PENTECOST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & COMPUTING

DEPARTMENT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
END OF SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS JUNE 2015
COURSE TITLE: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF BEAMS & COLUMNS
LEVEL 200 - BRIDGING
BSc (Quantity Surveying & Construction Economics)
BSc (Construction Technology & Engineering Management)
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS 3HRS
Time Allowed - 3 Hrs
INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

1. Do not write on the question paper

2. Do not leave your seat unless you are given permission by an invigilator
3. All answers should be written in the answer booklet(s) provided
4. All rough work should be written in the answer booklet and a line drawn through them to
indicate they are not part of the main answers.
5. Write legibly in blue or black ink
6. PDAs and mobile phones are not allowed in the examinations
7. You may not leave the examination room until after the first hour
8. All announcements would be made when there are 30 minutes of the exam time left.
9. At the end of examinations remain seated until your answer booklet(s) have been
collected and you have been asked to leave.

PUC - DEPARTMENT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

NANA BENYI ANSAH

Question One
a) From the loaded beam shown below, draw the bending moment and shear force
diagrams.

24kNm
3kN/m

6kN

3kN/m
A

B
4m

2m

D
4m

E
4m

4m

b) Express the shear force V and the bending moment M as a function of the distance x,
from the left end of the beam. Plot the shear force and the bending moment diagrams.
(25marks)
Question Two
a) In brittle materials failure occurs due to separation of atomic planes. In ductile materials
yielding occurs not due to separation of atoms but due to sliding of atoms. Discuss the
failure theory behind the outlined principle.
(9 marks)
b) Using the Rankine Theory of structural instability show that the failure compression
stress (c) of a column of any length is given by c =
the material constant, Le/r = slenderness ratio.

= s 1+k (Le/r) , where = k is

(7 marks)

c)
Question Three
a) A solid circular shaft of diameter 225mm is to be replaced by a hollow shaft in which
the ratio of the diameters is 1 : 1. Determine the size of the hollow shaft required to
transmit the same torque as the solid shaft at the same maximum shearing stress.
Calculate the percentage economy in mass of material used that this change will
produce.
(11marks)

PUC - DEPARTMENT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

NANA BENYI ANSAH

b) A simply supported beam is loaded as shown below. Determine the magnitude of the
deflection at mid span. EI = constant
(14 marks)
8kN
5kN
10kN
A

Y
A

Y
E
2m

4m

3m

1m

Question Four
A statically determinate rigid jointed frame is shown below. For the loaded case shown,
determine the following:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)

support reactions
sketch the axial load
shear force and
bending moment diagrams

PUC - DEPARTMENT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

(25 marks)

NANA BENYI ANSAH

24kN
6kN/m D

2.5m

E 15kN

2.5m

12kN B

HA

F
3.0m

PUC - DEPARTMENT OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT

H
F

6.0m

NANA BENYI ANSAH