4th Civil Engineering

Structural Analysis
Exercise Sheet 1
1. Compare the maximum principal stress failure criterion with the maximum shear
stress failure criterion.
2. The direct stresses at a point are 2p tensile in the x direction, p compressive in the
y direction. The shear stress on these planes is 0.5p. If the elastic limit in
uniaxial tension is 200 MPa, find the value of p for the five different failure
criteria. (Poisson ratio = 0.3)
3. In a 2D configuration, the maximum principal stress at a point is 125MPa
(tensile). Find the minimum principal stress at this point (compressive) according
to the Mises theory. In a uniaxial loading state for this material, the yield stress in
150MPa.
4. A piece of material is subjected to two perpendicular stresses, 1 tensile and 2
compressive. Find an expression for the strain energy per unit volume. If a stress
of 120MPa acting alone gives the same value of strain energy as the expression
already found, find the value of 2 when 1 = 105MPa. (Poisson ratio = 0.3)
5. An enclosed gas storage tank has an inner diameter of 1.5m and it is made from
steel with a yield stress of 310MPa. If the tank is designed to withstand a
pressure of 5MPa, determine the required minimum wall thickness using (i) the
maximum shear stress theory and (ii) the maximum distortional energy theory.
Apply a factor of safety of 1.5 against yielding.
6. A short concrete cylinder has a diameter of 50mm and is subject to a torque of
500Nm and an axial compressive force of 2kN as shown in Fig. Q6. Determine if
it fails according to the maximum normal stress theory. The ultimate stress of
concrete is 28MPa.
Fig. Q6

7. A batch of 2024-T4 aluminium alloy yields in uniaxial tension at 330MPa. If the

material is subjected to the following stress state, will it yield according to (i) the
Mises criterion and (ii) the Tresca criterion?
x = 138MPa
y = -69MPa
z = 0

xy = 138MPa
yz = 0
zx = 0

8. Define the following quantities:

(i)
Period of oscillation
(ii)
Frequency of oscillation
(iii)
Free vibration
(iv)
Forced vibration
(v)
Resonance
9. Consider the free vibration of an undamped system. Establish an expression for
the displacement when the initial displacement is u0 and there is zero initial
velocity. A mass of 2kg hangs at the end of a spring of stiffness 0.4N/mm.
Determine the natural frequency of the system.
10. A structure is idealised as a rigid horizontal girder supported by vertical
weightless columns. In order to evaluate the dynamic properties of the structure,
a free vibration test is carried out in which the girder is displaced laterally by a
hydraulic jack and then released. During the jacking procedure, a force of 200N
was required to displace the girder by 15mm. The mass of the girder was 300kg.
Find the period of oscillation and the natural frequency.
11. A damped spring-mass oscillator has mass m = 1kg, spring constant = 4N/m and
damping constant c = 8N-s/m. Is the damping less than critical or greater than
critical? Sketch the displacement as a function of time.
12. A damped spring-mass oscillator has mass m = 2kg, spring constant = 8N/m and
damping constant c = 1N-s/m. At time t = 0, the mass is released from rest in the
position x = 0.1m. Determine the position as a function of time.
13. A mass of 250 kg hangs vertically through a spring and damper arrangement. The
spring stiffness is 20,000N/m. The system is set into free vibration with initial
conditions of displacement = 15mm and velocity 100mm/s. Determine the
displacement and velocity at t = 1.0s assuming:
(i)
c=0
(ii)
c = 1,000Ns/m
14. Explain the importance of the Rayleigh method in determining the natural
frequency for a beam.
15. Consider a beam, simply supported at both ends, of rectangular cross section of
length L, homogenous material. The left hand half is of width b and depth d
while the right hand half is of width 2b and depth d. Use the Rayleigh approach
to approximate the natural frequency of the beam. Assume that

16. Distinguish between local and global co-ordinate systems.

17. Comment on the key features of the global (structure) stiffness matrix.