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Corner stresses of 400 x 800 column (200 kN)

Short answer

Eccentricities40 mm and50 mm; A =320000 mm², Z₁ =21,33×10⁶ mm³, Z₂ =42,67×10⁶ mm³. Direct stress0.625 N/mm², bending stresses0.375 and0.234 N/mm². Corner stresses: A =1.234, B =0.766, C =0.484, D =0.016 N/mm² (compression positive).

A column section 400 mm ×\times 800 mm carries a load of 200 kN acting at 160 mm from the 800 mm face and 350 mm from the 400 mm face. Determine the stress intensities at all four corners.

Distances are measured from the faces. The 160 mm distance is across the 400 mm side (from the 800 mm face) and the 350 mm distance is along the 800 mm side (from the 400 mm face). Hence e1=200−160=40e_1 = 200-160 = 40 mm and e2=400−350=50e_2 = 400-350 = 50 mm.

Data

Section 400 mm ×\times 800 mm, P=200P=200 kN. The load acts 160 mm from the 800 mm face and 350 mm from the 400 mm face.

Eccentricities

e1=40 mm (across the 400 mm side)e2=50 mm (along the 800 mm side)\begin{aligned} e_{1} &= 40\ \text{mm (across the 400 mm side)}\\ e_{2} &= 50\ \text{mm (along the 800 mm side)} \end{aligned}

Section properties

A=400×800=320000 mm2Z1=800×40026=21333333 mm3Z2=400×80026=42666667 mm3\begin{aligned} A &= 400\times800 = 320000\ \text{mm}^2\\ Z_1 &= \frac{800\times400^2}{6} = 21333333\ \text{mm}^3\\ Z_2 &= \frac{400\times800^2}{6} = 42666667\ \text{mm}^3 \end{aligned}

Stresses

σ0=PA=200×103320000=0.6250 N/mm2σb1=Pe1Z1=200×103×4021333333=0.3750 N/mm2σb2=Pe2Z2=200×103×5042666667=0.2344 N/mm2\begin{aligned} \sigma_0 &= \frac{P}{A} = \frac{200\times10^3}{320000} = 0.6250\ \text{N/mm}^2\\ \sigma_{b1} &= \frac{Pe_1}{Z_1} = \frac{200\times10^3\times40}{21333333} = 0.3750\ \text{N/mm}^2\\ \sigma_{b2} &= \frac{Pe_2}{Z_2} = \frac{200\times10^3\times50}{42666667} = 0.2344\ \text{N/mm}^2 \end{aligned}

Corner stresses σ=σ0±σb1±σb2\sigma=\sigma_0\pm\sigma_{b1}\pm\sigma_{b2} (positive = compression, N/mm²):

CornerPositionWorkingStress
Anear the 800 face and near the 400 face0.6250+0.3750+0.23440.6250 + 0.3750 + 0.23441.2344
Bnear the 800 face, far from the 400 face0.6250+0.3750−0.23440.6250 + 0.3750 - 0.23440.7656
Cfar from the 800 face, near the 400 face0.6250−0.3750+0.23440.6250 - 0.3750 + 0.23440.4844
Dfar from both faces0.6250−0.3750−0.23440.6250 - 0.3750 - 0.23440.0156

Check: σ0\sigma_0 = average of the four corners = 0.6250. All four corners are in compression, because the load lies inside the kernel (6e1/400+6e2/800=0.975<16e_1/400+6e_2/800 = 0.975 < 1).

Answer: A = 1.234, B = 0.766, C = 0.484, D = 0.016 N/mm² (compression positive); maximum 1.234 N/mm² at A.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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