CE-223

STATICS
INTERNAL FORCES

Internal Loadings Developed in Structural Members

To design a structural or mechanical member it is necessary to know the loading

acting within the member in order to be sure the material can resist this loading.

Internal loadings can be determined by using the method of sections

If the internal loadings acting on the cross section at point B are to be determined, we
must pass an imaginary section a–a perpendicular to the axis of the beam through
point B and then separate the beam into two segments.
The internal loadings acting at B will then be exposed and become external on the free-
body diagram of each segment.

The force component NB that acts perpendicular to the cross section is termed the normal
force. The force component VB that is tangent to the cross section is called the shear force,
and the couple moment MB is referred to as the bending moment.
According to Newton’s third law, these loadings must act in opposite directions on each
segment
They can be determined by applying the equations of equilibrium to the free-body diagram of
either segment
A direct solution for NB is obtained by applying σ Fx = 0, VB is obtained from σ Fy = 0, and
MB can be obtained by applying σ MB = 0, since the moments of NB and VB about B are
zero.
Here Ny is the normal force, and Vx and Vz are shear force components. My
is a torsional or twisting moment, and Mx and Mz are bending moment
components.
Sign Convention

Although this sign convention can be arbitrarily assigned, the

one that is widely accepted will be used here, figure.

The normal force is said to be positive if it creates tension,

a positive shear force will cause the beam segment on which
it acts to rotate clockwise,
a positive bending moment will tend to bend the segment on
which it acts in a concave upward.

Loadings that are opposite to these are considered negative.

Procedure for Analysis
The method of sections can be used to determine the internal loadings on the cross section of a
member using the following procedure.

• Support Reactions. Before the member is sectioned, it may first be necessary to determine its
support reactions.
• Free-Body Diagram.
It is important to keep all distributed loadings, couple moments, and forces acting on the
member in their exact locations, then pass an imaginary section through the member,
perpendicular to its axis at the point where the internal loadings are to be determined.

After the section is made, draw a free-body diagram of the segment that has the least number of
loads on it, and indicate the components of the internal force and couple moment resultants at
the cross section acting in their positive directions in accordance with the established sign
convention.
• Equations of Equilibrium.
Moments should be summed at the section. This way the normal and shear forces at the
section are eliminated, and we can obtain a direct solution for the moment.

If the solution of the equilibrium equations yields a negative scalar, the sense of the quantity is
opposite to that shown on the free-body diagram.
EXAMPLE: Determine the normal force,
shear force, and bending moment acting just
to the left, point B, and just to the right, point
C, of the 6-kN force on the beam in Fig.

SOLUTION:
EXAMPLE:Determine the normal force, shear
force, and bending moment at C of the beam in
Fig.

SOLUTION:
EXAMPLE:Determine the normal force, shear
force, and bending moment acting at point B of
the two-member frame shown in Fig.

SOLUTION:
Shear and Moment Equations and Diagram
Beams are structural members designed to support loadings applied perpendicular to
their axes. In general, they are long and straight and have a constant cross-sectional area.
They are often classified as to how they are supported. For example, a simply
supported beam is pinned at one end and roller supported at the other, as in Fig.

The actual design of a beam requires a detailed knowledge of the variation of the internal
shear force V and bending moment M acting at each point along the axis of the beam.

These variations of V and M along the beam’s axis can be obtained by using the method of
sections.
In general, the internal shear and bending-moment functions will be discontinuous, or their
slopes will be discontinuous, at points where a distributed load changes or where concentrated
forces or couple moments are applied. Because of this, these functions must be determined for
each segment of the beam located between any two discontinuities of loading.

For example, segments having lengths x1, x2, and x3 will have to be used to describe the
variation of V and M along the length of the beam in Fig. a. These functions will be valid
only within regions from 0 to a for x1, from a to b for x2, and from b to L for x3. If the
resulting functions of x are plotted, the graphs are termed the shear diagram and
bending-moment diagram, Fig. b and Fig. c respectively.7777
Procedure for Analysis
The shear and bending-moment diagrams for a beam can be constructed using the following
procedure.
Support Reactions. Determine all the reactive forces and couple moments acting on the
beam and resolve all the forces into components acting perpendicular and parallel to the
beam’s axis.

