Structural Analysis– SA60 (Solution for Exercise Problem 1)

Three-Moment Equation

Analyze the following beam using the three-moment equation.

Solution
The general form of the three-moment equation is:
L AB L L L L L
M A + 2M B ( AB + BC ) + BC M C =
− AB (FEM AB + 2FEM BA ) − BC (2FEM BC + FEM CB )
I AB I AB I BC I BC I AB I BC

Let I denote I AB . Therefore, I BC = 2I . Then the above equation can be written as:

L AB L L L L L
M A + 2M B ( AB + BC ) + BC M C =
− AB (FEM AB + 2FEM BA ) − BC (2FEM BC + FEM CB )
I I 2I 2I I 2I
Multiplying both sides of the equation by I, we get:

L AB M A + 2M B (L AB + 0.5L BC ) + 0.5L BC M C =
−L AB (FEM AB + 2FEM BA ) − 0.5L BC (2FEM BC + FEM CB )

And since, L=
AB L=
BC 8 the above equation becomes:

8M A + 2M B (8 + 4) + 4M C =
−8(FEM AB + 2FEM BA ) − 4(2FEM BC + FEM CB )
Furthermore, we know that M=
A C 0 . Hence:
M=

24M B =
−8(FEM AB + 2FEM BA ) − 4(2FEM BC + FEM CB )
Now we need to calculate the fixed-end moments. Segment AB is subjected to a uniformly
distributed load, therefore it fixed-end moments are as shown below.

For segment BC, the fixed-end moments are:

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Substituting the fixed-end moment values in the three-moment equation, we get:

24M B =
−8(16 + 32) − 4(160 + 80)

Or, M B = −56 kN.m .

Knowing the moment at B, we can draw the free-body diagram for each beam segment as shown
below.

For segment AB, we can write and solve two equilibrium equations for the member-end shear
forces as follows:
8VBA − 56 − 3(8)(4)
= 0 = V 19 kN
⇒ BA
VAB + VBA= − 3(8) 0 = VAB 5 kN

For segment BC, we can write:

8VCB + 56 − (80)(4)
= 0 = V 33 kN
⇒ CB
VBC +=VCB −80 0 = VBC 47 kN

Knowigng the shear forces, we can determine the support reactions, as shown below.

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