George r|tchard (8116701) 1

Def|ect|on of a S|mp|y Supported 8eam

A|m

lnvesLlgaLe Lhe bendlng characLerlsLlcs of a slmply supporLed beam sub[ecLed Lo a polnL load.

Apparatus

o 8eam deflecLlon bench wlLh 2 knlfe supporLs
o SLeel beam (approxlmaLe dlmenslons 12.3mm x 6.3mm x 930mm)
o WelghL hanger
o ulal gauge
o vernler callpers
o SelecLlon of welghLs



Cb[ect|ves

1est 1 - ueLermlne Lhe sLlffness of Lhe beam.
1est 2 - Cbserve Lhe effecLs of changlng Lhe beam orlenLaLlon.
1est 3 - Cbserve Lhe effecLs of changlng Lhe span of Lhe beam.

Method

1. Measure and record Lhe cross-secLlonal dlmenslons of Lhe beam.
2. SeL Lhe span beLween Lhe Lwo knlfe edge supporLs.
o lor 1esL 1 and 2 Lhe span = 800mm
o lor 1esL 3 Lhe span = 400, 300, 600, 700, 800mm
3. lace Lhe beam on Lhe supporLs, Lhe orlenLaLlon of Lhe beam ls shown ln Lhe dlagram above.
4. oslLlon Lhe dlal gauge ln Lhe cenLre of Lhe beam's span and zero.
3. SelecL Lhe amounL of welghL requlred and place on Lhe welghL hanger.
o lor 1esL 1 and 2 Lhe mass = 1, 2, 3, 4, 3kg
o lor 1esL 3 Lhe mass = 3kg
6. lace Lhe welghL carrler nexL Lhe dlal gauge ln Lhe cenLre of Lhe beam.
7. 8ecord Lhe resulL for Lhe deflecLlon on Lhe dlal gauge.
8. 8epeaL aL leasL 3 Llmes per mass and span, removlng Lhe welghL carrler, zero Lhe dlal gauge lf requlred
and re-apply Lhe carrler.

1est 1 ooJ 2
9. lncrease Lhe mass on Lhe carrler Lo Lhose glven ln sLep 3, repeaLlng sLeps 4 Lhrough 8 wlLh a consLanL
span of 800mm.

1esL 3
10. lncrease Lhe span of Lhe supporLs Lo Lhose glven ln sLep 2, repeaLlng sLeps 4 Lhrough 8 wlLh a consLanL
mass of 3kg.



Changlng span (x)
W (cenLral load, changlng)
A
8
C
8eam Cr|entat|ons
b
b
d d
1esL 1 & 3 1esL 2
George r|tchard (8116701) 2
kesu|ts

1est 1 and 2 - Load]Def|ect|on Character|st|cs

1est 1 b [m] 0.01230 d [m] 0.00633
Mass [kg] Load [N] 1 [m] 2 [m] 3 [m] 4 [m] S [m] Mean [m]
1 9.81 0.00193 0.00193 0.00194 0.00192 0.00193 0.00194
2 19.62 0.00394 0.00394 0.00393 0.00393 0.00394 0.00394
3 29.43 0.00393 0.00393 0.00394 0.00393 0.00396 0.00393
4 39.24 0.00792 0.00790 0.00791 0.00791 0.00789 0.00791
3 49.03 0.00987 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986

1est 2 b [m] 0.00633 d [m] 0.01230
Mass [kg] Load [N] 1 [m] 2 [m] 3 [m] 4 [m] S [m] Mean [m]
1 9.81 0.00031 0.00030 0.00030 0.00031 0.00031 0.00031
2 19.62 0.00099 0.00098 0.00099 0.00100 0.00099 0.00099
3 29.43 0.00130 0.00131 0.00132 0.00131 0.00132 0.00131
4 39.24 0.00197 0.00199 0.00200 0.00200 0.00200 0.00199
3 49.03 0.00232 0.00249 0.00231 0.00232 0.00230 0.00231

























0.00194
0.00394
0.00393
0.00791
0.00986
0.00031
0.00099
0.00131
0.00199
0.00231
y = 4930.8x + 0.1231 y = 19393x + 0.0083
9.81
19.62
29.43
39.24
49.03
0.00000 0.00200 0.00400 0.00600 0.00800 0.01000 0.01200
L
o
a
d

[
N
]

