ENGMATE 201 Continuum Mechanics - Fall 2022

Topic Sheet 01:

Bending Moments and Shear Force Diagrams
(Gudrun Kocher-Oberlehner)

1 Key terms
In this course, we will develop the materials we discussed in ENGMATE101 further. We will still deal
mainly with material science, but move further into continuum mechanics to ultimatively describe
material reactions in 3D. I also hope to make the connection between the two sub-sections - strength of
materials (more important for engineering design) vs. material science - clearer. Continuum mechanics
describes stress and strain relation (constitutive equations) and we can find material behaviour through
this anaylysis.

1. Definitions in Statics
The definitions of statics stays important; make sure you know your vocabulary (see Topic Sheer
01 from ENGMATE101). We are now going a bit beyond and look at Bending Moments, Shear
forces, Torsion, Deflection and Buckling.

(a) Shear Force is a force that makes one surface of a substance move over another parallel
surface. Again, think of a deformed square to visualise it. Shear forces give rise to shear
stresses.
(b) Bending Moment and Shear Force In solid mechanics, a bending moment is the reaction
induced in a structural element when an external force or moment is applied to the element
and would cause the element to bend.
The internal reaction loads in a cross-section of the structural element can be resolved
into a resultant force and a resultant couple (see also handout and topic sheets from EN-
GMATE101). For equilibrium, the moment created by external forces (and external mo-
ments) must be balanced by the couple induced by the internal loads. The resultant internal
couple is called the bending moment while the resultant internal force is called the shear
force (if it is transverse to the plane of element) or the normal force (if it is along the plane
of the element). The most common or simplest structural element subjected to bending
moments is the beam, which we will discuss. A Bending Moment (BM) diagram shows how
the BM changes with position along the beam.

(c) Torsion In mechanical engineering, torsion is defined as the twisting of an object due to an
applied torque. Torsion is expressed in either the Pascal (Pa), while torque is expressed
in newton metres (N·m). In sections perpendicular to the torque axis, the resultant shear
stress in this section is perpendicular to the radius. If the cross-section is non-circular,
twisting is accompanied by a distortion called warping, in which transverse sections do not
remain plane. For shafts of uniform cross-section unrestrained against warping, the torsion
is:
JT JT
T = ·τ = Gθ (1)
r l
where:

1
Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

• T stands for the applied torque or moment of torsion in Nm.

• τ is the maximum shear stress at the outer surface
• JT is the torsion constant for the section. For circular rods, and tubes with constant
wall thickness, it is equal to the polar moment of inertia of the section, but for other
shapes, or split sections, it can be much less. In this case, finite element analysis (FEA)
is the best method to find it.
• r is the perpendicular distance between the rotational axis and the farthest point in
the section (at the outer surface).
• l is the length of the object to or over which the torque is being applied.
• θ is the angle of twist (usually in radians).
• G is the shear modulus (which we have, very briefly, encountered before), also called
the modulus of rigidity, and is usually given in gigapascals (GPa).
(d) Deflection is the degree to which an element of structure changes shape when a load is
applied (at least in engineering).
(e) Buckling is the sudden change in shape (deformation) of a structural component under
load, such as the bowing of a column under compression or the wrinkling of a plate under
shear.

2. Re-cap

• Equilibrium equations are still an essential part of the calculations: If a mechanical system
is in static equilibrium, the following equations apply:
X X X X
F = Fx = Fy = Fz = 0 (2)

and X X
M= of all moments about all points = 0 (3)
In words: we can sum up all forces in the directions of a cleverly chosen coordinate system
and furthermore calculate the sum of moments around a point of our own choice. This
is our main tool when calculating reaction forces and moments on structures subjected to
external loads, and it continues when calculating Bending Moments and Shear Forces.

• Remember also to re-fresh your memory of Free Body Diagrams (FBD). Every equilibrium
problem should be solved by first drawing the FBD, to make sure you account for all forces
and couple momenta that act on the body.
• Line of Action in the case of a force is the force’s direction.
• It is possible to replace a system of forces and couple moments acting on a body with an
equivalent single resultant force Fn et and couple moment acting at a specific point O. In
the case of point O being on the line of Action of these forces, simply slide the force along
its line of action to the point. The point where the lines of action intersect is called the
Point of Concurrence and the forces are said to be concurrent
• If a beam is statically determined, we can calculate all forces and moments using the equi-
librium conditions. If we cannot find all forces and moments using equilibrium conditions,
the beam is statically indetermined.

2 Materials
1. Before the first lecture, please read through Handout 01 - Bending Moments and Shear Force
diagrams (uploaded on Moodle). You should be familiar with the concepts described in Handout
01, so we can make the most of our time together.

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

2. Watching the ”efficient engineer” explain Understanding Bending Moments and Shear
Force Diagrams (16:22) is time spent well! I do not think I can explain the concepts better.
Make sure to watch it before the lecture.

