FUNDAMENTALS OF

MECHANICS

Chapter 1
Structural Requirements
To perform its function of supporting a building in
response to whatever loads may be applied to it, a
structural element/ system must possess four properties:
• it must be capable of achieving a state of equilibrium,
• it must have adequate strength and integrity,
• it must have adequate rigidity, and
• it must be stable.
1- Equilibrium
 A structure is said to be in static equilibrium if the resultant of the
external forces acting on the body - including the supporting
forces called reactions -is zero.
Types of Supports
 Supports can be classified into several basic categories based on
their dominant behavior. These categories are hinges/pins,
rollers/rockers, fixed, or links.
 Supports in reality never provide perfect restraint against
translation or rotation. However, in most cases, each support has
a dominant behavior that can be adequately captured by one of
the idealized supports.
Types of Supports
Connections (Joints)
 Connections between members in
planar structures by default transfer
two orthogonal forces (i.e., axial and
shear) and moments about the axis
perpendicular to the plane.
 Some connections are specifically
designed to not transfer one of these
internal forces between adjacent shear release/slider
members. In other words, the
connection releases one of these
forces. There are three possible moment release/
Typically this
internal hinge
releases, namely a shear type of
release/slider, a moment connection
does not
release/internal hinge, and an axial transfer
release. axial release moment 6
Stability and Statical Determinacy
 The conditions of determinacy, indeterminacy, and instability of
beams and frames can be stated as follows:

where
r = number of support reactions.
C = equations of condition (two equations for one internal roller and
one equation for each internal pin).
m = number of members and j = number of joints.

 Stability and statical determinacy depend upon the structure's

configuration; they are not dependent upon the loads applied to
the structure. 7
Statical Determinacy
Example: determine the indeterminacy of the
following

r=5, m=5, j=6, C=2 -> stable and

determinate

r=4, m=9, C=0, j=8. the

frame is statically
indeterminate to the 7
r=6, m=2, j=3, C=2 indeterminate to degrees.
first degree
8
Determinacy and Stability
Example: determine the indeterminacy of the following beam.
r=5, m=4, j=5, C=2 -> Determinate. However, the structure is
unstable.

9
Reactions
• Example: determine the
reactions of the following
structures

10 KN
10 KN/m

3m
10 m 9m 10 m 9m 10 m
10
Internal Forces in Members
 Internal forces that develop on a
particular cross-section of a structural
member in two dimensions are :
1. The normal force or axial force (N),
that gives rise to the axial
deformation.
2. The shear force (V) that gives rise to
the shear deformation.
3. The bending moment (M) that gives
rise to the bending deformation.

 Sign Convention. We will usually follow the sign convention

shown in the figures to indicate the positive internal forces.
Relations of Load, Shear, And Bending Moment
 Relations between load and shear
Δ Δ 0

Δ
lim
→ Δ

area under load curve

The slope of the shear diagram is

equal to the distributed force’s
value.

12
Relations of Load, Shear, And Bending Moment
 Relations between shear and
bending moment
Δ
Δ Δ Δ 0
2

Δ 1
lim lim Δ
→ Δ → 2

area under shear curve

The slope of the moment diagram is

equal to the value of the shear.
13
Drawing SF and BM diagrams

%&
()'*
%'

-
,& ()'* %'
.

%+
&)'*
%'
-
,+ &)'* %' 14
.
Internal forces
• Example: Draw the SF &
BM diagrams for the
following structures

10 KN
10 KN/m

3m
10 m 9m 10 m 9m 10 m
15
2- Strength
 The requirement for adequate strength is satisfied by ensuring
that the stress levels that occur in a structure's various elements,
when the peak loads are applied, are within acceptable limits.

/01 2 03 Where:
Ф is the safety factor
01 is material strength
03 is stress due to loads

 This is chiefly a matter of providing elements with cross-sections

of adequate size, given the strength of the constituent material.
 Each material has its unique mechanical properties, including
strength. In some materials, strength varies for different types of
internal forces.
Axial stress and strain
 For a Constant Load and Cross-Sectional Area:
8
• Axial Stress: 0 ; where A is the cross-sectional area
3
∆9
• Axial Strain: ϵ
9

• Hook’s law 0 45
89
→ ∆7
3:
E: Modulus of elasticity

 To design axially loaded

member
CDEFG M
<=>?1@A>B
<HHD IJHG KLEGKK 0NOO
Bending stress and strain in Beams

 Flexure Formula
Q F
0P ; 0TN
R R
I: the section’s second moment of area
Sheer stress
V
U
RL
• t = the shear stress in the member at
the point located at a distance y’
from the neutral axis.
• V = the internal resultant shear
force.
• I = the moment of inertia of the
entire cross-sectional area
• t = the width of the member’s cross-
sectional area, measured at the
point where t is to be determined
• V QW X <X
Torsional stress and strain
YZ
U
[

Angle of Twist for Constant Torque and

Cross-Sectional Area is determined from
Y7
\
[]
t = the shear stress in the member at the
point located at a distance ρ from the
center.
T = The applied torque.
J = Polar moment of inertia
G = shear modulus of the material
3- Serviceability - Rigidity
 The serviceability of the building is its
fitness for use that extends beyond
strength considerations. The structure
could be strong enough to carry the
required loads but the building function
still be impaired if the deflection limits
are exceeded.
 Building codes usually propose certain deflection limits such as
those shown in the table below.
Serviceability - Rigidity
To insure the fulfilment of the serviceability requirement the
determination of the member sizes is carried out either by using
geometric rules (such as minimum ratios of span to depth for beams
as shown in the table) or by deflection calculations
Deflection
 Understanding the displacement behavior of structural systems
is a very important part of understanding how structures
perform.

