Topic Objectives

ü Use the principle of virtual work to determine the

displacement and slope at points on structural
members and mechanical elements
ü Use the Castigliano’s theorem to determine the
displacement and slope at points on structural
members and mechanical elements.

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In-class Activities
1. Reading Quiz
2. Principle of virtual work
3. Method of virtual work applied to beams
4. Castigliano’s theorem
5. Castigliano’s theorem applied to trusses
6. Castigliano’s theorem applied to beams

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READING QUIZ

1) Which of the following statements is incorrect

for the principle of virtual work:

a) It is based on the conservation of energy

b) The material must behave elastically

c) The external loadings, be it real or virtual, can be axial load,

shear, bending moment or torsional loadings

d) The virtual displacement can be translational or rotational

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READING QUIZ (cont)

2) Which of the following statements is incorrect

for the Castigliano’s theorem:

a) The material must behave elastically

b) The stress may exceed the proportional limit

c) It applies only to bodies that have constant temperature

d) It is based on conservation of energy

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PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK

• It is based on the conservation of energy

• In general, the material does not have to behave

elastically.

• Consider a deformable body of any shape or size and

apply a series of external loads P to it. These loading
will cause internal loadings u within the body.

• Since the body is deformable, the external loads will be

displaced ∆, and the internal loadings will undergo
displacements δ.

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PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK (cont)

- Hence, by the principle of conservation of energy Ue =

Ui, we have
å PD = å ud
- Now, consider an imaginary force
P’ having a unit magnitude, acts
together with P1, P2 and P3 on
the body. Thus

P1' D + [P1d1 + P2d 2 + P3d 3 ] = å udl + [å vdL]

• Hence,
P1' D = å udL

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PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK (cont)

• For P1’ = 1,

• Similarly, if a virtual couple M’ , having a ‘unit’

magnitude, is applied at the point, the rotation θ at that
point can be found from the virtual-work equation; i.e.

• Actually, the deformations can be caused by the axial

load, shear, bending moment or torsional moment.
And, the internal work can be developed in the body in
different ways

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PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK (cont)

• Example,

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PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK (cont)
Note:

1. The expressions in the above table is valid only when

the material behavior is linear-elastic and the stress
does not exceed the proportional limit.

2. In the expressions for the strain energy, the applied

force/moment is assumed to apply gradually from 0 to
its full value.

3. In the expressions for the virtual work, the ‘full’ virtual

loading is applied before the real loads cause
displacement.

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METHOD OF VIRTUAL FORCE APPLIED TO
TRUSSES
• The internal virtual work for
a member is
L
nN nNL
ò0 AE dx = AE
• Virtual-work equation for the entire truss is
nNL
1× D = å
AE
1 = external virtual unit it load
Δ = joint displacement caused by the real loads
n = internal virtual force in a truss member
N = internal force in a truss member
L = length of a member
A = cross sectional area
E = modular elasticity of member
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EXAMPLE 1
Determine the vertical displacement of joint C of the steel truss
shown in Fig. 14–32a.The cross-sectional area of each member
is and Est = 200 GPa.

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EXAMPLE 1 (cont)
Solutions
• Arranging the data in tabular form, we have

• Thus,
nNL 965.7 kN 2 × m
1 kN × D Cv = å =
AE AE
965.7
1 kN × D Cv =
[ ( )] ( )
400 10 -6 200 106
D Cv = 0.01207 m = 12.1 mm (Ans)

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METHOD OF VIRTUAL FORCE APPLIED TO BEAMS

• The virtual-work equation for the beam is

1 = external virtual unit it load
L Δ = external joint displacement caused by the real loads
mM
1× D = ò dx m = internal virtual moment in beam
M = internal moment in beam
0
EI
E = modulus of elasticity
I = moment of inertia

• If the slope of the tangent at a point on the beam’s

elastic curve is to be determined, we have

L
mq M
1×q = ò dx
0
EI

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EXAMPLE 2
Determine the displacement of point B on the beam shown in
Fig. 14–36a. EI is constant.

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EXAMPLE 2 (cont)
Solutions
• The vertical displacement of point B is obtained by placing a virtual unit
load at B, Fig. 14–36b.

• The internal moment M is shown in Fig. 14–36c.

1× D B = ò
mM
dx = ò
(- 1x ) - wx 2 2 dx
L
( )
EI 0
EI
wL4
DB = (Ans)
8 EI

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EXAMPLE 2 (cont)
Solutions

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EXAMPLE 3
Determine the slope at point B of the beam shown in Fig. 14–
37a. EI is constant.

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EXAMPLE 3 (cont)
Solutions
• The slope at B is determined by placing a virtual unit couple moment at
B, Fig. 14–37b.

