Shear Force & Bending Moment Diagrams

Whats Shear Force and Bending Moment and why we need them?
Shear Force and Bending Moment both are internal reactions that occur throughout an axial
structural member i.e. beam. A beam is a structural member with support loadings applied
perpendicular to their longitudinal (central) axis.

Shear Force Diagrams (SFD) and Bending Moment Diagrams (BMD) are graphical
representations of the internal forces along the length of the beam. This helps us visualize
the locations of the beam where the maximum stress will occur, consequently requiring
maximum reinforcement.

Positive Sign Convention of SFD and BMD

Positive internal shear force tends to rotate the free-body diagram clockwise.

Positive internal bending moment causes the beam to sag. Bending Moment is drawn on
the compression side of the member.

Construction of SFD and BMD

Slope of Shear Diagram at each point = Distributed Load Intensity at each point

Slope of Moment Diagram at each point = Shear at each point

Change in Shear Force = Area under distributed loading

Change in Bending Moment = Area under Shear Force Diagram

Construction Rules for Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams

Rule 1: Concentrated Loads create discontinuities in the Shear Force Diagram (SFD)

Rule 2: The change in Shear Force is equal to the area under the Distributed-Load Curve

Rule 3: The slope of the Shear Diagram is equal to the intensity of the Distributed Load

Rule 4: The change in Bending Moment is equal to the area under the Shear Force
Diagram

Rule 5: The slope of the Moment Diagram is equal to the intensity of the Shear Force

Rule 6: Concentrated Moments create discontinuities in the Bending Moment Diagram

(BMD)
Bending moment is a function of the force x the distance. If the force is a point load it is simply the
force x the distance [1] If the force is distributed or spread out you must integrate the forces and the
distances [2].

Shear force is a function of the total force and the cross sectional area [2].

Whilst the question asks how to calculate the "shear force" I presume that the question is intended
to be: - how to calculate the "shear stress" .

Shear stress is the force, F, acting on a given section divided by the cross sectional area, A, of the
section, calculated in the direction of the force.

E.G., for a force, F, normal to the surface of a beam having a cross sectional area of A, the shear
stress is = F/A.

The first answer, given by Niel Leon, deals with the bending moment
Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams for a Simply-Supported Beam
Under A Uniform Load

After the support reactions are calculated, the shear force and bending moment
diagrams can be drawn.

Shear force is the force in the beam acting perpendicular to its longitudinal (x) axis. For
design purposes, the beam's ability to resist shear force is more important than its
ability to resist an axial force. Axial force is the force in the beam acting parallel to the
longitudinal axis.

The following is a drawing of a simply-supported beam of length L under a uniform load,

q:

This beam has the following support reactions:

where Rl and Rr are the reactions at the left and right ends of the beam, respectively.

The shear forces at the ends of the beam are equal to the vertical forces of the support
reactions. The shear force F(x) at any other point x on the beam can be found by using
the following equation.

where x is the distance from the left end of the beam.

Shear force diagrams are simply plots of the shear force (on the y-axis) versus the
position of various points along the beam (on the x-axis). Thus, the following is the
generalized shear force diagram for the beam shown above.
The bending moment at any point along the beam is equal to the area under the shear
force diagram up to that point. (Note: For a simply-supported beam, the bending
moment at the ends will always be equal to zero.)

To calculate the bending moment the beam must be broken up into two sections:

(a) one from x = 0 to x = L/2 and

(b) the other from x = L/2 to x = L.

The bending moment M(x) at any point x along the beam can be found by using the
following equations:

Bending moment diagrams are simply plots of the bending moment (on the y-axis)
versus the position of various points along the beam (on the x-axis). Thus, the following
is the generalized bending moment diagram for the beam shown above.