Deecnon [m]
1est 1 and 2 - Deecnon Aga|nst App||ed Load
1esL 1 1esL 2 1rendllne (1esL 1) 1rendllne (1esL 2)
George r|tchard (8116701) J
1est 3 - Inf|uence of 8eam Span

1est 3 b [m] 0.01230 d [m] 0.00633
Span [m] Load [N] 1 [m] 2 [m] 3 [m] 4 [m] S [m] Mean [m]
0.4 49.03 0.00118 0.00118 0.00118 0.00119 0.00117 0.00118
0.3 49.03 0.00240 0.00239 0.00239 0.00239 0.00239 0.00239
0.6 49.03 0.00412 0.00411 0.00411 0.00410 0.00410 0.00411
0.7 49.03 0.00647 0.00631 0.00630 0.00648 0.00647 0.00649
0.8 49.03 0.00987 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986 0.00986





























0.00118
0.00239
0.00411
0.00649
0.00986
y = 0.0002e
3.2439x

0.00000
0.00200
0.00400
0.00600
0.00800
0.01000
0.01200
0.4 0.3 0.6 0.7 0.8
D
e

e
c
n
o
n

[
m
]

Span [m]
1est 3 - Deecnon Aga|nst Span
1esL 3 Lxponenual 1rendllne
George r|tchard (8116701) 4
Ana|ys|s

1. uraw Lhe shear force and bendlng momenL dlagrams for CnL load ln CnL LesL.

1est 1 Load [N] 49.03 Span [m] 0.8


2. lor LesL 1 and 2, calculaLe Lhe sLlffness of Lhe beam.

!"#$$%&'' !" ! !"#$ !
!!"#$
!!"#$"%&'()
!! !!

SLlffness can Lherefore be Laken from gradlenL of Lhe llnes of besL flL for Lhe graphs of load agalnsL deflecLlon.
1esL 1: ! ! !"#$!!! ! !!!"#!
1esL 2: ! ! !"#"$! ! !!!!"#

SLlffness for 1est 1 was 4930.8 nm (or 4.9S1 kNm) whllsL on 1est 2 Lhe sLlffness was 19393 nm (19.603 kNm)



George r|tchard (8116701) 5
3. lor LesL 3, deLermlne Lhe consLanL value k.
1he deflecLlon of a slmply supporLed beam wlLh a cenLral loadlng polnL ls glven by:

! !
!"!
!
!"
! ! !
!"#
!!
!

Where:
= deflecLlon [m]
k = consLanL [n]
W = applled load
L = span [m]
L = ?oung's Modulus [Cn/m
2
]
l = second momenL of Lhe area of Lhe cross-secLlon [m
4
]
Note. lot steel, !"#$% (CN/m
2
) ooJ ! !
!!
!
!"
! ! !
!" !
!!
!
!"
!
!!
!


1est 3 L [N] 2.07 x10
11
b [m] 1.23 x10
-2
d [m] 6.33 x10
-3

Span [m] Load [N] Mean [m] k
0.4 49.03 1.18 x10
-3
2.073 x10
-2

0.3 49.03 2.39 x10
-3
2.134 x10
-2

0.6 49.03 4.11 x10
-3
2.141 x10
-2

0.7 49.03 6.49 x10
-3
2.128 x10
-2

0.8 49.03 9.86 x10
-3
2.168 x10
-2


Average k 2.133 x10
-2


lor 1est 3 Lhe value of constant k can be Laken as Lhe value 2.133x10
-2
.

D|scuss|on

1. 1he relaLlonshlp beLween load and deflecLlon.
1be lloe of looJ vetsos Jeflectloo qlves o lloeot epootloo, meooloq tbot tbe telotloosblp betweeo tbe two
most be lloeot (! ! !). 1bls ls ptoveo by tbe epootloo fot tbe Jeflectloo of o slmply soppotteJ beom obove,
lo wblcb os looJ ls olteteJ, so Joes tbe omooot of Jeflectloo. 1bls ls olso lo keeploq wltb nookes low wblcb
stotes tbot tbe Jefotmotloo of o boJy ls lo Jltectloo ptopottloo to tbe looJ opplleJ to lt. 1bls ls ooly ttoe
bowevet os tbe beom ls looJeJ wltblo lts elostlc llmlt, obove tbls, lo tbe plostlc teqloo, tbe telotloosblp
cbooqes to ooo-lloeot ootll ftoctote.