Shear and Moment Function. Specify separate coordinates x having an origin at the beam’s
left end and extending to regions of the beam between concentrated forces and/or couple
moments, or where the distributed loading is continuous.

Section the beam at each distance x and draw the free-body diagram of one of the segments.
Be sure V and M are shown acting in their positive sense, in accordance with the sign
convention given in Fig.

The shear V is obtained by summing forces perpendicular to the beam’s axis, and the moment
M is obtained by summing moments about the sectioned end of the segment.
Shear and Moment Diagrams. Plot the shear diagram (V versus x) and the moment
diagram (M versus x). If computed values of the functions describing V and M are
positive, the values are plotted above the x axis, whereas negative values are plotted
below the x axis.
 Relations Between Distributed Load, Shear and Moment

Consider the beam AD shown in Fig. a, which is subjected to an arbitrary load w = w(x) and
a series of concentrated forces and couple moments.

The internal shear force and bending moment shown on the free-body diagram are assumed
to act in the positive sense according to the established sign convention.

Note that both the shear force and moment acting on the right-hand face must be increased by
a small, finite amount in order to keep the segment in equilibrium.

The distributed loading has been replaced by a resultant force Δ F = w(x)Δ x that acts at a
fractional distance k(Δ x) from the right end, where 0 <k < 1 [for example, if w(x) is
uniform, k = 1/2].
Relation Between the Distributed Load and Shear.

If we apply the force equation of equilibrium to the segment, then

(7.1)

If we rewrite the above equation in the form dV = w(x)dx and perform an integration
between any two points B and C on the beam, we see that

(7.2)
Relation Between the Shear and Moment.

If we apply the moment equation of equilibrium about point O on the free-body diagram
Force

A free-body diagram of a small segment of the

beam taken from under one of the forces, is
shown in Figure (a)

Here force equilibrium requires

Since the change in shear is positive, the shear diagram will “jump” upward
when F acts upward on the beam. Likewise, the jump in shear (ΔV ) is
downward when F acts downward.
 Couple Moment

If we remove a segment of the beam in fig. a that is located at the couple moment 𝑀0 , the
free-body diagram shown in fig. b results. In this case letting ∆𝑥 = 0 , moment
equilibrium requires

(a)

Thus, the change in moment is positive, or the moment diagram will “jump” upward if
𝑀0 is clockwise. Likewise, the jump M is downward when 𝑀0 is counterclockwise.
EXAMPLE: Draw the shear and moment
diagrams for the beam shown in figure.

SOLUTION:
EXAMPLE: Draw the shear and moment
diagrams for the overhang beam in Fig. 7–16a.

SOLUTION:
Shear Diagram. The shear of -2 kN at end A of the
beam is plotted at x = 0, Fig. 7–16c. The slopes are
determined from the loading and from this the shear
diagram is constructed, as indicated in the figure. In
particular, notice the positive jump of 10 kN at x = 4
m due to the force By, as indicated in the figure.

Moment Diagram. The moment of zero at x = 0 is

plotted, Fig. 7–16d, then following the behavior of
the slope found from the shear diagram, the moment
diagram is constructed. The moment at x = 4 m is
found from the area under the shear diagram.
We can also obtain this value by using the method of sections, as shown in Fig. 7–16e.
EXAMPLE: The shaft in Fig. 7–17a is
supported by a thrust bearing at A and a journal
bearing at B. Draw the shear and moment
diagrams.

Shear Diagram. As shown in Fig. 7–17c, the shear at x= 0 is +240.

Following the slope defined by the loading, the shear diagram is
constructed, where at B its value is -480 lb. Since the shear changes
sign, the point where V = 0 must be located. To do this we will use the
method of sections. The free-body diagram of the left segment of the
shaft, sectioned at an arbitrary position x within the region 0≤ x <12 ft,
is shown in Fig. 7–17e. Notice that the intensity of the distributed load
at x is w= 10x, which has been found by proportional triangles, i.e.,
120/12 = w/x.

Moment Diagram. The moment diagram starts at 0 since there is no moment

at A, then it is constructed based on the slope as determined from the shear
diagram. The maximum moment occurs at x = 6.93 ft, where the shear is equal
to zero, since dM/dx = V = 0, Fig. 7–17e,