Gere, J. M.

Bending Stresses in Beams

The Engineering Handbook.
Ed. Richard C. Dorf
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000

1998 by CRC PRESS LLC

5
Bending Stresses in Beams
This chapter contains selected material (text and figures) from Gere, J. M. and Timoshenko, S. P.
1990. Mechanics of Materials, 3rd ed. PWS, Boston. With permission.

5.1
5.2

Longitudinal Strains in Beams

Normal Stresses in Beams (Linearly Elastic Materials)

James M. Gere
Stanford University

A beam is a slender structural member subjected to lateral loads. In this chapter we consider the
bending stresses (i.e., normal stresses) in beams having initially straight longitudinal axes, such as
the cantilever beam of Fig. 5.1(a). For reference, we direct the positive x axis to the right along the
longitudinal axis of the beam and the positive y axis downward (because the deflections of most
beams are downward). The z axis, which is not shown in the figure, is directed away from the
viewer, so that the three axes form a right-handed coordinate system. All cross sections of the
beam are assumed to be symmetric about the xy plane, and all loads are assumed to act in this
plane. Consequently, the beam will deflect in this same plane [Fig. 5.1(b)], which is called
the plane of bending.
Pure bending refers to bending of a beam under a constant bending moment M, which means
that the shear force V is zero (because V = dM=dx): Nonuniform bending refers to bending in
the presence of shear forces, in which case the bending moment varies along the axis of the beam.
The sign convention for bending moments is shown in Fig. 5.2; note that positive bending moment
produces tension in the lower part of the beam and compression in the upper part.
The stresses and strains in a beam are directly related to the curvature of the deflection curve.
Because the x axis is positive to the right and the y axis is positive downward, the curvature is
positive when the beam is bent concave downward and negative when the beam is bent concave
upward (Fig. 5.2).

5.1 Longitudinal Strains in Beams

Consider a segment DE of a beam subjected to pure bending by positive bending moments M [Fig.
5.3(a)]. The cross section of the beam at section mn is of arbitrary shape except that it must be
symmetrical about the y axis [Fig. 5.3(b)]. All cross sections of the beam (such as mn) that were
plane before bending remain plane after bending, a fact that can be proven theoretically using
arguments based on symmetry. Therefore, plane sections remain plane regardless of the material
properties, whether elastic or inelastic, linear or nonlinear. (Of course, the material properties,
like the dimensions, must be symmetric about the plane of bending.)

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Figure 5.1 Bending of a cantilever beam.

Figure 5.2 Sign conventions for bending moment and curvature.

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Figure 5.3 Beam in pure bending. (a) Side view of segment of beam showing bending moments M and
typical section mn. (b) Cross section of beam at section mn.

With positive bending moments, the lower part of the beam is in tension and the upper part is in
compression. Therefore, longitudinal lines (i.e., line segments parallel to the x axis) in the lower
part of the beam are elongated and those in the upper part are shortened. The intermediate surface
in which longitudinal lines do not change in length is called the neutral surface of the beam. We
place the origin O of coordinates in this plane, so that the xz plane becomes the neutral surface.
The intersection of this surface with any cross-sectional plane is called the neutral axis of the
cross section, for instance, the z axis in Fig. 5.3(b).
Because plane sections remain plane, the longitudinal strains "x in the beam vary linearly with
the distance y from the neutral surface, regardless of the material properties. It can also be shown
that the strains are proportional to the curvature : Thus, the strains are given by the
equation
"x = y

(5:1)

The sign convention for "x is positive for elongation and negative for shortening. Note that when
the curvature is positive (Fig. 5.2) and y is positive (Fig. 5.3), the strain is negative.

5.2 Normal Stresses in Beams (Linearly Elastic

Materials)
Since longitudinal line elements in the beam are subjected only to tension or compression
(elongation or shortening), they are in a state of uniaxial stress. Therefore, we can use the
stress-strain diagram of the material to obtain the normal stresses x from the normal strains "x : If
the shape of the stress-strain curve can be expressed analytically, a formula can be derived for the
stresses in the beam; otherwise, they must be calculated numerically.
The simplest and most common stress-strain relationship is for a linearly elastic material, in
which case we can combine Hooke's law for uniaxial stress ( = E") with Eq. (5.1) and
obtain

