 = 360kN acting at the mid point i.e. 1.5m from either end.
By inspection Rx = 0 as NO forces acting in the x-axis.
MA = 0 = 360 1.5 + Ma
Ma = - 360 1.5 = - 540 Therefore, direction of Ma is
kNm
Fy = 0 = Ry – 360
Ry = 360 kN
Shear Force & Bending Moments.
If I ‘cut’ the beam anywhere and
examine what is happening, I
shall see the following:
BM
SF
x
SHEAR FORCE
• The algebric sum of the vertical
forces on either side of the section of
a loaded beam is called Shearing
Force
Bending Moment
• The algebric sum of the moments of
the forces on either side of the
section of a loaded beam is called
Bending Moment.
Example.
A uniform cantilever of length 3.0m has a uniform weight per metre of
120kN. Determine the shear force and bending moment at distances of
(a)1.0m.
(b)2.0 m
from the built-in end if no other loads are carried by the beam.
Reactions have already been determined – slide 10
120
FBD for (a) 0.5
1
540
M
1 You will notice that in
tackling SF & BM problems
you set up Fy = 0 to
V determine the SF (i.e. V )
1
1 AND M = 0 to determine the
360 BM (i.e. M)
To determine the shear force at 1m from the LHS:
Fy = 0 = 360 – 120 – V1
V1 = 240 kN
To determine the bending moment at 1m from the LHS:
Mat 1m = 0 = -540 + (360 1) - (120 0.5) – M1
M1 = - 540 + 360 - 60 = - 240 kNm
FBD for (b)
120 1.0
2
540
M2
V2
2
360
To determine the shear force at 2m from the LHS:
Fy = 0 = 360 – 240 – V2
V2 = 120 kN
To determine the bending moment at 2m from the LHS:
Mat 2m = 0 = -540 + (360 2) - (240 1) – M2
M2 = - 540 + 720 - 240 = - 60 kNm
• If we wanted to determine the SF and BM at
any point along the beam, would need to go
through this process each time.
• You will agree this tedious.
• We need an alternative method to enable us
to determine SF and BM at any point along
the beam.
Shear force and bending moment
diagrams.
• Shear force diagrams and bending moment
diagrams are graphs used to show the
variations of the shear forces and bending
moments along the length of a beam.
A steel beam 8m long is pin-jointed at the left-hand end and
simply supported 4m from the right-hand end. The beam is
loaded as shown. For the beam:
(a) Determine the reactions at A and C.
(b) Derive equations for the shear force and bending
moment as a function of distance ‘x’ (horizontal
displacement from the left-hand end).
(c) Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams
for the beam, and determine the position of
counteraflexure (should one exist).
15kN 2kN/m
A B C D E
2 2 1 3
(a) Draw the FBD.
2 3 = 6kN
15kN
Rax
A B C D E
1
Ray Rc
By inspection Rax = 0
Have TWO unknowns: Ray and Rc. Therefore, require TWO equations:
Fy = 0 & M = 0
Fy = 0 = Ray – 15 + Rc – 6
Ray = 21 - Rc (1)
MA = 0 = (15 2) – (Rc 4) + (6 6.5)
30 - 4Rc + 39 = 0
2
Rc = 69/4 =
Sub for Rc into equation (1)
Ray = 21 - 17.25 = 3.75 kN
(b) To derive the equations, split the beam into a number of spans.
Start from the LHS and whenever you come across a force OR bending
moment, you get a span for which an equation has to be derived.
15kN X=4
X=0
A B C D E
X=2 X=5 X=8
3.75 17.25
Span AB: 0 x 2 Span CD: 4 x 5
Span BC: 2 x 4 Span DE: 5 x 8
Span AB: 0 x 2
Mab Fy = 0 = 3.75 - Vab
Vab = 3.75 kN
MAB = 0 = 3.75x - Mab
Vab Mab = 3.75x kNm
x
3.75
A check here is useful.
M = 3.75x
M/x = 3.75 = Vab
Span BC: 2 x 4
1 x-2
2 5
Mbc
x
Vbc
3.75
CHECK:
Fy = 0 = 3.75 – 15 - Vcb
M = -11.25x + 30
Vbc = -11.25 kN
M/x = -11.25 = Vbc
MBC = 0 = 3.75x – 15(x – 2) - Mbc
0 = 3.75x – 15x + 30 - Mbc
Mbc = -11.25x + 30 kNm
Span CD: 4 x 5
1
2 5 x-2
Mcd
x
4 Vcd
x-4
3.75 17.25
Fy = 0 = 3.75 – 15 +17.25 - Vcd
Vcd = 6 kN CHECK:
MCD = 0 = 3.75x – 15(x – 2) + 17.25(x – 4) - M = 6x - 39
Mcd
0= 3.75x – 15x + 30 + 17.25x – 69 - Mcd M/x = 6 = Vcd
Mcd = 6x - 39 kNm
Span DE: 5 x 8 (x – 5)/2
2(x –
1 5)
5 x-5
Mde
x
Vde
4 x-4
3.75 17.25
Fy = 0 = 3.75 – 15 +17.25 – (2x – 10) -
0Vde
= 3.75 – 15 + 17.25 – 2x + 10 - V de
Vde = -2x + 16 kN
MDE = 0 = 3.75x – 15(x – 2) + 17.5(x – 4) – (2x – 10)(0.5x – 2.5) -
Mde
0 = 3.75x – 15x + 30 + 17.5x – 69 – x2 + 10x - 25 - Mde
Mde = -x2 + 16 - 64 kNm
CHECK:
M = -x2 + 16x -
64
M/x = -2x + 16 =
Vde
(c) To plot the shear force and bending moment diagrams is now a straight
forward process of putting in the limits positions of ‘x’ in each of the
equations and plotting the values on a graph.
15kN
A B C D E
6.0 6.0
3.75 3.75
0 0
Shear force diagram
- -
11.25 11.25
7.5
0 0
-9.0 Bending moment
diagram
-
15.0
Point of counterflexure is a point where the bending moment graph
crosses the axis.
There are situations where there is NO point of counterflexure, i.e. the
bending moment graph DOES NOT cross the axis.
At the point of counterflexure, the bending moment is EQUAL TO ZERO.
In this question we do have point of counterflexure.
This occurs over span BC, .i.e. when 2 x 4
Mbc = -11.25x + 30 = 0
x = 30/11.25 = 2.67m
The point of counterflexure is when x = 2.67m
