146

Figure 1.18

Mechanics

Crank
mechanism.
Used with
permission from
Ref. 16.

Figure 1.19
Free body
diagrams of a
crank
mechanism.
Used with
permission from
Ref. 16.

Mechanics of Materials

147

1. Stress

For the arm BC , the bending stress will reach a maximum near the shaft at B.
The bending stress for the rectangular cross-section of the arm is
s

M
6M
64000
2
61;440 psi:
I =c bh
0:251:252

The torsional stress is



T 
t
1000
0:25
3

1:8

43;008 psi:
tmax 2 3 1:8
wt
w
1:25
1:250:252
m

1.14 Contact Stresses

The theory presented in this section is based on the Hertzian stresses
approach. A typical case of contact stresses occurs when the bodies in
contact have a double radius of curvature. This means that the radius in the
plane of rolling is different from the radius in a perpendicular plane, both
planes taken through the axis of the contacting force. When such bodies are
pressed together the produced stresses are three-dimensional. As the bodies
are pressed, the initial point of contact between the bodies becomes an area
of contact.
For example, if a force F is applied to two solid spheres of diameters d1
and d2 , respectively, the spheres are pressed together and a circular area of
contact of radius a is developed. The radius a is given by
s
2
2
3 3F 1 n1 =E1 1 n2 =E2
a
;
1:66
1=d1 1=d2
8
where E1 , n1 and E2 , n2 are the elastic constants of the two spheres,
respectively. The pressure distribution within each sphere is semielliptical
(Fig. 1.20). The maximum pressure Pmax is obtained at the center of the
contact area given by
Pmax

3F
:
2pa 2

1:67

In the case of the contact between a sphere and a plane surface or a

sphere and an internal spherical surface, Eqs. (1.66) and (1.67) can also be
applied. If we observe that for a plane surface d 1 and for an internal
surface the diameter is a negative quantity, the principal stresses are
3
20
1
7
6B
z
1
1 1 C
7
1:68
sx sy Pmax 6
2 5;
4@1 a tan z A1 m 
z
2 1 2
a
a
sz

pmax
:
z2
1 2
a

1:69

Mechanics

The stress occurs at the middle of the 1 14-in side.

148

Mechanics of Materials

Mechanics

Figure 1.20
Contact stress of
two spheres. (a)
Spheres in
contact; (b)
contact stress
distribution.
Used with
permission from
Ref. 16.

In the case of the contact between two cylinders of length l and

diameters d1 and d2 (Fig. 1.21), the area of contact is a narrow rectangle of
width 2b and length l . The pressure distribution is elliptical. The half-width b
is given by

s
2F 1 n21 =E1 1 n22 =E2
;
b
pl
1=d1 1=d2

1:70

and the maximum pressure by

Pmax

2F
:
pbl

1:71

As in the case of the sphere contact, setting d 1, the preceding equations

can be applied for the contact of a cylinder and a plane surface or a cylinder

149

Mechanics

2. Deection and Stiffness

Figure 1.21
Contact stress of
two cylinders.
(a) Cylinders in
contact; (b)
contact stress
distribution.
Used with
permission from
Ref. 16.

and an internal cylindrical surface (for the last situation d is negative). The
stresses on the z axis are given by the following equations, respectively:
!
r
z2 z
1 2
1:72
sx 2nPmax
b
b
3
20
1
r
2
C
7
6B
B2 1 C 1 z 2 z 7
1:73
sy Pmax 6
2A
4@
2
b
b5
z
1 2
b
Pmax
:
sz r
1:74
z2
1 2
b

2. Deection and Stiffness

A rigid is a mechanical element that does not bend, deect, or twist when an
external action is exerted on it. Conversely, a exible is a mechanical element

150

Mechanics of Materials

that changes its geometry when an external force, moment, or torque is

applied. Therefore, rigidity and exibility are terms that apply to particular
situations. This chapter deals with deection analysis that is frequently
performed in the design of, for example, transmissions, springs, or automotive suspensions.

