MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

Unit 1 Introduction and revision

1.1 Introduction:
The second semester of this course is primarily a continuation of Solid Mechanics (Mech 1230). We
will cover a wide range of important mechanics topics this semester and the topics are more
mathematical than Solid Mechanics.
When mechanical engineers design a system, the safety of the design is important and needs to be
evaluated. The safety of the design can be evaluated in terms of mechanics. For example, when the
maximum direct stress is larger than the yielding stress of a brittle material, the design may fail due to
rupture. When the maximum shear stress is larger than a critical value of a ductile material, the design
may fail due to yielding. These are the strength criteria. In the stiffness criterion, the safety of a
mechanical system is evaluated by comparing the strain or deflection with the corresponding critical
values. Therefore, the stress, strain and deflection of a mechanical system or component are important
for evaluating the safety of the design. So this course will discuss these concepts.
There are other modes of failure in mechanical engineering. For example, if the compressive load
applied on a member increases, it will ultimately become large enough to cause the sideways deflection
of the member even though the stress still remains elastic. This failure mode is called instability (or
buckling). Moreover, when the loading or moment applied on a beam increases, the stress in the beam
will increase correspondingly. When the stress exceeds the ultimate stress of the material of the beam,
another important failure mode, collapse, will occur. So this course will also discuss the critical load
that may cause the instability of a member, and the critical moment and load that may cause the
collapse of a beam.
Furthermore, it is common to have uncertainties in evaluating the performance of engineering systems.
For instance, the loading conditions, material properties and geometries of a system could all have
uncertainties due to many reasons. These uncertainties will result in uncertain evaluation in the
performance of the design. Reliability assessment aims to reduce the likelihood of unacceptable
performance to a tolerable level. Therefore, reliability analyses will also be covered in this course.
Before the above topics are introduced, to make sure you can better understand this course, some
important concepts that you have learned from the first year’s courses will be revised in the first unit.
These concepts mainly include the stress and strain, sign conventions of beams, how to use the free
body diagram to calculate the internal bending moment and the shear force on the cross section of
the beam, and the properties of areas.
The remaining units will discuss the direct stress in asymmetric beams; the shear stress in symmetric
beams; the deflection of the beams; instability (buckling); collapse; mathematical theory of elasticity;
and reliability analyses. After this course, you will develop an in-depth understanding of mechanics.

1.2 Stress and strain:

Stress: the internal force per unit area.

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∆𝐹
𝜎 = lim (1.1)
∆𝐴→0 ∆𝐴

where  is stress; F is the internal force acted on a small element of area; A is a small element of
area; Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2

Normal (or direct) stress: Perpendicular to the plane that the stress acts on (x, y, and z in Figure
1.2). When acting outwards from the plane, termed tensile stress and given a positive sign. Stress
acting towards the plane is termed compressive stress and is negative in sign.
Shear stress: A force applied tangential or parallel to a surface is termed a shear force. Shear stress
is the internal shear force per unit area (yx, yz, xy, xz, zy, andzx in Figure 1.2). A double subscript
notation is required to define shear stresses with respect to the coordinate axes. The first subscript
gives the direction of the normal to the plane on which the stress is acting, and the second
subscript indicates the direction of the shear stress component. For instance, yx is a shear stress
acting on the xz plane, the normal of which is in the y direction, and pointing in the x direction. The
shear stress is positive when the direction of the stress vector and the direction of the normal to the
plane are both positive or both negative in relation to the directions of the coordinate axes. If the
directions of shear stress and the normal to the plane are opposite in sign, then the shear stress is
negative.

Figure 1.3
There are twelve possible shear stress components in a three-dimensional (3D) stress system
(Figure1.2, those on the obscured surfaces have been omitted for clarity). However, only three of
them are independent. Consider a small cubic element within a structure under shear (Figure 1.3).
Force equilibrium in the y direction requires
∑ 𝐹𝑦 = 0; zy(xy)  zy(xy) = 0 (1.2)

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

So, zy = zy. In a similar manner, force equilibrium in the z direction yields yz = yz.
Moment equilibrium about the x axis requires

∑ 𝑀𝑥 = 0  − 𝑧𝑦 (𝑥𝑦)∆𝑧 + 𝑦𝑧 (𝑥𝑧) ∆𝑦 = 0 (1.3)

