TITLE OF THE EXPERIMENT:
DEFLECTION OF SIMPLY- SUPPORTED BEAMS
DATE PERFORMED:
6TH OF AUGUST 2008.
AIM:
To determine the deflection of simply
supported beams and a cantilever.
THEORY
The central deflection of a simply
supported beam carrying a central load, w
is given by
Deflection= (WL)/ (4EI)
In this experiment, deflection is measured
directly.
The beam, or flexural member, is frequently
encountered in structures and machines, and
its elementary stress analysis constitutes
one of the more interesting facets of
mechanics of materials. A beam is a member
subjected to loads applied transverse to
the long dimension, causing the member to
bend. For example, a simply-supported beam
loaded at its third-points will deform into
the exaggerated bent shape shown in Fig.
3.1. Before proceeding with a more detailed
discussion of the stress analysis of beams,
it is useful to classify some of the
various types of beams and loadings
encountered in practice. Beams are
frequently classified on the basis of
supports or reactions. A beam supported by
pins, rollers, or smooth surfaces at the
ends is called a simple beam. A simple
support will develop a reaction normal to
the beam, but will not produce a moment at
the reaction. If either, or both ends of a
beam projects beyond the supports, it is
called a simple beam with overhang. A beam
with more than simple supports is a
continuous beam. Figures 3.2a, 3.2b, and
3.2c show respectively a simple beam, a
beam with overhang and a continuous beam. A
cantilever beam is one in which one end is
built into a wall or other support so that
the built-in end cannot move transversely
or rotate. The built-in end is said to be
fixed if no rotation occurs and restrained
if a limited amount of rotation occurs. The
supports shown in Fig. 3.2d, 3.2e and 3.2f
represent a cantilever beam, a beam fixed
(or restrained) at the left end and simply
supported near the other end (which has an
overhang) and a beam fixed (or restrained)
at both ends, respectively. Cantilever
beams and simple beams have two reactions
(two forces or one force and a couple) and
these reactions can be obtained from a
free-body diagram of the beam by applying
the equations of equilibrium. Such beams
are said to be statically determinate since
the reactions can be obtained from the
equations of equilibrium. Continuous and
other beams with only transverse loads,
with more than two reaction components are
called statically indeterminate since there
are not enough equations of equilibrium to
determine the reactions.
Figure 3.1 Example of a bent beam (loaded
at its third points)
Figure 3.2 various types of beams and their
deflected shapes:
Simple beam
Beam with overhang
Continuous beam
A cantilever beam
A beam fixed (or restrained) at the
left end and simply supported near the
other end (which has an overhang)
Beam fixed (or restrained) at both ends.
Examining the deflection shape of Fig.
3.2a, it is possible to observe that
longitudinal elements of the beam near the
bottom are stretched and those near the top
are compressed, thus indicating the
simultaneous existence of both tensile and
compressive stresses on transverse planes.
These stresses are designated fibre or
flexural stresses. A free body diagram of
the portion of the beam between the left
end and plane a-a is shown in Fig. 3.3. A
study of this section diagram reveals that
a transverse force Vr and a couple Mr at
the cut section and a force, R, (a
reaction) at the left support are needed to
maintain equilibrium. The force Vr is the
resultant of the shearing stresses at the
section (on plane a-a) and is called the
resisting shear and the moment, Mr, is the
resultant of the normal stresses at the
section and is called the resisting moment.
Figure 3.3 Section of simply supported beam
The magnitudes and senses of VR and MR may
be obtained from the equations of
equilibrium FY = 0 and MO = 0 where O is
any axis perpendicular to plane xy (the
reaction R must be evaluated first from the
free body of the entire beam). For the
present the shearing stresses will be
ignored while the normal stresses are
studied. The magnitude of the normal
stresses can be computed if MR is known and
also if the law of variation of normal
stresses on the plane a-a is known. Figure
3.4 shows an initially straight beam
deformed into a bent beam. A segment of the
bent beam in Fig. 3.3 is shown in Fig. 3.5
with the distortion highly exaggerated. The
following assumptions are now made:
I) Plane sections before bending, remain
plane after bending as shown in Fig.
