Internal Forces of a given

member in an Engineering
Structure
Chapter 7: Forces in Beams and
Cables (page 354)

Dr. Claudia Genovese-Martinez

 So far, you have learned:
the external forces which act on a structure
(Chapter 4)

the forces which hold together the members

forming a structure (Chapter 6)
 Objective of this Chapter:
Determine the internal forces of a given
member in a structure, such as:
beams
cables (Suspension bridges, transmission lines,
etc.)
 Outline:
Analyze a:
two-force member
multi-force member
Determine the internal forces:
tension or compression
bending and shear
Examples
 Internal forces in members:
Lets consider:

-F F and -F:
B
Directed along AB,
opposite sense,
A same magnitude.
F
 Internal forces in members:
Lets cut the member AB at C
-F
B
B -F
C
A C
F F
C -F
A The new forces are equivalent to Internal
F Forces and must have existed in the
member.
 So far, we can conclude that:
In a straight two-force member:
internal forces to axial forces
In this case (tension) :
elongate under the action B -F

of internal forces
C
C F

A
-F In Compression:?
F
 Multi-force member:
Crane

D D
E
F
C C
B
B
W

G
A
A
 D
E
F
C

Multi-force member: B
W

G
A
Free-Body-Diagram of AD:

D
T Cx
J
Cy
FBE

Ax
A
Ay
 Multi-force member:
Free-body diagram of the portion JD

T D
Force-Couple System
V
J
M
F
Equilibrium:
F and V to balance T
Couple M to balance the
moment of T about J
 Multi-force member:
Free-body diagram of the portions JD and AJ
T D
Newtons third law: the
V
-F J internal forces on AJ
-M
J -V M are equivalent to an
F
Cx equal and opposite
C
Cy force-couple system.
B FBE

F: axial force
Ax
A V: shearing force
Ay M:bending moment
at J
 Non-straight two-force member
Internal Forces are also equivalent to a
force couple system
M
B D F
D
P V
P -P A
A C
B
-V
M
-F D -P
C
 Conclusion:
INTERNAL FORCES are equivalent to force
couple system.
When determining INTERNAL FORCES in a
member, indicate on which portion the forces
are acting.
In two-force member, internal forces produce
tension or compression. D
In multi-force member AD, internal forces not
only produce tension and compression but also
shear and bending
A