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Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

University of Pretoria

Final Examination in the Module

Structural Mechanics MSY310

June 2024

Time: 3 hours Full Marks: 90

Internal Examiners: Dr HM Inglis
External Examiner: Prof DM Madyira, University of Johannesburg

Instructions

1. Write your surname, initials and student number on the front of each exam booklet used.
2. The test is closed book.
3. Pocket calculators may be used, but you must erase the whole memory before starting with the
test. Failure to do so may be construed as academic dishonesty and may expose you to disciplinary
action.
4. Cross out all scratch work before handing in the paper. If scratch work is not crossed out and
found to be in contradiction with an answer, you may forfeit marks.
5. Answer questions in pen only. Anything written in pencil will not be taken into account during
evaluation of answers.
6. A formula sheet, beam tables and structural steel tables are given in addition to the question
paper. The formula sheet consists of 10 pages and the tables are 6 pages each.
7. All symbols in this paper have the meaning as used in the text book or the presentation of the
module.
8. The test consists of 5 questions, worth a total of 90 marks.
9. Question 1 must be answered on SIDE 1 of the multiple choice answer sheet.
10. This paper consists of 8 pages, which are each numbered. Make sure that your copy includes each
of these pages.
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Question 1 [20 marks]

• Enter your answers to this question on SIDE 1 of the Multiple Choice Answer sheet.

• There are 7 questions in this section.

• Enter only one answer for each question, choosing the best option out of those
available.

• Each question counts different marks, these are noted next to the question.

• Note that some questions may have fewer than 5 options to choose between.

• You will need to do calculations for most of these questions, and you should do this
in your answer book. Clearly indicate in your answer book the scratch space you
are using for Question 1.

1.1 [1 mark] What is the physical meaning of shear strain εxy ?

(A) The shear strain εxy is the change in length over the original length of a line
originally oriented at 45◦ to the x-axis.
(B) The shear strain εxy is the average of εxx and εyy .
(C) The shear strain εxy is half of the change in angle between fibers originally
aligned with the x- and y-axes.
(D) The shear strain εxy is the change in angle between the x- and y-axes.

1.2 [1 mark] What is the physical meaning of the eigenvectors of the stress matrix?

(A) The eigenvectors of the stress matrix are the principal stresses.
(B) The eigenvectors of the stress matrix are the coordinate axes of the transformed
coordinate system in which we will find the principal stresses.
(C) The eigenvectors of the stress matrix are difficult to calculate, so they don’t
have a physical meaning.

1.3 [2 marks] The internal stress distributions through the height of a beam are
given by σxx (y) and σxy (y). What equation should you use to calculate the internal
moment at this cross-section?

σxx I R R
(A) M = (B) M = σ dA
A xx
(C) M = A
σxy y dA
y
R R
(D) M = σ dA
A xy
(E) M = A
σxx y dA
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1.4 [2 marks]
A strain gauge rosette (Figure 1.4) is applied at a point on the free surface of a
component where εxx = −250 × 10−6 , εyy = 370 × 10−6 and εxy = 180 × 10−6 . What
is the measurement of strain gauge B?

C B
45°
45° A
x
Figure 1.4

(A) −250 × 10−6 (B) −32 × 10−6 (C) 180 × 10−6

(D) 240 × 10−6 (E) 310 × 10−6

1.5 [4 marks] A thin-walled cylindrical pressure vessel, as shown in Figure 1.5, has
r/t = 128. The vessel is made of aluminium, with E = 70 GPa and ν = 0.3. When
the pressure release valve is opened, the longitudinal strain measured by the strain
gauge at A decreases by 1500×10−6 . What is the best approximation for the original
pressure in the tank?

(A) p = 4.10 MPa (B) p = 2.34 MPa (C) p = 2.05 MPa

(D) p = 1.64 MPa (D) p = 0.82 MPa

Figure 1.5 (Figure source: Goodno and Gere)

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1.6 [4 marks] Figure 1.6 shows the cross-section of a laminated beam, made by
gluing together 9 polymer sheets with cross-section 10 mm × 30 mm. Calculate the
maximum shear stress found in the adhesive between the layers, if the applied shear
force is V = 10 kN.

(A) τ = 2.19 MPa (B) τ = 3.70 MPa (C) τ = 4.39 MPa

(D) τ = 5.49 MPa (E) τ = 5.56 MPa

Figure 1.6

1.7 [4 marks] A cylindrical pressure vessel has an inner diameter of 150 mm and a
wall thickness of 5 mm, and it contains a pressure of 20 MPa. It is required that
the vessel meets a leak-before-break criterion with a safety factor of√at least Xa = 4
on the crack length. What minimum fracture toughness (in MPa m) is required
for the material in this application?

(A) 150.5 (B) 75.2 (C) 53.2 (D) 37.6 (E) 23.4
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Question 2 [15 marks]

(a) [3 marks] For the Free Body Diagram shown in Figure 2, write an expression for
the bending moment M (x)

Figure 2

(b) [5 marks] When you are doing design for a particular application, how will you
know what factor of safety to use? What are the costs of designing safely with a
high factor of safety? What are the costs of designing safely with a low factor of
safety?

(c) [4 marks] List two failure modes we have covered in MSY310. For each failure
mode,

(i) give the material property you need to know to assess failure, and
(ii) show on a Mohrs circle the critical value you will use to assess failure.

(d) [3 marks] At a given point in a linear elastic isotropic material, will the eigenvectors
for stress and the eigenvectors for strain be the same or different? Explain your
reasoning.
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Question 3 [15 marks]

The upper end of an IPN 200 steel column is supported laterally between two pipes, as
shown in Figure 3. The pipes are not attached to the column, and there is negligible
friction between the pipes and the column. The base of the column provides a fixed
support, and the column is 6m long.

The steel has a yield stress of σY = 350 MPa. The safety factor for both buckling and
yield is 6.

What is the maximum axial compressive load which can be applied to the column?

Figure 3 (Figure source: Goodno and Gere)

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Question 4 [20 marks]

The propped cantilever beam of length 3a = 1200 mm shown in Figure 4 is loaded at

x = 3a with an upward load P . A rolling simple support constrains the beam from
vertical motion at x = 2a.

The rectangular steel beam has width b = 20 mm and height h = 12 mm. The yield stress
is σY = 300 MPa.

The maximum allowable tip deflection is δD = 10 mm, and the beam is not allowed to go
into full plastic collapse. What is the maximum allowable load P ?

Figure 4
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Question 5 [20 marks]

A pipe of diameter d = 400 mm and wall thickness t = 16 mm is designed for an operating

pressure of p = 2 MPa. The pipe is made√of steel with a yield strength of σY = 250 MPa
and fracture toughness of KIc = 30 MPa m.

Due to self-weight, it is known that the maximum bending moment experienced in the pipe
is Mmax = 60 kNm, and the maximum shear stress experienced in the pipe is Vmax = 200
kN.

Periodic non-destructive testing finds all cracks of at least a = 5 mm, and any cracks
found are repaired.

Calculate the safety factor for failure by yielding and failure by fracture. Comment on
these safety factors.

Note: For a thin-walled hollow circular section, the following approximations can be used:
2V
τmax ≈ A ≈ 2πrt I ≈ πr3 t
A

References

Some questions, figures and data were used or adapted from the following sources:

• Goodno, BJ and Gere, JM, “Mechanics of Materials”, 9th SI edition, Cengage

Learning, 2018.