2.1 Springs

Mechanics

The property of a material that enables it to regain its original geometry after
having been deformed is called elasticity. Let us consider a straight beam of
length l which is simply supported at the ends and loaded by the transversal
force F (Fig. 2.1a). If the elastic limit of the material is not exceeded (as
indicated by the graph), the deection y of the beam is linearly related to the
force, and, therefore, the beam can be described as a linear spring.
The case of a straight beam supported by two cylinders is illustrated in
Fig. 2.1b. As the force F is applied to the beam, the length between the
supports decreases and, therefore, a larger force is needed to deect a short
beam than that required for a long one. Hence, the more this beam is
deected, the stiffer it becomes. The force is not linearly related to the
deection, and, therefore, the beam can be described as a nonlinear
stiffening spring.
A dish-shaped round disk acted upon by the load F is shown in Fig. 2.1c.
To atten the disk, a larger force is needed, so the force increases rst. Then,
the force decreases as the disk approaches a at conguration. A mechanical
element having this behavior is called a nonlinear softening spring.
If we consider the relationship between force and deection as
F F y;

2:1

then the spring rate is dened as

ky lim

Dy!0

DF dF

;
Dy
dy

2:2

where y is measured at the point of application of F in the direction of F . For

a linear spring, k is a constant called the spring constant, and Eq. (2.2)
becomes
k

F
:
y

2:3

2.2 Spring Rates for Tension, Compression, and Torsion

The total extension or deformation of a uniform bar is
d

Fl
;
AE

2:4

151

Mechanics

2. Deection and Stiffness

Figure 2.1
Springs. (a)
Linear spring;
(b) stiffening
spring; (c) softening spring.
Used with
permission from
Ref. 16.

where F is the force applied on the bar, l the length of the bar, A the crosssectional area, and E the modulus of elasticity. From Eqs. (2.3) and (2.4), the
spring constant of an axially loaded bar is obtained:
k

AE
:
l

2:5

If a uniform round bar is subjected to a torque T , the angular deection is

y

Tl
;
GJ

2:6

152

Mechanics of Materials

where T is the torque, l the length of the bar, G the modulus of rigidity, and J
the polar moment of area. If we multiply Eq. (2.6) by 180=p and substitute
J pd 4 =32 (for a solid round bar), the expression for y becomes
y

583:6Tl
;
Gd 4

2:7

where y is in degrees and d is the diameter of the round cross-section. If we

rewrite Eq. (2.6) as a ratio between T and y, we can dene the spring rate:
k

T
GJ

:
y
l

2:8

Mechanics

2.3 Deection Analysis

If a beam is subjected to a positive bending moment M , the beam will deect
downward. The relationship between the curvature of the beam and the
external moment M is
1 M
;
r EI

2:9

where r is the radius of curvature, E the modulus of elasticity, and I the

second moment of area. It can be proved mathematically that the curvature
of a plane curve can be described by
1
d 2 y=dx 2
;

r 1 dy=dx 2 3=2

2:10

where y is the deection of the beam at any point of coordinate x along its
length. The slope of the beam at point x is
y

dy
:
dx

2:11

If the slope is very small, that is, y  0, then the denominator of Eq. (2.10)
"
 2 #3=2
dy
1 y2 3=2  1:
1
dx
Hence, Eq. (2.9) yields
M
d 2y
2:
EI
dx

2:12

Differentiating Eq. (2.12) two times successively gives

V
d 3y
3
EI
dx

2:13

q
d 4y
4;
EI
dx

2:14

153

2. Deection and Stiffness

where q is the load intensity and V the shear force,

V

dM
dx

and

dV
d 2M

q:
dx
dx 2

The preceding relations can be arranged as follows:

q
d 4y
4
EI
dx

2:15

V
d 3y
3
EI
dx

2:16

y f x :

2:17
2:18
2:19

Figure 2.2 shows a beam of length l 10 in loaded by the uniform load

w 10 lb=in. All quantities are positive if upward, and negative if downward.
Figure 2.2 also shows the shear force, bending moment, slope, and deection
diagrams. The values of these quantities at the ends of the beam, that is, at
x 0 and x l , are called boundary values. For example, the bending
moment and the deection are zero at each end because the beam is simply
supported.

