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In applied mechanics, bending (also known as flexure) characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element.
Contents
- Quasi static bending of beams
- EulerBernoulli bending theory
- Plastic bending
- Complex or asymmetrical bending
- Large bending deformation
- Timoshenko bending theory
- Dynamic bending of beams
- EulerBernoulli theory
- Free vibrations
- TimoshenkoRayleigh theory
- Quasistatic bending of plates
- KirchhoffLove theory of plates
- MindlinReissner theory of plates
- Dynamics of thin Kirchhoff plates
- References
The structural element is assumed to be such that at least one of its dimensions is a small fraction, typically 1/10 or less, of the other two. When the length is considerably longer than the width and the thickness, the element is called a beam. For example, a closet rod sagging under the weight of clothes on clothes hangers is an example of a beam experiencing bending. On the other hand, a shell is a structure of any geometric form where the length and the width are of the same order of magnitude but the thickness of the structure (known as the 'wall') is considerably smaller. A large diameter, but thin-walled, short tube supported at its ends and loaded laterally is an example of a shell experiencing bending.
In the absence of a qualifier, the term bending is ambiguous because bending can occur locally in all objects. Therefore, to make the usage of the term more precise, engineers refer to a specific object such as; the bending of rods, the bending of beams, the bending of plates, the bending of shells and so on.
Quasi-static bending of beams
A beam deforms and stresses develop inside it when a transverse load is applied on it. In the quasi-static case, the amount of bending deflection and the stresses that develop are assumed not to change over time. In a horizontal beam supported at the ends and loaded downwards in the middle, the material at the over-side of the beam is compressed while the material at the underside is stretched. There are two forms of internal stresses caused by lateral loads:
These last two forces form a couple or moment as they are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This bending moment resists the sagging deformation characteristic of a beam experiencing bending. The stress distribution in a beam can be predicted quite accurately when some simplifying assumptions are used.
Euler–Bernoulli bending theory
In the Euler–Bernoulli theory of slender beams, a major assumption is that 'plane sections remain plane'. In other words, any deformation due to shear across the section is not accounted for (no shear deformation). Also, this linear distribution is only applicable if the maximum stress is less than the yield stress of the material. For stresses that exceed yield, refer to article plastic bending. At yield, the maximum stress experienced in the section (at the furthest points from the neutral axis of the beam) is defined as the flexural strength.
Consider beams where the following are true:
In this case, the equation describing beam deflection (
where the second derivative of its deflected shape with respect to
If, in addition, the beam is homogeneous along its length as well, and not tapered (i.e. constant cross section), and deflects under an applied transverse load
This is the Euler–Bernoulli equation for beam bending.
After a solution for the displacement of the beam has been obtained, the bending moment (
Simple beam bending is often analyzed with the Euler–Bernoulli beam equation. The conditions for using simple bending theory are:
- The beam is subject to pure bending. This means that the shear force is zero, and that no torsional or axial loads are present.
- The material is isotropic (or orthotropic) and homogeneous.
- The material obeys Hooke's law (it is linearly elastic and will not deform plastically).
- The beam is initially straight with a cross section that is constant throughout the beam length.
- The beam has an axis of symmetry in the plane of bending.
- The proportions of the beam are such that it would fail by bending rather than by crushing, wrinkling or sideways buckling.
- Cross-sections of the beam remain plane during bending.
Compressive and tensile forces develop in the direction of the beam axis under bending loads. These forces induce stresses on the beam. The maximum compressive stress is found at the uppermost edge of the beam while the maximum tensile stress is located at the lower edge of the beam. Since the stresses between these two opposing maxima vary linearly, there therefore exists a point on the linear path between them where there is no bending stress. The locus of these points is the neutral axis. Because of this area with no stress and the adjacent areas with low stress, using uniform cross section beams in bending is not a particularly efficient means of supporting a load as it does not use the full capacity of the beam until it is on the brink of collapse. Wide-flange beams (I-beams) and truss girders effectively address this inefficiency as they minimize the amount of material in this under-stressed region.
