Question 11.S-P.3: The block D of mass m is released from rest and falls a dist...
The block D of mass m is released from rest and falls a distance h before it strikes the midpoint C of the aluminum beam AB. Using E = 73 GPa, determine (a) the maximum deflection of point C, (b) the maximum stress that occurs in the beam.

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Principle of Work and Energy. Since the block is released from rest, we note that in position 1 both the kinetic energy and the strain energy are zero. In position 2, where the maximum deflection y_{m} occurs, the kinetic energy is again zero. Referring to the table of Beam Deflections and Slopes of Appendix D, we find the expression for y_{m} shown. The strain energy of the beam in position 2 is
U_{2}=\frac{1}{2} P_{m} y_{m}=\frac{1}{2} \frac{48 E I}{L^{3}} y_{m}^{2} U_{2}=\frac{24 E I}{L^{3}} y_{m}^{2}
Beam Deflections and Slopes | ||||
Beam and Loading | Elastic Curve | Maximum Deflection | Slope at End | Equation of Elastic Curve |
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-\frac{P L^{3}}{3 E I} | -\frac{P L^{2}}{2 E I} | y=\frac{P}{6 EI}\left(x^{3}-3 L x^{2}\right) |
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-\frac{w L^{4}}{8 E I} | -\frac{w L^{3}}{6 E I} | y=-\frac{w}{24 E I}\left(x^{4}-4 L x^{3}+6 L^{2} x^{2}\right) |
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-\frac{M L^{2}}{2 E I} | -\frac{M L}{E I} | y=-\frac{M}{2 E I} x^{2} |
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-\frac{P L^{3}}{48 E I} | \pm \frac{P L^{2}}{16 E I} | For x \leq \frac{1}{2} L :
y=\frac{P}{48 E I}\left(4 x^{3}-3 L^{2} x\right) |
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For a > b:
-\frac{P b\left(L^{2}-b^{2}\right)^{3 / 2}}{9 \sqrt{3} E I L} at x_{m}=\sqrt{\frac{L^{2}-b^{2}}{3}} |
u _{A}=-\frac{P b\left(L^{2}-b^{2}\right)}{6 E I L}
u_{B}=+\frac{P a\left(L^{2}-a^{2}\right)}{6 E I L} |
For x < a:
y=\frac{P b}{6 E I L}\left[x^{3}-\left(L^{2}-b^{2}\right) x\right] For x = a: y=-\frac{P a^{2} b^{2}}{3 E I L} |
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-\frac{5 w L^{4}}{384 E I} | \pm \frac{w L^{3}}{24 E I} | y=-\frac{w}{24 E I}\left(x^{4}-2 L x^{3}+L^{3} x\right) |
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\frac{M L^{2}}{9 \sqrt{3} E I} | u _{A}=+\frac{M L}{6 E I}
u _{B}=-\frac{M L}{3 E I} |
y=-\frac{M}{6 E I L}\left(x^{3}-L^{2} x\right) |
We observe that the work done by the weight W of the block is W\left(h+y_{m}\right).
Equating the strain energy of the beam to the work done by W, we have
\frac{24 E I}{L^{3}} y_{m}^{2}=W\left(h+y_{m}\right) (1)
a. Maximum Deflection of Point C. From the given data we have
E I=\left(73 \times 10^{9} Pa \right) \frac{1}{12}(0.04 m )^{4}=15.573 \times 10^{3} N \cdot m ^{2}L = 1 m h = 0.040 m W = mg = (80 kg) (9.81 m/s²) = 784.8 N
Substituting into Eq. (1), we obtain and solve the quadratic equation
\left(373.8 \times 10^{3}\right) y_{m}^{2}-784.8 y_{m}-31.39=0 y_{m}=10.27 mm
b. Maximum Stress. The value of P_{m} is
P_{m}=\frac{48 E I}{L^{3}} y_{m}=\frac{48\left(15.573 \times 10^{3} N \cdot m \right)}{(1 m )^{3}}(0.01027 m ) P_{m}=7677 N
Recalling that s _{m}=M_{\max } c / I and M_{\max }=\frac{1}{4} P_{m} L, we write
s _{m}=\frac{\left(\frac{1}{4} P_{m} L\right) c}{I}=\frac{\frac{1}{4}(7677 N )(1 m )(0.020 m )}{\frac{1}{12}(0.040 m )^{4}} s _{m}=179.9 MPa
An approximation for the work done by the weight of the block can be obtained by omitting y_{m} from the expression for the work and from the right-hand member of Eq. (1), as was done in Example 11.07. If this approximation is used here, we find y_{m}= 9.16 mm; the error is 10.8%. However, if an 8-kg block is dropped from a height of 400 mm, producing the same value of Wh, omitting y_{m} from the right-hand member of Eq. (1) results in an error of only 1.2%. A further discussion of this approximation is given in Prob. 11.70.