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x = E"x = Ey

(5:2)

in which E is the modulus of elasticity of the material. Equation (5.2) shows that the normal
stresses acting on a cross section vary linearly with the distance y from the neutral surface when
the material follows Hooke's law.
Since the beam is in pure bending (Fig. 5.3), the resultant of the stresses x acting over the cross
section must equal the bending moment M. This observation provides two equations of staticsthe
first expressing that the resultant force in the x direction is equal to zero and the second expressing
that the resultant moment is equal to M. The first equation of statics leads to the
equation
Z

y dA = 0

(5:3)

which shows that the first moment of the cross-sectional area with respect to the z axis is zero.
Therefore, the z axis must pass through the centroid of the cross section. Since the z axis is also the
neutral axis, we arrive at the following conclusion: The neutral axis passes through the centroid C
of the cross section provided the material follows Hooke's law and there is no axial force acting on
the cross section.
Since the y axis is an axis of symmetry, the y axis also passes through the centroid. Therefore,
the origin of coordinates O is located at the centroid C of the cross section. Furthermore, the
symmetry of the cross section about the y axis means that the y axis is a principal axis. The z axis
is also a principal axis since it is perpendicular to the y axis. Therefore, when a beam of linearly
elastic material is subjected to pure bending, the y and z axes are principal centroidal axes.
The second equation of statics leads to the moment-curvature equation
M = EI

(5:4)

in which
I=

y 2 dA

(5:5)

is the moment of inertia of the cross-sectional area with respect to the z axis (that is, with respect to
the neutral axis). Moments of inertia have dimensions of length to the fourth power, and typical
units are in.4, mm4, and m4 for beam calculations. The quantity EI is a measure of the resistance of
the beam to bending and is called the flexural rigidity of the beam.
The minus sign in the moment-curvature equation is a consequence of the sign conventions we
have adopted for bending moments and coordinate axes (Fig. 5.2). We see that a positive bending
moment produces negative curvature and a negative bending moment produces positive curvature.
If the opposite sign convention for bending moments is used, or if the y axis is positive upward,
then the minus sign is omitted in Eq. (5.4) but a minus sign must be inserted in the flexure formula
[Eq. (5.6)] that follows.

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The normal stresses in the beam can be related to the bending moment M by eliminating the
curvature between Eqs. (5.2) and (5.4), yielding
x =

My
I

(5:6)

This equation, called the flexure formula, shows that the stresses are directly proportional to the
bending moment M and inversely proportional to the moment of inertia I of the cross section.
Furthermore, the stresses vary linearly with the distance y from the neutral axis, as shown in Fig.
5.4. Stresses calculated from the flexure formula are called bending stresses.
Figure 5.4 Bending stresses obtained from the flexure formula.

The maximum tensile and compressive bending stresses occur at points located farthest from the
neutral axis. Let us denote by c1 and c2 the distances from the neutral axis to the extreme elements
in the positive and negative y directions, respectively (see Figs. 5.3 and 5.4). Then the
corresponding maximum normal stresses 1 and 2 are
1 =

M
M c1
=
I
S1

2 =

M
M c2
=
I
S2

(5:7)

in which
S1 =

I
c1

S2 =

I
c2

(5:8)

The quantities S1 and S2 are known as the section moduli of the cross-sectional area. From Eq.
(5.8) we see that a section modulus has dimensions of length to the third power (for example, in.3,
mm3, or m3).
If the cross section is symmetric with respect to the z axis, which means that it is a doubly

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symmetric cross section, then c1 = c2 = c; and the maximum tensile and compressive stresses are
equal numerically:
1 = 2 =

M
Mc
=
I
S

(5:9)

in which
S=

I
c

(5:10)

is the section modulus. For a beam of rectangular cross section with width b and height h [Fig.
5.5(a)], the moment of inertia and section modulus are
bh3
I=
12

bh2
S=
6

(5:11)

For a circular cross section of diameter d [Fig. 5.5(b)], these properties are
I=

d4
64

S=

d3
32

(5:12)

The properties of many other plane figures are listed in textbooks and handbooks.
Figure 5.5 Doubly symmetric cross-sectional shapes.