 The engineer should be able to sketch the anticipated deformed

shape of structures under load before making actual calculations.

 Such a practice provides an appreciation of the behavior of the

structure and provides a qualitative check of the magnitudes and
directions of the computed displacements.
Sketching Deformed Shapes of Structures
Sketching Deformed Shapes of Structures
Sketching Deformed Shapes of Structures
Elastic Beam Theory
KX K _ F \ _ \ F Q
^
K _ \ _
0 F
^ ; I` 0
4 R
1
→
_ 4R
1 a
Q⁄ a a
Q
≈
_ Q a c/a a
1

a
Q
a 4R
Elastic Beam Theory

As the second derivative of the elastic curve equals M/EI, the

moment diagram can be used to plot the deflected shape as
shown above.
Deflection by Double Integration
 The equations for the slope (θ) and the deflection (y) as a
function of x can be developed by solving the second-order
differential equation given before. The solution process for this
equation is straightforward since it can be solved by performing
two successive integrations (i.e., double integration).

Q Double integration of the

KHDfG \
4R moment equation for each
beam segment produces two
integration constants per
Q g
4R
segment. This means that we
need an equal number of
boundary conditions to solve
for these unknowns.
Deflection by Double Integration
 Example: A cantilever beam is shown with a point load being
applied to its tip. Use the double integration method to find the
equations for the slope and displacement of this beam. Identify
what the displacement and the slope are at the tip of the beam
(point B).
M7
<
M M7
∆h
M \h
1 1 M a
\ M M7 ) M7 ij * M
4R 4R 2

1 M a
Q M7 ij
4R 2

1 M c M7 a
Q ij ia
4R 6 2
M7
Deflection by Double Integration

At x = L
4- Geometric Stability
 Geometric stability is the property which preserves the geometry
of a structure and allows its elements to act together to resist
load.
 Stable systems revert to their original state following a slight
disturbance whereas unstable systems progress to an entirely
new state.

A rectangular frame with four hinges is capable of achieving a state of equilibrium

but is unstable because any slight lateral disturbance to the columns will induce it
to collapse. The frame on the right here is stabilized by the diagonal element
which makes no direct contribution to the resistance of the gravitational load.
4- Geometric Stability

A rectangular frame can be stabilized by the insertion of

(a) a diagonal element or
(b) a rigid diaphragm, or
(c) by the provision of rigid joints. A single rigid joint is in fact
sufficient to provide stability.
4- Geometric Stability

These frames contain the minimum number of braced panels

required for stability.
4- Geometric Stability
Additional cases of instability
• Long slender structural member subjected to an axial
compressive load can suddenly become unstable (buckle).
• Overall instability: structure overturning and/ or sliding
Stability of ‘real’ Structures
In practice, the stability of a structure is assured in one of three
ways: Shear walls/stiff core; Cross-bracing; and Rigid joints.
Shear Walls.
• This form of stability is usually used
in concrete buildings.
• Since most buildings have
staircases and many have lift
shafts, the walls that surround the
staircases and lift shafts are often
designed and constructed to
perform this role.
• However, distribution of shear
walls in the plan should be studied
carefully to avoid irregular
arrangement
Stability of ‘real’ Structures
Cross-bracing
This form of stability is
common in steel-framed
buildings.
Stability of ‘real’ Structures
Rigid joints
A third method of providing lateral stability is simply to make the
joints strong and stiff enough that movement of the beams relative
to the columns is not possible. The black blobs in Fig. indicate stiff
joints.
Buckling
 Buckling is characterized by the sudden sideways failure of a
structural member that is subject to high compressive stress,
where the compressive stress at the point of failure is less than
the ultimate compressive stress that the material is able to bear.

Types of Buckling
Buckling
 Euler's critical load is the compressive load at which a slender
column will suddenly bend or buckle. It is given by the formula
mn :o
MlA
)p9*n

where
Pcr= Euler's critical load
(longitudinal compression load on
column),
E= Young's modulus of the column
material,
I = minimum area moment of
inertia of the cross section of the
column (second moment of area),
L= unsupported length of column,
K= column effective length factor
Buckling
 Euler's critical load is the compressive load at which a slender
column will suddenly bend or buckle. It is given by the formula
8rs mn :
0NOO.
3 )p9/A*n

Where:
p9
: the slenderness ratio.
A
E R/< - radius of gyration.
A: the section area.
Buckling
 Column bracing in one plane only. When a column is braced in
only one plane, it can buckle in two modes. the column will
buckle in the mode associated with the higher slenderness ratio
(KL/r)
Buckling
Example 1: Determine the critical buckling load for a 50 x 50 mm
steel column that is 4.5 m long and pin-ended. Assume that E =
204,000 N/ mm2.
Buckling
Example 2: Determine the critical buckling load for a rectangular
column b = 25 mm and d = 100 mm. Assume that L = 4.5 m; pin-
ended; E = 200,000 N/ mm2.