Materials, Properties and Design

Shape Factors

· The diagram shows various cross-sections that are used in engineering applications. The areas, A, of these sections are listed in terms of the given dimensions. The last column lists the corresponding second moment of area, I_xx, about the horizontal x-axis shown on each diagram. These quantities are used to compute the shape factors for bending, Φ_B, discussed on the following page. Similar parameters exist for loading in torsion.

From: Ashby, "Materials Selection in Mechanical Design," Pergamon (1993)