Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Chapter 6
Point of Contra-flexure
6.1

What else can Shear Force and Bending Moment Diagrams Tell us?

Look at the beam shown in Fig. 1 (a). It is supported at A and C and

experiences a point load at B and at the free end D. By examining the
beam and deducing the way in which it might bend (in the same way as
we did with the examples at the very beginning of this chapter), we can
deduce that:

The beam is sagging at point B;

The beam is hogging at support C;
The beam is hogging at point D.

Clearly, somewhere between points B and C, the nature of the beams

deflection switches from sagging to hogging. This point is termed the
point of contra-flexure. But where, exactly, does the point of contraflexure occur?
By now you should be able to calculate the reactions and draw the shear
force and bending moment diagrams. These are shown in Figs. 1(b) and
(c) respectively.
Now, earlier in this chapter you were introduced to a convention which
stated that the bending moment diagram is always drawn on the tension
side of the zero line. This suggests that:

If the bending moment profile is below the zero line, tension occurs
in the bottom face of the beam, which suggests it is sagging;
If the bending moment profile is above the zero line, tension occurs
in the top face of the beam, which suggests it is hogging.

It follows from this that where the bending moment diagram crosses the
zero line, the nature of deflection of the beam switches from sagging to
hogging (or vice versa). Therefore a point of contra-flexure occurs
wherever the bending moment profile crosses the zero line. In the current
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Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

example, that point is 2.5 metres from the left-hand end of the beam.
This is determined by recognising that the two (hatched) triangles that
constitute the bending moment diagram are similar (in the mathematical
sense of the word). The deflected profile of the beam is shown in Fig.
1(d).
25 kN

10 kN

2m

2m

RA = 5 kN

3m
RC = 30 kN

(a) Beam Diagram

10
5
0

10

0
25
20

30
20

(b) Shear Force Diagram

30

0
10
(c) Bending Moment Diagram

Hogging

Sagging

(d) Deflected Form

Figure 1: Deflected forms and Contra-flexure

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Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

Practical Example 1
Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams and sketch the
deflected form for the beam shown in figure 2. Identify the position of the
points of contra-flexure. (The solution is given during the lesson).

20 kN

80 kN

10 kN

2m

2m

2m

RB

3m
RD

Figure 2

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Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

6.2

What you should remember from the last three chapters

Shear is a cutting or slicing action which causes a beam to break or

snap.
If a beam is subjected to a load it will bend. If the loading is
increased, the bending will increase and eventually the beam will
break ( if it doesnt fail in shear first).
A shear force is the force tending to produce a shear failure at a
given point in a beam.
The value of shear force at any point in a beam = the algebraic sum
of all upward and downward forces to the left of the point.
A beam will fail in either bending or shear. Which occurs first can
only be determined by calculation.
The bending moment is the magnitude of the bending effect at any
point in a beam. The value of bending moment at any point on a
beam = the sum of all bending moments to the left of the point.
Shear force and bending moment diagrams are graphically
representations of shear force and bending moment and their
variation along a beam.
The bending moment diagram is drawn either above or below the
zero line, dependent on whether the beam experiences tension in
the top or bottom at the point concerned (top: above the line,
bottom: below the line).
Where the shear force is zero, the bending moment is either a local
maximum, a local minimum or zero. It follows from this that the
position of maximum bending moment can be determined from
drawing the shear force diagram first.
If a beam experiences point loads only, the shear force diagram will
be a series of steps and the bending moment diagram will contain
only straight lines (usually sloping).
Where a beam experiences uniformly distributed loads, the shear
force diagram will comprise sloping straight lines and the bending
moment diagram will be curved.
The point of contra-flexure is where the deflected form of a beam
switches between hogging and sagging. The bending moment
diagram will cross the zero line at this point.
And dont forget
!

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Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

6.3

More Examples

Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams for each of the beams
shown in Fig. 3. The solutions are given during the lesson.
16 kN/m
C

A
a
5m

3m
RA

RC
20 kN

30 kN

B
b
1m

4m

3m

RA

RC

50 kN
10 kN/m
A

B
c
4m
RA

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2m

2m

RD

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Unit 48: Structural Behaviour and Detailing for Construction

40 kN/m

30 kN

A
B

3m

3m

RA

3m
RD

Figure 3

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