So, zy = yz. These are termed complementary shear stresses. Thus, a shear stress on one plane is
always accompanied by a complementary shear stress of the same sign and magnitude on a
perpendicular plane. In a similar manner, moment equilibrium about the top right edge gives yz = zy.
Similarly, one can get xy = xy = yx = yx; and zx =  zx = xz = xz. Therefore, only three of the twelve
shear stress components of a 3D stress system are independent.
Normal (or direct) strain: the increase in length per unit original length. The strain at a point is
∆𝑠 ′ − ∆𝑠
𝜀 = lim (1.4)
∆𝑠→0 ∆𝑠

where  is the normal strain; ∆𝑠 is the length before deform; ∆𝑠 ′ is the length after deform (Figure
1.4). The normal strain is dimensionless. Positive when the initial line elongates but negative when the
line contracts.

Figure 1.4 Figure 1.5

Shear strain: change in angle due to shear stress.
π
= −𝜃 (1.5)
2
where  is the shear strain;  is the angle between two line segments, which were originally
perpendicular to one another, after deform due to shear stresses. Shear strain is measured in radians
(therefore, dimensionless). Shear strain is positive when  is smaller than π⁄2 (as shown in Figure
1.5), but negative when  is greater than π⁄2.

1.3 Sign convention for bending

In this course, we use the right hand coordinate system for the beams. Take your right hand, position
your thumb, index finger, and middle finger so that they are perpendicular to each other. Then the
following applies: the thumb points in the direction of the x axis; the index finger points in the direction
of the y axis; and middle finger points in the direction of the z axis (Figure 1.6).

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

When the coordinate system is applied on a horizontal beam (Figure 1.7), the x axis is along the beam
(positive from left to right); the positive direction of the y axis is downwards (this is convenient
because the positive direction of load is downwards as well). Thus, the z axis is pointing into the paper
if the beam is horizontal.

Figure 1.6 Figure 1.7

It is important that the analysis of internal forces and moments in bending shall be consistent within
and between various problems. In this course, for horizontal beams, positive values are as shown in
Figure 1.8. Loading is taken positive downwards since for most horizontal beams applied loading is
in that sense (Figure 1.8.2). Bending moment and shear force are vector pairs in the positive (or
negative) sense. The positive internal bending moment causes compression on the top surface of
the beam segment (Figure 1.8.3). In other words, if the internal bending moment acts on the right
hand end of a beam segment, the normal of which is in the positive x direction, then the internal bending
moment is positive when it causes an anti-clockwise rotation of the beam segment; if the internal
bending moment acts on the left hand end of a beam segment, the normal of which is in the negative
x direction, then the internal bending moment is positive when it causes a clockwise rotation of the
beam segment. The positive internal shear force causes a clockwise rotation of the beam segment
on which it acts (Figure 1.8.4). In other words, on the right hand cross section of a beam segment, the
positive internal shear force is in the positive y direction; on the left hand cross section of a beam
segment, the positive internal shear force is in the negative y direction.

Figure 1.8.1 Figure 1.8.2 Figure 1.8.3 Figure 1.8.4

Figure 1.8

1.4 Find the internal bending moment and shear force distribution in a beam
Both stress and deflection in the following Units are directly related to the internal bending moment
or shear force. So it is important to know the internal bending moment and shear force distribution on

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

a beam. How to find the internal bending moment and shear force distribution on a beam will be
illustrated in this section through two examples.

Example 1:
What are the internal shear force and bending moment in a simply supported beam (hinged support at
one end and a roller support at the other end) which is loaded with a concentrated force W (Figure 1.9)?
(Length of the beam, L; the distance between the loading and the left hand end is a)

Figure 1.9
Solution:
Step 1: Replacing the supports by reactions.
Because this is a simply supported beam, it only has reaction forces (no reaction moments). Note: if
an end is fixed (like a cantilever beam), the end has reaction bending moments as well when the
fixation is released.