• Using the method of sections the internal moments within each of these
segments are shown in Fig. 14–37b.

• Using the same coordinates x1 and x2, the internal moments M are
shown in Fig. 14–37c.

1×q B = ò
m0 M
L/2
(0)(- Px1 )dx1 + L / 2 1{(- P(L / 2) + x2 )}dx2
EI
dx = ò
0
EI ò
0
EI
3PL4
qB = - (Ans)
8 EI

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EXAMPLE 3 (cont)
Solutions

The negative sign indicates that it is opposite to the direction of the

virtual couple moment shown in Fig. 14–37b.

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM

• It is based on conservation of energy

• The material must behave in linear-elastic manner

• It applies only to bodies that have constant

temperature

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM (cont)
Derivation:
• For linear-elastic material, the principle of
superposition applies and the resultant displacement
does not depend on the sequence in which the forces
are applied to the body.

• So, a small variation of the internal energy caused by

a differential amount of dPj can be expressed as

dU i
U i + dU i = U i + dPj
dPj

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM (cont)
Derivation (cont):
• On the other hand, if the dPj is applied first and then
followed by others P1, P2…Pn, then the internal
energy can be written as

U i + dU i = U i + dPj D j

• Since the sequence of applying the forces does not

matter, we have
dU i
Di =
dPj

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM APPLIED TO
TRUSSES
N 2L
• The strain energy for a truss member is U i =
2 AE
¶ N 2L
• Then D= å or
¶p AE
æ ¶N ö L
D = å Nç ÷
è ¶P ø AE
Procedures:
External Force P
• Place a force P on the truss at the joint where the
desired displacement is to be determined. This force
is assumed to have a variable magnitude ad should
be directed along the line of action of the
displacement.

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM APPLIED TO
TRUSSES (cont)
Procedures (cont):
Internal Forces N
• Determine the force N in each member caused by
both the real (numerical) loads and the variable force
P. Assume that tensile forces are positive and
compressive forces are negative

• Find the respective partial derivative ∂N/∂P for each

member

• After N and ∂N/∂P have been determined, assign P its

numerical value if it has actually replaced a real force
on the truss. Otherwise, set P equal to zero.

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM APPLIED TO
TRUSSES (cont)
Procedures (cont):
Castigliano’s Second Theorem
• Apply Castigliano’s Theorem to determine the desired
displacement ∆. It is important to retain the algebraic
sighs for corresponding values of N and ∂N/∂P when
substituting these terms into the equation.

• If the resultant sum ΣN (∂N/∂P) L/AE is positive, ∆ is in

the same direction as P. If a negative value results, ∆
is opposite to P.

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EXAMPLE 4
Determine the vertical displacement of joint C of the steel truss
shown in Fig. 14–39a. The cross-sectional area of each
member is A = 400 mm2 and Est = 200 GPa.

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EXAMPLE 4 (cont)
Solutions
• A vertical force P is applied to the truss at joint C, since this is where the
vertical displacement is to be determined, Fig. 14–39b

• The reactions at the truss supports A and D are calculated and the
results are shown in Fig. 14–39b

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EXAMPLE 4 (cont)
Solutions
• Applying Eq. 14–46, we have

æ ¶N ö L 965.7 kN × m
D Cv = å Nç ÷ =
è ¶P ø AE AE

• Substituting the numerical values for A and E, we get

965.7
D Cv = = 0.01207 m = 12.1 m (Ans)
[ ( ) ( )]
-6
400 10 200 10 6

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CASTIGLIANO’S THEOREM APPLIED TO BEAMS
• The strain energy for a truss member is

M 2 dx
Ui =
2 EI
• Then
L
¶ M 2 dx
¶p ò0 2 EI
D=

L
æ ¶M ö dx
D = òMç ÷
0 è ¶P ø EI
L
æ ¶M ö dx
q = òMç ÷
0 è ¶M ' ø EI

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EXAMPLE 5
Determine the displacement of point B on the beam shown in
Fig. 14–40a. EI is constant.

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EXAMPLE 4 (cont)
Solutions
• A vertical force P is placed on the beam at B.

• Using the method of sections,

æ xö
+ å M NA = 0; M + wxç ÷ + P(x ) = 0
è2ø
wx 2
M =- - Px
2
¶M
= -x
¶P

• Setting P = 0 gives

- wx 2 ¶M
M= and = -x
2 ¶P

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EXAMPLE 4 (cont)
Solutions
• Using Castigliano’s Second Theorem,

DB = ò
L æ ¶M
Mç
ö dx
÷ =ò
(
L - wx / 2 (- x )dx
2
=
)
wL4
(Ans)
0
è ¶P ø EI 0 EI 8 EI

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