2. 1he effecL alLerlng Lhe beam secLlon breadLh and depLh.
1be omooot of Jeflectloo, , ls foooJ wltb tbe epootloo ! !
!"!
!
!"
, lo wblcb Jeflectloo ls ptopottloool to o
coostoot, k, looJ, w, ooJ spoo, l
J
, oll JlvlJeJ by oooqs MoJolos, , moltlplleJ by tbe secooJ momeot of tbe
oteo of tbe ctoss sectloo, l.l ls foooJ by tbe fotmolo, ! !
!!
!
!"
lo wblcb bteoJtb, b, ls moltlplleJ by tbe cobe of
Jeptb, J
J
. 1bls meoos tbot omooot of Jeflectloo ls Jltectly teloteJ to tbe voloes of b ooJ J ooJ becoose l ls oo
tbe Jeoomlootot of tbe epootloo tbls olso sbows tbot os tbe voloe locteoses, tbe Jeoomlootot voloe locteoses
qlvloq o smollet voloe of Jeflectloo tesoltloq lo less Jeflectloo. 1be epootloo fot l cobes tbe voloe fot Jeptb,
tbls meoos tbot tbe voloe of l wlll expooeotlolly locteose wltb oo locteose lo Jeptb, meooloq o smoll locteose
lo Jeptb qlves o mocb lotqet voloe tboo lf tbe bteoJtb wos locteoseJ by tbe some omooot becoose oltetloq
tbe voloe fot bteoJtb ooly qlves o lloeot locteose.

3. WhaL wlll happen Lo Lhe bendlng momenL as Lhe span ls lncreased?
1be moxlmom beoJloq momeot, M
mox
, coo be colcoloteJ by tbe teoctloo fotce ot polot A, k
A
, moltlplleJ by tbe
Jlstooce to polot 8. lolot 8 lo tbls expetlmeot wlll olwoys be lo tbe ceotte of tbe beom becoose tbe looJ wos
George r|tchard (8116701) 6
olwoys opplleJ lo tbe mlJJle of tbe beom. 1betefote, lf tbe looJ - ooJ beoce tbe teoctloo fotce - ls kept ot o
coostoot, os tbe spoo ls locteoseJ so wlll tbe Jlstooce to polot 8, tesoltloq lo o lotqet voloe fot M
mox
.

4. 1he relaLlonshlp beLween span and deflecLlon.
As lo pott 1 ooJ 2, tbe epootloo fot tbe omooot of Jeflectloo telles oo o voloe of spoo, l, tbls tlme bowevet
tbe voloe of spoo ls cobeJ. locteosloq l
J
wlll olwoys qlve expooeotlol qtowtb lo Jeflectloo - os tbe voloe of l
JlJ fot Jeptb - tbls tbetefote tesolteJ lo o qtopb fot 1est J of oo expooeotlol fotm. Iost os Jecteosloq l wlll
qlve oo expooeotlol Jecoy of tbe Jeflectloo.

3. WhaL does Lhls Lell us abouL Lhe use of beams ln sLrucLural appllcaLlons?
8eoms oseJ lo sttoctotol oppllcotloos coo ose tbe epootloo ! !
!"!
!
!"
to voty cettolo voloes to mlolmlse tbe
Jeflectloo, tbe best woy of wblcb ls to eltbet locteose tbe voloe of tbe secooJ momeot of tbe oteo of tbe
ctoss-sectloo ot oooqs MoJolos, wbllst Jecteosloq tbe ovetoll spoo of tbe beom. As tbe best woy to locteose
tbe voloe of l ls to locteose tbe Jeptb of o beom becoose lt expooeotlolly qtows, tbe Jeepet o beom, tbe less
Jeflectloo lt sbows. lo oppllcotloo o Jeepet beom of o looqet spoo toooloq tbe leoqtb of o toom ls oseJ wltb
beoms of o smollet Jeptb oseJ betweeo tbese to telofotce tbe sttoctote. 1be cbolce of motetlol olso
lmpottoot, lf tbe oooqs MoJolos of o motetlol ls locteoseJ, becoose lt ls of lloeot ptopottlooollty to tbe
Jeflectloo, lt Jltectly offects tbe Jeflectloo, tbos Jecteosloq lt. 1be ctoss-sectloool sbope of tbe beom ls olso
vety slqolflcoot, " beoms ote osoolly tbe cboseo type of beom Joe to tbe ctoss sectloo coosetvloq tbe omooot
of motetlol oseJ, coosepoeotly tbe welqbt, wbllst olso locteosloq tbe momeot of loettlo. 1bls moxlmlses lts
teslstooce to beoJloq oqolost tbot of o sollJ beom of tbe some Jlmeosloos.

