ENGN 0310: Mechanics of Solids and Structures

Homework 5
Due: Friday, October 18, 2024
(69 points total)

1. (6 points) A 900 mm strip of steel (E = 200 GPa) is bent into a full circle by two
bending moments M as shown below.

M M
8 mm
h
⇢

900 mm

(a) Determine the maximum thickness h of the strip if the yield stress of the steel is
σY = 420 MPa.
(b) Calculate the corresponding bending moment M for the maximum thickness case.

2. (10 points) Consider a beam with cross-section consisting of a semi-circle of radius R,

R
z

The beam is subjected to a bending moment M about the z-axis and is made from a
material with Young’s modulus E.

(a) For the semi-circular cross-section, determine the location of the centroid and
the second moment of area about the neutral plane. (You may use a symbolic
integration calculator in the evaluation of the second moment of area.)
(b) Assuming the beam deforms elastically, determine the absolute value of the max-
imum stress in the beam, i.e., |σx |max , in terms of all or some of M , R, and
E.
(c) What are the maximum tensile and compressive stresses if R = 2 cm and M =
10, 000 N-cm.

1
3. (6 points) The four point bending flexural test is a commonly-used experimental tech-
nique for mechanical testing, shown below on the left. The testing apparatus consists
of two fixed supporting rollers (A and D) and two loading rollers (B and C) placed
at an equal distance from the center. Consider the arrangement, shown schematically
below on the right.

L/10 L/10
P P
B C

A D

The rollers A and D are fixed, and the rollers B and C are each subjected to a downward
force P , as shown above. Importantly, in this configuration, the region of the beam
between B and C experiences pure bending. The beam has a circular cross-section of
radius c.
(a) What is the internal bending moment in the region of the beam between B and
C?
(b) Assuming the beam deforms elastically, determine the absolute value of the max-
imum stress in the region of the beam between B and C.
(c) If the yield stress of the beam material is σY , at what value of the load PY does
the beam first yield?
4. (12 points) A beam has a cross-section, which is originally square. The cross-section
is then rotated by 45◦ , and the upper and lower portions of the beam are removed, so
that the cross-section is as shown below.

h
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h0
y

2
 (a) Calculate the second moment of area of the cross-section about the neutral plane,
I, in terms of h and h0 .
(b) The beam is subjected to a bending moment M about the z-axis. Assuming the
beam deforms elastically, determine the maximum stress magnitude in the beam
in terms of M , h, and h0 .
(c) If the yield stress of the beam material is σY , at what value of the bending moment
MY does the beam first yield?
(d) Determine the value of h0 for which the yield moment MY is maximized.

5. (8 points) A bar ABCD with a circular cross section of radius c is subjected to forces
P at points A and D as shown below.
y

B x C
L L
4 4
A D
P P
L

(a) What are the internal axial force and internal bending moment in the region of
the bar between B and C?
(b) Assuming the bar deforms elastically, determine the maximum tensile stress and
maximum compressive stress on a cross-section in the region of the bar between
points B and C.
Hint: You will need to consider stresses due to both bending and axial loading.
See Section 4.7 of Beer and Johnston (7th edition) for further information on this
point.

6. (15 points) The cross-section of a steel beam (E = 200 GPa) is constructed by means
of plates, which are welded together to form an I-section, as shown below.

165 mm

10 mm
A B C
y c
200 mm

z D

6 mm

3
 (a) Calculate the second moment of area of the cross-section about the neutral plane,
I, as well as the ratio S = I/c. Compare the results with a similar standard
wide-flange section, e.g., a W200×35.9 section, as given Appendix C of Beer and
Johnston.
(b) If the maximum allowable stress in the beam is 150 MPa, what is the maximum
allowable moment M that may be applied about the z-axis?
(c) What is the magnitude of the resultant axial force in the upper flange section
ABC under the moment calculated in part (b)?
(d) Estimate total moment carried by the two flanges (upper and lower). To estimate
the moment carried by a single flange, you may treat the axial force calculated in
part (c) as concentrated at a single point. What fraction of the total moment M
calculated in part (b) is carried by the flanges? What conclusions regarding the
design of beam cross-sections can be drawn from your answers?

7. (12 points) Consider a composite beam made of two materials subjected to pure bend-
ing as shown below.

y y

M 2E x M z h
E h

The top and bottom halves of the beam are made from materials with Young’s moduli
2E and E, respectively.

(a) Following the arguments for symmetric bending discussed in class, the axial strain
across the cross-section of the beam is x = −y/ρ, where ρ is the radius of cur-
vature of the neutral plane and y is measured from the neutral plane. However,
since the Young’s modulus is not constant across the cross-section, the neutral
plane does not pass through the centroid of the cross-section, i.e., the interface
between the materials. Determine the location of the neutral plane relative to the
interface between the materials.
(b) Determine the radius of curvature of the neutral plane ρ in terms of all or some
of M , b, h, and E.
(c) Sketch the axial stress σx as a function of y.