Moreover, there are no horizontal forces applied on the beam. So there are no horizontal reaction
forces. Only vertical reaction forces occur at the ends (Figure 1.10)

Figure 1.10

Step 2: Finding the reaction forces using the equilibrium of force and moment.
A. Vertical force equilibrium:

W R1 – R2 = 0 (a)
B. Moment equilibrium about the left hand end:

R2L Wa = 0 (b)

C. From equations (a) and (b):

R2 = Wa/L; R1 = W Wa/L

Step 3: Drawing the free body diagram (FBD) for the (0xa) portion of the beam. Assume both
internal shear force and moment are positive.

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

Step 4: Finding the internal shear force (S) and moment (M) using the equilibrium of the force
and moment.

A. Vertical force equilibrium: S  R1 = 0  S = R1 = W Wa/L

B. Moment equilibrium about the right hand end: M – R1x = 0  M = R1x = Wx Wax/L
Note: moment caused by R1 is negative because this is the moment acting on the right hand surface
(the normal of which is along the positive direction of the x axis) and it causes a clockwise rotation.
Step 5: Drawing the FBD for the other portion of the beam (a  x  L).

Step 6: Finding the internal shear force (S) and moment (M) using the equilibrium of the force
and moment of this portion of the beam (axL).
A. Vertical force equilibrium: S + W  R1 = 0  S = R1  W = –Wa/L
B. Moment equilibrium about the right hand end:
M – R1x +W(x a) = 0  M = R1x –W(x a) = Wa  Wax/L
Example 2:
A simply supported beam is loaded by a non-uniformly distributed loading. Dimensions of the beam
and the magnitude of the non-uniform distributed loading are as shown in Figure 1.11. What are the
internal shear force and bending moment in this beam?

Figure 1.11

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Solution:

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MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

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MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

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1.5 Properties of areas

The analysis of stresses in symmetric and asymmetric beams depends on the shape and area of the
cross section of the beam. This is because the internal force and moment are derived from the stress
acting on the area of the cross section. To obtain the total shear force or bending moment effect on a
cross section, we must sum up or integrate all the constituent elements and the final expressions involve
integrals for the total area in the question. These integrals are referred to as “properties” of areas.

Figure 1.15
1.5.1. Area of an arbitrary shape
Figure 1.15 shows an arbitrary shaped area. dA is the area of a small element located at (x, y) in the
arbitrary shape. Then the total area of the shape is
𝐴 = ∬ d𝐴 (1.6)
1.5.2. First moment of area and centroid
The first moment of area of the element dA (Figure 1.15) about the y axis is x dA. Therefore, the first
moment of area of the whole shape about the y axis is ∬ 𝑥d𝐴. Similarly, the first moment of area of
the whole shape about the x axis is ∬ 𝑦d𝐴.
Let the coordinates of the centroid of the area be 𝑥̅ and 𝑦̅, as shown in Figure 1.15. Then the first
moment of area of the whole area about one axis is the same as the sum of the moments of all the
elements of area about that axis, or
𝐴𝑥̅ = ∬ 𝑥d𝐴 (1.7)
𝐴𝑦̅ = ∬ 𝑦d𝐴 (1.8)
From equations (1.7) and (1.8),
𝟏 𝟏
̅=
𝒙 ∬ 𝒙𝐝𝑨 , 𝒚
̅ = ∬ 𝒚𝐝𝑨 (1.9)
𝑨 𝑨

In other words, the centroid of the arbitrary shape can be determined by the first moments of
area of the whole shape and the total area of the shape.
Often an area can be divided into several parts having simpler shapes. If the area and location of the
centroid of each of these composite shapes are known, the need for integration to determine the
centroid of the entire area can be eliminated. In this case, the integrals in equations (1.9) can be
replaced by finite summation; i.e.,

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

∑𝒙
̃𝑨 ∑𝒚
̃𝑨
̅=
𝒙 ̅=
,𝒚 (1.10)
∑𝑨 ∑𝑨
Where 𝑥̃ and 𝑦̃ are the algebraic distance or x, y coordinates for the centroid of each composite part,
and ∑ 𝐴 is the sum of the areas of the composite parts or simply the total area.
1.5.3. Second moment of area
The second moment of area of the element dA (Figure 1.15) about the centroidal axis y is x 2dA.
Therefore, the second moment of area of the whole area about the y axis is
𝐼𝑦 ′ = ∬ 𝑥 2 d𝐴 (1.11)