The classic formula for determining the bending stress in a beam under simple bending is:
where
Plastic bending
The equation
Complex or asymmetrical bending
The equation above is only valid if the cross-section is symmetrical. For homogeneous beams with asymmetrical sections, the maximum bending stress in the beam is given by
where
Large bending deformation
For large deformations of the body, the stress in the cross-section is calculated using an extended version of this formula. First the following assumptions must be made:
- Assumption of flat sections – before and after deformation the considered section of body remains flat (i.e., is not swirled).
- Shear and normal stresses in this section that are perpendicular to the normal vector of cross section have no influence on normal stresses that are parallel to this section.
Large bending considerations should be implemented when the bending radius
With those assumptions the stress in large bending is calculated as:
where
When bending radius
Timoshenko bending theory
In 1921, Timoshenko improved upon the Euler–Bernoulli theory of beams by adding the effect of shear into the beam equation. The kinematic assumptions of the Timoshenko theory are:
However, normals to the axis are not required to remain perpendicular to the axis after deformation.
The equation for the quasistatic bending of a linear elastic, isotropic, homogeneous beam of constant cross-section beam under these assumptions is
where
The rotation (
The bending moment (
Dynamic bending of beams
The dynamic bending of beams, also known as flexural vibrations of beams, was first investigated by Daniel Bernoulli in the late 18th century. Bernoulli's equation of motion of a vibrating beam tended to overestimate the natural frequencies of beams and was improved marginally by Rayleigh in 1877 by the addition of a mid-plane rotation. In 1921 Stephen Timoshenko improved the theory further by incorporating the effect of shear on the dynamic response of bending beams. This allowed the theory to be used for problems involving high frequencies of vibration where the dynamic Euler–Bernoulli theory is inadequate. The Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko theories for the dynamic bending of beams continue to be used widely by engineers.
Euler–Bernoulli theory
The Euler–Bernoulli equation for the dynamic bending of slender, isotropic, homogeneous beams of constant cross-section under an applied transverse load
where
Free vibrations
For the situation where there is no transverse load on the beam, the bending equation takes the form
Free, harmonic vibrations of the beam can then be expressed as
and the bending equation can be written as
The general solution of the above equation is
where
Timoshenko–Rayleigh theory
In 1877, Rayleigh proposed an improvement to the dynamic Euler–Bernoulli beam theory by including the effect of rotational inertia of the cross-section of the beam. Timoshenko improved upon that theory in 1922 by adding the effect of shear into the beam equation. Shear deformations of the normal to the mid-surface of the beam are allowed in the Timoshenko–Rayleigh theory.
The equation for the bending of a linear elastic, isotropic, homogeneous beam of constant cross-section beam under these assumptions is
where
Free vibrations
For free, harmonic vibrations the Timoshenko–Rayleigh equations take the form
This equation can be solved by noting that all the derivatives of
The solutions of this quartic equation are
where
The general solution of the Timoshenko-Rayleigh beam equation for free vibrations can then be written as
Quasistatic bending of plates
The defining feature of beams is that one of the dimensions is much larger than the other two. A structure is called a plate when it is flat and one of its dimensions is much smaller than the other two. There are several theories that attempt to describe the deformation and stress in a plate under applied loads two of which have been used widely. These are
Kirchhoff–Love theory of plates
The assumptions of Kirchhoff–Love theory are
These assumptions imply that
where
The strain-displacement relations are
The equilibrium equations are
where
In terms of displacements, the equilibrium equations for an isotropic, linear elastic plate in the absence of external load can be written as
In direct tensor notation,
Mindlin–Reissner theory of plates
The special assumption of this theory is that normals to the mid-surface remain straight and inextensible but not necessarily normal to the mid-surface after deformation. The displacements of the plate are given by
where
The strain-displacement relations that result from these assumptions are
where
The equilibrium equations are
where
Dynamics of thin Kirchhoff plates
The dynamic theory of plates determines the propagation of waves in the plates, and the study of standing waves and vibration modes. The equations that govern the dynamic bending of Kirchhoff plates are
where, for a plate with density
and
The figures below show some vibrational modes of a circular plate.