3. If you want to go into more details with Bending Moments and Shear Forces (or are more
interested in Civil Engineering), Dr. Structure has videos on Bending Moments and Shear
Forces as well:

• Starting with explaining the general concept: ST08, (11:54),

• How to calculate them for distributed loads: ST09, (9:34),
• How to calculate moments and shear: ST10, (12:35)
and finally:
• How to draw Shear Force diagrams: ST11, (12:16)
• and Bending Moment diagrams ST12, (10:34).

As this is mainly a civil engineering channel, it goes into more depth as we will in this course.

4. There are also tons of examples on equilibrium in rigid bodies on the ”ilectures online” site
in Chapter 4 on Mechanical Engineering; the relevant lectures for our course are 4, 5, 7 and 9
(again, going into more depth).

5. Click here(11:04) for a video on Second Moment of Area and how to calculate it.

6. More material on Second Moment of Area, how to find the centroid of an area and some lecture
videos can be found here.

(The bold parts in the text above are hyperlinks; Clicking on any of the hyperlinks above will take
you to the indicated materials.)

3 Concept Questions
1. Using the concept introduced in chapter 2.3 of the handout (distributed loads), what (mathe-
matical) relation can we state between Shear Force, Q, and Bending Moment, M?

2. What is the connection between bending moment and deflection?

3. What classifications of materials can you think of?

4. Looking at the different beams in examples 2.2 to 2.5 in the handout, can you make a statement
of where the maximum in Bending Moment will be along the beam without calculating it?

5. Will/How will the Bending Moment graph change at the maximum?

6. What is the Bending Moment at x = 0?

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

dM
1. Shear force is equal to dx .

2. The connection between bending moment and deflection is

Z
dv 1
=− M dx + C1 (4)
dx EI
and Z Z
1
v=− M dx + C1 x + C2 (5)
EI

See also handout 02.

3. That question was poorly phrased; what I meant were more specifications for parts - so
materials need to be either strong or flexible, elastic or stiff to fulfill the specifications.

4. I hope we have sufficiently discussed this in the lecture; a concentrated load will ca lead
to a linear dependency of the BM and a constant SF with position x, while a uniformly
distributed load will lead to a quadratic dependency of the BM with position x and a
linear dependency of the SF with position x.

5. For concentrated loads, the BM graph will change abruptly for concentrated loads, but
continuously for uniformly distributed loads.

6. That depends very much on the beam and the loads. Try to determine it for each of the
problems in chapter 4 first before calculating it. Does it depend on the loads or the type
of supports?

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

4 Calculations
Problems from Handout 01 with solutions.

4.1 Beam supported on both ends, CL

Figure 1 represents the same configuration as in another worked example from Handout 01. The load
in this problem is a concentrated load. What is the size of the two forces, F1 and F2 ? Determine the
values of the maximum bending moment, and the shear force along the beam. What is the position
of the maximum shear force?

Figure 1: Same configuration as figure ?? - horizontal beam with a load - with some actual numbers
added: a = 1.6 m, W = 6 kN and L = 2 m

We did several other examples in ENGMATE101; for each of these, find the size of the two forces, F1
and F2 (or look them up) and determine the values of the maximum bending moment and the shear
force along the beam. What is the position of the maximum shear force? Draw bending moment and
shear force diagrams for each of those (listed below as examples 4.2 to 4.5) as well.

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

We can draw the FBD for the whole beam (depicted in figure ??) and resolve for the vertical
forces.
R1 + R2 = W
and since we have a pin support on the left hand side and a roller support on the right hand
side (see also table ??):

R1 · L − W · 0.4 = 0 ⇒ R1 = 1.2kN and R2 = 4.8kN

Using equations ?? to ??, we find expressions for M and Q before the load

W a(L − a) 1.6 · 6kN (2m − x)

M= ·x= · x = 1.2kN · x
L 2
W (L − a) 6(2 − 1.6)
Q = R1 = = = 1.2kN
L 2
For the section after the load:
W a(L − x) 1.6 · 6kN (2m − x)
M= =
L 2
Wa 6 · 1.6
−R1 + W + Q = 0 ⇒ Q = = = 4.8kN
L 2
So our shear force is constant for both sections with a value of +1.2kN before the load and
−4.8kN after the load. The Maximum of the bending moment will be at x = 1.6 (and is be the
same for both sections):

W a(L − a) W a(L − x)
Mbef ore,@x=1.6 = Maf ter,@x=1.6 → ·x= → 14.72 = 14.72.
L L

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

4.2 Fixed support on one side, concentrated load

Draw the FBD for the whole beam in Figure 2 showing all applied (active) loads, reactions and
moments at the support. Apply the equations of equilibrium to the whole beam in order to determine
the reactions and moments at the support. Determine the values of the maximum bending moment
and the shear force along the beam. What is the position of the maximum shear force? Draw bending
moment and shear force diagrams for the beam.