6. WhaL would be Lhe effecL of replaclng Lhe sLeel beam wlLh an alumlnlum alloy beam wlLh Lhe same cross
secLlonal dlmenslons?
oooqs MoJolos, , ls oqolo o voloe of lloeot ptopottlooollty to tbe omooot of Jeflectloo lo tbe epootloo fot o
slmply soppotteJ beom. ls foooJ oo tbe Jeoomlootot of tbe epootloo so, os wltb l, lf locteoses so Joes tbe
ovetoll Jeoomlootot voloe tesoltloq lo o smollet omooot of Jeflectloo. 1be voloe of fot pote olomlolom ls 70
jCN/m
2
], ooJ fot oo olomlolom olloy ls opptoxlmotely 74 jCN/m
2
]. 1bls voloe ls slqolflcootly lowet tboo tbe
oooqs MoJolos of steel wblcb ls 207 jCN/m
2
]. coosepoeotly, lf tbe ctoss sectloool Jlmeosloos temolo tbe
some, o beom of olomlolom olloy wlll tesolt lo o smollet Jeoomlootot ooJ o lotqet omooot of Jeflectloo
vetsos o beom of steel coosttoctloo.

7. osslble sources of lnaccuracy ln Lhe experlmenL.
wltb oll expetlmeots tbete ls olwoys wlll olwoys be oo elemeot of looccotocy to toke loto occooot wltb tbe
tesolts. wltb tbls expetlmeot tbe posslble sootces wete.
o nomoo ttot - tbete coolJ poteotlolly be oo elemeot of bomoo ettot lo J ploces lo tbe expetlmeot,
plocloq tbe looJ ceottol oo tbe spoo, meosotloq tbe ovetoll spoo ooJ zetoloq tbe Jlol qooqe.
o Moss of tbe welqbts - tbe octool moss of tbe welqbts wete oot meosoteJ tbese coolJ Jlffet sllqbtly
ftom tbose llsteJ oo tbe welqbt tbemselves.
o Accotocy of qooqes (Jlol qooqe, tolet oo beocb, vetolet collpets) - tbe tempetotote ooJ ptessote of
tbe eovltoomeot tbe expetlmeot wos completeJ lo coolJ bove offecteJ tbe scole oo tbe tolet ooJ
qooqes, wblcb wete metol, oo locteose lo eltbet ftom wbeo lt wos mooofoctoteJ coolJ bove tesolteJ
lo o sllqbtly Jlffeteot tolet scole.
o lotollox - coolJ olso be closseJ os bomoo ettot, potollox lo tbe plocemeot of tbe Jlol qooqe oo tbe
ceotte of tbe beom os tbe tolet wos set owoy ftom tbe qooqe ltself. lf tbe qooqe wos oot vleweJ
exoctly petpeoJlcolot to tbe tolet lt coolJ bove beeo posltlooeJ sllqbtly owoy ftom ceotte sllqbtly.
o llocemeot of tbe welqbts - tbe looJ coolJ oot be opplleJ exoctly ceottol to tbe beom Joe to tbe
posltlooloq of tbe Jlol qooqe beloq exoctly ceottol oo tbe beom. lt wos olwoys ploceJ oext to tbe
qooqe oo tbe left booJ slJe, towotJs polot A.
o Momeot oboot tbe soppottloq polots - tbe beom wos oevet tbe exoct spoo leoqtb, tbete wos olwoys
oo ovetbooq post tbe kolfe soppott eJqes. 1be moss of beom ovetbooqloq wlll bove cteoteJ o
momeot oboot polots A ooJ c, tbetefote tbe fotces octloq JowowotJs wete oot jost tbot of tbe looJ,
bot sboolJ olso bove locloJeJ tbose cteoteJ befote ooJ oftet tbe soppotts, tbos tbe teoctloo fotces,
k
A
ooJ k
c
woolJ bove beeo sllqbtly lotqet tboo jost
!
!
.