2.4 Deections Analysis Using Singularity Functions

Let us consider a simply supported beam acted upon by a concentrated load
at the distance a from the origin of the xy coordinate system (Fig. 2.3). We
want to develop an analytical expression for the deection of the beam by
using the singularity functions studied in Section 1.8. Since the beam is
simply supported, we are interested in determining the deection of the
beam in between the supports, namely for 0 < x < l. Thus, Eq. (2.15) yields
EI

d 4y
q F hx ai1 :
dx 4

2:20

Because of the range chosen for x, the reactions R1 and R2 do not appear in
the preceding equation. Integrating from 0 to x Eq. (2.20) and using
Eq. (2.16) gives
EI

d 3y
V F hx ai0 C1 ;
dx 3

2:21

where C1 is an integration constant. Using Eq. (2.17) and integrating again,

we obtain
EI

d 2y
M F hx ai1 C1 x C2 ;
dx 2

2:22

Mechanics

M
d 2y
2
EI
dx
dy
y
dx

154

Mechanics of Materials

Mechanics

Figure 2.2

Uniformly loaded beam.

where C2 is also an integration constant. We can determine the constants C1

and C2 by considering two boundary conditions. The boundary condition
can be M 0 at x 0 applied to Eq. (2.22), which gives C2 0 and M 0
at x l also applied to Eq. (2.22), which gives
C1

F l a Fb

:
l
l

155

Mechanics

2. Deection and Stiffness

Figure 2.3
Simply
supported beam
loaded by a
concentrated
force.

Substituting C1 and C2 in Eq. (2.22) gives

EI

d 2y
Fbx
M
F hx ai1 :
2
dx
l

2:23

Integrating Eq. (2.23) twice according to Eqs. (2.18) and (2.19) yields
EI

dy
Fbx 2 F hx ai2

C3
EI y
2l
2
dx
EIy

Fbx 3 F hx ai3

C3 x C4 :
6l
6

2:24
2:25

The integration constants C3 and C4 in the preceding equations can be

evaluated by considering the boundary conditions y 0 at x 0 and y 0
at x l . Substituting the rst boundary condition in Eq. (2.25) yields C4 0.
The second condition substituted in Eq. (2.25) yields
0

Fbl 2 Fb 3

C3 l ;
6
6

156

Mechanics of Materials

or
C3

Fb 2
l b 2 :
6l

If we substitute C3 and C4 in Eq. (2.25), the analytical expression for the

deection y is obtained:
y

F
bx x 2 b 2 l 2 l hx ai3 :
6EIl

2:26

The shear force and bending moment diagrams are shown in Fig. 2.3.
As a second example, let us consider the beam shown in Fig. 2.4a. The
loading diagram and the approximate deection curve are shown in
Fig. 2.4b. We will develop the analytical expression for the deection y as
Mechanics

Figure 2.4
Cantilever beam
loaded by a
uniformly
distributed force
at the free end.
(a) Loading
diagram; (b)
free-body
diagram. Used
with permission
from Ref. 16.

a function of x in a similar manner as for the preceding example. The loading

equation for x in the range 0 < x < l is
q R2 hx ai1 whx ai0 :

2:27

Integrating this equation four times according to Eqs. (2.15) to (2.19) yields
V R2 hx ai0 whx ai1 C1
w
hx ai2 C1 x C2
2
R
w
C
EI y 2 hx ai2 hx ai3 1 x 2 C2 x C3
2
2
6
R2
w
C
C
EIy hx ai3 hx ai4 1 x 3 2 x 2 C3 x C4 :
6
6
2
24
M R2 hx ai1

2:28
2:29
2:30
2:31