Figure 2: : Example 4.2

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

We start by drawing a FBD showing all applied loads and resulting reactions and moments at
the support;
P We are taking clockwise moments as positive about the support end; we also know
that MB = 0 for the whole beam, so M1 = −W L and F1 = W

FBD to Example 4.2

Now we again apply sections to our beam; mentally split the beam at a distance x and consider
the left hand element. Insert the required internal shear force Q and bending moment according
to the sign convention.

Section of beam for example 4.2

Taking moments about the right hand side of the section gives:

W x + M = 0 → M = −W x
P
Resolving the forces vertically for the section ( Fv = 0):

W + Q = 0 → Q = −W

Now we can draw the SF and BM diagrams for a cantilever carrying a concentrated load (see
figure 4.2:

BM and SF diagram for example 4.2

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

4.3 Fixed support on one side, UDL

How will the BM and SF diagram change if we replace the concentrated load in example 4.2 with a
UDL (see Figure 3)

Figure 3: : Example 4.3

First, we draw the FBD:

FBD to Example 4.2

Using the FBD, we derive the moment about B as M1 = −wL · L2 = 2kN/m and F1 = wL =
2kN/m · 2m = 4kN . Next, we apply sections again by mentally making a cut and looking at
BM and SF as functions of distance, x:

Section of beam for example 4.3

x wx2
wx · +M =0→M =−
2 2
P
Resolving the forces vertically for the whole beam ( Fv = 0):

wx + Q = 0 → Q = −wx

and the BM and SF diagrams look like this:

Section of beam for example 4.2

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

4.4 Beam supported on both ends, UDL

Figure 4 shows a beam with a pin support around A and a roller support around B. How do the
Bending Moment and Shear Force diagrams look in this case? How will it differ from the previous
example? From example 4.1?

Figure 4: : Example 4.4

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

Load is uniformly distributed over the whole length of the beam, so we can replace it with a
concentrated force of magnitude wl in the middle of the beam. We
P are again
P taking clockwise
moments as positive about the support end; we also know that MA = MB = 0 for the
whole beam. First, we draw the FBD adn determine the Moments and forces for the whole
beam (F1 = wL2 = 4, 5kN and F2 = wL − F1 = 4.5kN

FBD to Example 4.4

Using sections, we take moments about the right hand end of the section and derive the following:

Section to Example 4.4

x wL w
−F1 x + wx · +M =0→M = x − x2 (6)
2 2 2
P
Resolving the forces vertically for the whole beam ( Fv = 0):

wL
−F1 + wx + Q = 0 → Q = − wx. (7)
2

SF and BM for example 4.4

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

4.5 UDL and concentrated load

Figure 5 shows a beam with a pin support around A and a roller support around B, with a UDL
acting for 2 m starting at A and a concentrated load of 2 kN acting 1 m from B along the length of
the beam. Again, we already know what the FBD looks like and what the moments and forces for
the whole beam are from last semester’s topic sheets. But what does the Bending Moment and Shear
Force diagrams look here? How many sections will you need to calculate them?

Figure 5: : Example 4.5

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Topicsheet 01 Bending Moment and Shear Forces Diagrams

In this case, we will need 3 sections to draw the bending moment and shear force diagram.
(Actually, it would be much easier to solve it using Macauley’s method, even without calculating
deflection). We did go through the problem in the lecture; The three sections are:

• Section 1: for x ≤ 2; in this case, we have M ∝ x2

• Section 2: The UDL is treated as a concentrated load at x = 1 and the BM is ∝ x.

• Section 3: The BM is still ∝ x, but the slope has changed as we now have the second
concentrated load in our equation as well.

We will use the values for the external loads and moments that we had already calculated
previously: F1 = 3.5kN, F2 = 2.5kN . Section 1:
X kN
F = 0 ⇒ −F1 + wx + Q = 0 ⇒ Q = 3.5kN − 2 ·x
m
X x w
M = 0 ⇒ −F1 x + wx · + M = 0 ⇒ M = 3.5x − x2
2 2

Section 2:
X
F = 0 ⇒ −F1 + 4kN + Q = 0 ⇒ Q = 3.5kN − 4kN = −0.5kN
X
M = 0 ⇒ −F1 x + 4(x − 1) + M = 0 ⇒ M = 3.5x − 4x + 4 = 4 − 0.5x

Section 3: X
F = 0 ⇒ −F1 + 4kN + 2kN + Q = 0 ⇒ Q = −2.5kN
X
M = 0 ⇒ −F1 x + 4(x − 1) + 2(x − 3) + M = 0 ⇒ M = 3.5x − 4x + 4 − 2x + 6 = 10 − 2.5x

Figure 6: : Bending moment diagram of 4.5.; Note that if you move the three sections together,
the values for the right side of each section matches the values on the left side of the next section

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