UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY

SPRING SEMESTER 2012

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials

Name

Doctoral Preliminary Examination

Mechanics
Problem 1. (50 points)
A two-dimensional anti-displacement field for a screwed dislocation is given as,
ux = 0, uy = 0, and uz =

where b is the Burgers constant, and is the polar coordinate angle from [0, 2]. Find the shear strains,
xz , yz , and z , rz ?
Hints:

y
= tan , r2 = x2 + y 2
x

Figure 1: Problem 1

Problem 2(50 points)

Consider a beam with the rectangular cross-section as shown in Figure 2. Assume that the extensional
stress inside the cross-section at the position, X, is,
x

M (x)y
Iz

Figure 2: Problem 2
where M (x) is the bending moment, and Iz is moment of inertia of the section with respect to z-axis. Find
the shear stress, xy , distribution on the cross-section.
Hint:
Use the equilibrium equation,
@ x @xy
+
= 0, and
@x
@y
and appropriate boundary conditions.

V (x) =

dM
dx

University of California
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Spring 2011

Doctoral Preliminary Exam: Mechanics

Name:

Problem #1
A straight bar of length L and a a square cross section is subjected to an eccentric axial
load P as shown in the figure below. Determine the maximum load Pmax that can be
applied without yielding if the material yields when the shear stress reaches the value yp .
Remarks: The bar can be assumed isotropic linear elastic before yielding, and stress
concentrations can be neglected.
a/6
a/6
P

L
a
Cross section

Problem #2
For the following plane states of strain (in the plane with Cartesian reference system (x, y))
State 1

State 2

xx = 2x + y

xx = 2x + y

yy = 3y 2

yy = 3y 2

xy = 3xy + 2x + 1

xy = 3x2 + 2x + 1

(all other strain components vanish), determine:

1. Is any of these states of strain compatible?
2. If possible, determine a displacement field associated to each state of strain.
3. In general, how many (if any) displacement fields can be obtained from a strain
field? If more than one, what general conditions are required to specify a single one?
Illustrate your answers with your results in Item 2 above.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY

SPRING SEMESTER 2010

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials

Name

Doctoral Preliminary Examination

Mechanics
Problem 1. (40 points)
A two-dimensional displacement field and shear strain field in a continuum domain is given as
ux = a0 y 4 + a1 x2 y 2 + a2 xy 2 + a3 x2 y,
uy = b0 x2 + b1 x2 y + b2 xy 2 ,
xy

= c0 x2 y + c1 xy + c2 x2 + c3 y 2 + c4 x .

What relationships connecting the constants (as, bs, and cs) make the foregoing expression possible ?
Problem 2(60 points)
Consider a large thin plate with a small hole (plane stress state) under an in-plane uniform bi-axial
remote loading, 0 and 3 0 (see Fig. 1 ). Given the stress solution (see below) for a plate with a hole
subjected to uniaxial tension boundary condition in X-axis direction, i.e. xx
= 0 . Find: (1) the
x!1
total stress solution, (2) the maximum stresses of xx and yy , and (3) the location at where r and reach
maxima. (Hint: use superposition)

Figure 1: Problem 2

Hint:
r

1
2

a2
3a4
+
1
+
r2
r4

i
4a2
cos
2
r2

r =

1
2

i
a2
3a4
1
+
cos
2
r2
r4
4
2

1
3a
2a
+ 2 sin 2
0 1
2
r4
r
0

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY

FALL SEMESTER 2009

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials

Name

Doctoral Preliminary Examination

Mechanics
Problem 1.
A solid steel shaft of radius a = 0.1m is pressed onto a steel cylinder (the value of its outer radius b
is not explicitly given) inducing a contact (interfacial) pressure p1 and a maximum tangential stress value
max = 2p inside the cylinder. If an axial tensile load P = 45kN is applied to the shaft, what will be the
1
L

change in the contact pressure p1 ? Assume that the axial load is superposed to the initial state.
Hints:
(a) The relation between the shrinking allowance, (misfit margin between the outer radius of the shaft
and the inner radius of the cylinder), and the contact pressure p1 is given as:
p1 =

E (b2 a2 )
2ab2

where E is Youngs modulus; the shaft and the cylinder are made by the same material. Note that both the
value of , p1 , and E are not explicitly given.
(b) Poissons ratio = 1/3;
(c) The circumference stress distribution for a thick-cylinder is:

a2 pi
b2

b2 po (pi po )a2 b2
+
a2
(b2 a2 )r2

Figure 1: Problem 1
(50 points)

(1)

Problem 2.
A simply supported beam has a span L and a uniform cross section dimension b h (see Figure 2 (a)
and (b)). There is a concentrated load P acting at the middle span of the beam (Figure 2 (a)), and the beam
is made of linear elastic-perfectly plastic material (see Fig 2b).
(1) Draw moment diagram; (5 points)
(2) Assume that in a given cross section the elastic core size is 2y0 , draw axial stress xx distribution
along the depth of the beam; (10 points)
(3) Find the relation between the elastic-plastic bending moment, yield stress, and y0 for a given cross
section;
(15 points)
(4) Assume that the beam is under monotonic loading (no unloading). Find the expressions for the
applied load P at which the middle section of the beam is completely yielded.
(10 points)
(5) Find the envelop of the elastic region and plastic region, i.e. find y0 (x) ?
(10 points)

Figure 2: Problem 2 (a)

Figure 3: Problem 2 (b)

University of California
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Fall 2008
SEMM

Doctoral Preliminary Exam: Mechanics

Name:

Problem #1
Write and prove the expression giving the bulk modulus (relating the volumetric strain
and the hydrostatic pressure) in terms of the Young modulus and Poisson ratio in a linear
elastic isotropic material. Can you identify a value of these parameters (the Poisson ratio
in particular) that captures a somehow special response of the material?

Problem #2
1. If a material is known to follow Trescas yield
criterion for an uniaxial yield limit of y , under what value of the material will yield in
the plane stress state depicted in the figure for a
rectangular block?
2. What would be the value in plane strain if the
material can be considered to be isotropic linear
elastic before yielding? (discuss your answer for
different values of the elastic material parameters, considering in particular typical ranges of
these parameters, as needed)

5 in compression
4 shear
in tension

University of California
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Spring 2008
SEMM

Doctoral Preliminary Exam: Mechanics

Name:

Problem #1
!y, with the
A linear isotropic solid is subjected to a state of plane strain in the plane x
in-plane components of the stress given by
xx = A x2

yy = 0

xy = B x (x + y)

for two constants A and B. Let E and be the Young modulus and Poisson ratio of the
material, respectively, both being constant.
1. Determine the body force per unit volume in static equilibrium with these stresses.
2. Determine any conditions between the constants A and B so the above stresses define
a valid stress field besides the equilibrium already considered in the previous item.
3. In that case, determine the displacement field u(x, y) and v(x, y) for its x and y
components, respectively, so u(0, 0) = v(0, 0) = 0 and v(L, 0) = L for some length
value L.

Problem #2
Determine the yield limit in simple shear y predicted by the (1) Tresca and (2) von Mises
yield criteria if both criteria have been calibrated to match the yield limit y in uniaxial
tension. Based on these values, which criterion is more conservative?