Similarly, the first moment of area of the whole area about the centroidal x axis is
𝐼𝑥 ′ = ∬ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝐴 (1.12)
Note, equations (1.11) and (1.12) are applicable only when the second moments of area are about
the centroidal axes. If the second moments of area are not about the centroidal axes, we should use
the parallel axes theorem (see section 1.5.4 for details).
Second moment of area for a rectangle
Common shapes of beams are composed of rectangles. So the second moment of area for a rectangle
is intensively used in this course.
Consider an element of area bdy in Figure 1.16. The second moment of area of this element about the
z axis is y2bdy. To obtain 𝐼𝑧 for the whole cross section, we must integrate between the limits d/2, so
that
𝑑/2 𝑑/2
𝑏𝑦 3 𝑏𝑑 3
𝐼𝑧 = ∫ 𝑦 𝑏d𝑦 = [
2 ] = (1.13)
−𝑑/2 3 −𝑑/2 12

Figure 1.16
Similarly, we can obtain
𝑑𝑏3
𝐼𝑦 = (1.14)
12
1.5.4. Parallel axes theorem

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It is very common to determine the second moment of area about the axes parallel to the centroidal
axes. For instance, if the arbitrary shape A in Figure 1.15 is only one part of a cross section and the
centroid of the whole cross section is at O, then we can not use equations (1.11) and (1.12) to calculate
the second moments of area of the shape about the x and y axes anymore. If the second moments of
area of the arbitrary shape in Figure 1.15 about its centroidal axis x and y are known (𝐼𝑥 ′ and 𝐼𝑦 ′ ,
respectively), the second moments of area of the shape about the x and y axes are
𝐼𝑥 = 𝐼𝑥 ′ +A𝑦̂ 2 (1.15)
𝐼𝑦 = 𝐼𝑦 ′ +A𝑥̂ 2 (1.16)
Where A is the total area of the shape, and 𝑥̂ and 𝑦̂ are the coordinates of the local centroid in the
global coordinate system xoy. In the case shown in Figure 1.15, 𝑦̂ = 𝑦, and 𝑥̂ = 𝑥.

1.5.5: Example 1 for properties of areas:

The dimensions of the cross section of a beam are given (Figure 1.17). Calculate: 1. The centroid of
the beam; 2. The second moment of area about the z axis.

Figure 1.17
Solution:
1. Position of the centroid:
Due to the symmetry of the shape of the cross section, the centroid is at the centre of the cross section.
𝑧̅ = 65 mm (from the left of the cross section)
𝑦̅ = 77.5 mm (from the top of the cross section)
2. After we obtain the position of the centroid, we locate a global coordinate system (yoz) at
the centroid to help us calculate the second moment of area.
3. Find the coordinates (𝒚 ̂, 𝒛̂) of the local centroids of the three components in the new global
coordinate system yoz. The coordinates of the local centroids of components 1, 2 and 3 are (-
77.5+10, 0), (0, 0), and (77.5-10, 0), respectively.
4. The second moment of area of the whole section is the summation of the second moments of
area of the three parts:
𝐼𝑧 = 𝐼𝑧1 + 𝐼𝑧2 + 𝐼𝑧3

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 MECH2610 – Engineering Mathematics – Semester 2 Unit 1

𝑏𝑑 3 130203
𝐼𝑧1 = + 𝐴1 𝑦̂ 2 = + 130 × 20 × (57.5 + 10)2 = 11.93 × 106 mm4
12 12
Due to symmetry,
𝐼𝑧3 = 𝐼𝑧1 = 11.93 × 106 mm4
Moreover, no need to use the parallel axes theorem for component 2
𝑏𝑑 3 161153
𝐼𝑧2 = = = 2.03 × 106 mm4
12 12
Therefore,
𝐼𝑧 = 𝐼𝑧1 + 𝐼𝑧2 + 𝐼𝑧3 =25.89 × 106 mm4

1.5.6: Example 2 for properties of areas:

The dimensions of the cross section of an I-beam are given (Figure 1.18). Calculate: 1. The centroid
of the beam; 2. The second moment of area about the z axis.

Figure 1.18
Solution:

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