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The preceding equations for the normal stresses apply rigorously only for pure bending, which
means that no shear forces act on the cross sections. The presence of shear forces produces
warping, or out-of-plane distortion, of the cross sections, and a cross section that is plane before
bending is no longer plane after bending. Warping due to shear greatly complicates the behavior of
the beam, but detailed investigations show that the normal stresses calculated from the flexure
formula are not significantly altered by the presence of the shear stresses and the associated
warping. Thus, under ordinary conditions we may use the flexure formula for calculating normal
stresses even when we have nonuniform bending.
The flexure formula gives results that are accurate only in regions of the beam where the stress
distribution is not disrupted by abrupt changes in the shape of the beam or by discontinuities in
loading. For instance, the flexure formula is not applicable at or very near the supports of a beam,
where the stress distribution is irregular. Such irregularities produce localized stresses, or stress
concentrations, that are much greater than the stresses obtained from the flexure formula. With
ductile materials and static loads, we may usually disregard the effects of stress concentrations.
However, they cannot be ignored when the materials are brittle or when the loads are dynamic in
character.
Example. The beam ABC shown in Fig. 5.6 has simple supports at A and B and an overhang
from B to C. A uniform load of intensity q = 3:0 kN/m acts throughout the length of the beam.
The beam is constructed of steel plates (12 mm thick) welded to form a channel section, the
dimensions of which are shown in Fig. 5.7(a). Calculate the maximum tensile and compressive
stresses in the beam due to the uniform load.
Figure 5.6 Beam dimensions.

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Figure 5.7 Cross section of beam.

Solution. The maximum tensile and compressive stresses occur at the cross sections where the
bending moments have their maximum numerical values. Therefore, we construct the
bending-moment diagram for the beam (Fig. 5.6) and note that the maximum positive and negative
moments equal 1:898 kN m and 3:375 kN m; respectively.
Next, we determine the position of the neutral axis by locating the centroid of the cross-sectional
area shown in Fig. 5.7(a). The results are as follows:
c1 = 61:52 mm

c2 = 18:48 mm

The moment of inertia of the cross-sectional area about the neutral axis (the z axis) is calculated

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with the aid of the parallel-axis theorem for moments of inertia; the result is
I = 2:469 106 mm 4

Also, the section moduli for the bottom and top of the beam, respectively, are
S1 =

I
= 40 100 mm 3
c1

S2 =

I
= 133 600 mm 3
c2

At the cross section of maximum positive bending moment, the largest tensile stress occurs at the
bottom of the beam (1 ) and the largest compressive stress occurs at the top (2 ) :
t = 1 =

c = 2 =

M
1:898 kN m
=
= 47:3 MPa
S1
40 100 mm 3

M
1:898 kN m
=
= 14:2 MPa
S2
133 600 mm 3

Similarly, the largest stresses at the section of maximum negative moment are
t = 2 =
c = 1 =

M
3:375 kN m
=
= 25:3 MPa
S2
133 600 mm 3

M
3:375 kN m
=
= 84:2 MPa
S1
40 100 mm 3

A comparison of these four stresses shows that the maximum tensile stress due to the uniform load
q is 47.3 MPa and occurs at the bottom of the beam at the section of maximum positive bending
moment. The maximum compressive stress is 84:2 MPa and occurs at the bottom of the beam at
the section of maximum negative moment.

Defining Terms
Bending stresses: Longitudinal normal stresses x in a beam due to bending moments.
Flexure formula: The formula x = M y=I for the bending stresses in a beam (linearly elastic
materials only).
Neutral axis of the cross section: The intersection of the neutral surface with a cross-sectional
plane; that is, the line in the cross section about which the beam bends and where the bending
stresses are zero.
Neutral surface: The surface perpendicular to the plane of bending in which longitudinal lines in
the beam do not change in length (no longitudinal strains).
Nonuniform bending: Bending in the presence of shear forces (which means that the bending
moment varies along the axis of the beam).

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Plane of bending: The plane of symmetry in which a beam bends and deflects.
Pure bending: Bending of a beam under a constant bending moment (no shear forces).
Section modulus: A property of the cross section of a beam, equal to I=c see Eq. (5.8).

References
Beer, F. P., Johnston, E. R., and DeWolf, J. T. 1992. Mechanics of Materials, 2nd ed.
McGraw-Hill, New York.
Gere, J. M. and Timoshenko, S. P. 1990. Mechanics of Materials, 3rd ed. PWS, Boston.
Hibbeler, R. C. 1991. Mechanics of Materials. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York.
Popov, E. P. 1990. Engineering Mechanics of Solids. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Riley, W. F. and Zachary, L. 1989. Introduction to Mechanics of Materials. John Wiley & Sons,
New York.

Further Information
Extensive discussions of bending, with derivations, examples, and problems, can be found in
textbooks on mechanics of materials, such as those listed in the References. These books also
cover many additional topics pertaining to bending stresses in beams. For instance, nonprismatic
beams, fully stressed beams, beams with axial loads, stress concentrations in bending, composite
beams, beams with skew loads, and stresses in inelastic beams are discussed in Gere and
Timoshenko [1990].

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