Edition

Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Example 6.04
SOLUTION:
• Determine the shear force per unit
length along each edge of the upper
plank.

q 

VQ 2500 N  64296 mm 3  15.6
N
I 10332 mm 4 mm
q N
f   7.8
2 mm
For the upper plank,  edge force per unit length

Q  Ay  18mm 76 mm 47 mm 

• Based on the spacing between nails,
 64296 mm 3
determine the shear force in each
nail.
For the overall beam cross-section,
 N 
I 1
112 mm 
4
 1
76 mm 
4 F  f    7.8 44 mm 
12 12  mm 
 10332 mm 4 F  343.2 N

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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Shearing Stresses in Thin-Walled Members

• Consider a segment of a wide-flange
beam subjected to the vertical shear V.
• The longitudinal shear force on the
element is
VQ
H  x
I
• The corresponding shear stress is
H VQ
 zx   xz  
t x It

• Previously found a similar expression

for the shearing stress in the web
VQ
 xy 
It
• NOTE:  xy  0 in the flanges
 xz  0 in the web

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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Shearing Stresses in Thin-Walled Members

• The variation of shear flow across the
section depends only on the variation of
the first moment.
VQ
q t 
I

• For a box beam, q grows smoothly from

zero at A to a maximum at C and C’ and
then decreases back to zero at E.

• The sense of q in the horizontal portions

of the section may be deduced from the
sense in the vertical portions or the
sense of the shear V.

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6- 3

Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Shearing Stresses in Thin-Walled Members

• For a wide-flange beam, the shear flow

increases symmetrically from zero at A
and A’, reaches a maximum at C and
then decreases to zero at E and E’.

• The continuity of the variation in q and

the merging of q from section branches
suggests an analogy to fluid flow.

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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Plastic Deformations
I
• Recall: Y
M   Y  maximum elastic moment
c
• For M = PL < MY , the normal stress does
not exceed the yield stress anywhere along
the beam.
• For PL > MY , yield is initiated at B and B’.
For an elastoplastic material, the half-thickness
of the elastic core is found from
3  1 yY2 
Px  M Y 1  2 
2  3c 
 
• The section becomes fully plastic (yY = 0) at
the wall when
3
PL  M Y  M p
2
• Maximum load which the beam can support is
Mp
Pmax 
L
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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Plastic Deformations
• Preceding discussion was based on
normal stresses only

• Consider horizontal shear force on an

element within the plastic zone,
H   C   D dA   Y   Y dA  0
Therefore, the shear stress is zero in the
plastic zone.

• Shear load is carried by the elastic core,

3 P  y 2 
 xy  1 where A  2byY
2A  2
yY 
3P
 max 
2 A

• As A’ decreases, max increases and

may exceed Y
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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Sample Problem 6.3

SOLUTION:
• For the shaded area,
Q  108 mm 19.6 mm 122.2 mm 
 258700 mm 3

• The shear stress at a,

Knowing that the vertical shear is 200 

 
VQ 200 103 N 258.7 106 m3


kN in a W250x101 rolled-steel beam, It  
164 106 m 4 0.0196 m 
determine the horizontal shearing   16.1 MPa
stress in the top flange at the point a.

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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Unsymmetric Loading of Thin-Walled Members

• Beam loaded in a vertical plane

of symmetry deforms in the
symmetry plane without
twisting.
My VQ
x    ave 
I It

• Beam without a vertical plane

of symmetry bends and twists
under loading.
My VQ
x    ave 
I It

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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Unsymmetric Loading of Thin-Walled Members

• If the shear load is applied such that the beam
does not twist, then the shear stress distribution
satisfies
VQ D B E
 ave  V   q ds F   q ds    q ds   F 
It B A D

• F and F’ indicate a couple Fh and the need for

the application of a torque as well as the shear
load.
F h  Ve

• When the force P is applied at a distance e to the

left of the web centerline, the member bends in a
vertical plane without twisting.

• The point O is referred to as the shear center of

the beam section.
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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Example 6.05
• Determine the location for the shear center of the
channel section with b = 100 mm, h = 150 mm, and t = 4
mm
Fh
e
I
• where
b b VQVb h
F   q ds   ds   st ds
0 0 I I0 2
Vthb2

4I
1 3 1 3 h 
2
I  I web  2 I flange  th  2 bt  bt   
12 12  2  
1 th 2 6b  h 
 12

• Combining,
b 100 mm e  40 mm
e 
h 150 mm
2 2
3b 3100 mm 
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Edition
Fifth
MECHANICS OF MATERIALS Beer • Johnston • DeWolf • Mazurek

Example 6.06
• Determine the shear stress distribution for
V = 10 kN
q VQ
 
t It
• Shearing stresses in the flanges,

 st  
VQ V h Vh
 s
It It 2 2I
Vhb 6Vb
B  1 2 
 
2 12 th 6b  h  th6b  h 
610000 N 0.1 m 
  13.3 MPa
0.004 m 0.15 m 6  0.1 m  0.15 m 
• Shearing stress in the web,
VQ V  18 ht 4b  h  3V 4b  h 
 max   1 2 
It 12 th 6b  h t 2th6b  h 
310000 N 4  0.1 m  0.15 m 
  18.3 MPa
20.004 m 0.15 m 6  0.1 m  0.15 m 

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