3.4 (Note that for this to be strictly
true, it is necessary that the beam be
bent only with couples (i.e., no shear
on transverse planes), that the beam
must be proportioned such that it will
not buckle and that the applied loads
are such that no twisting occurs.
Figure 3.4 initially straight beams and the
deformed bent beam
Figure 3.5 Distorted section of bent beam
II) All longitudinal elements have the
same length such the beam is
initially straight and has a
constant cross section.
III)
A neutral surface is a curved
surface formed by elements some
distance, c, from the outer fibre of
the beam on which no change in
length occurs. The intersection of
the neutral surface with the any
cross section is the neutral axis of
the section.
the proportionality relation for strain,
ex, in the x- direction, the variation of
stress, s x , in the x-direction can be
found by substituting
DEFLECTIONS
Often limits must be placed on the amount
of deflection a beam or shaft may undergo
when it is subjected to a load. For example
beams in many machines must deflect just
the right amount for gears or other parts
to make proper contact. Deflections of
beams depend on the stiffness of the
material and the dimensions of the beams as
well as the more obvious applied loads and
supports. In order of decreasing usage four
common methods of calculating beam
deflections are:
Double integration method
Superposition method
Energy (e.g., unit load) method
Area-moment method
Deflections Due to Moments: When a straight
beam is loaded and the action is elastic,
the longitudinal centroidal axis of the
beam becomes a curve defined as "elastic
curve." In regions of constant bending
moment, the elastic curve is an arc of a
circle of radius, r, as shown in Fig. 3.13
in which the portion AB of a beam is bent
only with bending moments. Therefore, the
plane sections A and B remain plane and the
deformation (elongation and compression) of
the fibres is proportional to the distance
from the neutral surface, which is
unchanged in length. From Fig. 3.13:
From which
and finally
which relates the radius of curvature of
the neutral surface of the beam to the
bending moment, M, the stiffness of the
material, E, and the moment of inertia of
the cross section, I.
Illustration of various elastic relations
for a beam in three-point loading it is
important to remember that the calculation
of deflections from elastic curve relations
is based on the following assumptions:
1.
The square of the slope of the beam
is assumed to be negligible compared to
unity
2.
The beam deflection due to shear
stresses is negligible (i.e., plane
sections remain plane)
3.
The value of E and I remain constant
for any interval along the beam.
APPARATUS:
12mm square bar
25mm X 5mm bar
Load hanger
Weights (Kgf)
PROCEDURE
I supported the beams provided at 1.2
meters centers. By means of the loadhanger and the weights provided, I loaded
the beam in steps of 2Kgf up to the maximum
load of 16kgf for the 12mm square bar and
24Kgf for the 25mm * 8mm flat bar. For each
load increment, I read the deflection using
the dial gauge at the centre of the beam. I
then changed the span of the 12mm square
bar to 1.00metre and repeated the
experiment.
RESULTS
12X12X1000mm STEEL BAR
LOAD
DEFLECTION
Kg
Dial Gauge
Reading
(mm)
0.00
0.00
20
96.0
0.96
40
199.00
1.99
60
300.00
3.00
80
398.00
3.98
10
100
500.00
5.00
12
120
603.00
6.03
14
140
704.00
7.04
16
160
810.00
8.10
12X12X1200mm STEEL BAR
LOAD
DEFLECTION
Kg
Dial Gauge
Reading
(mm)
0.00
0.00
20
166.0
1.66
40
334.00
3.34
60
503.00
5.03
80
672.00
6.72
10
100
841.00
8.41
12
120
1010.00
10.10
14
140
1174.00
11.74
16
160
1344.00
13.44
25X6X1200mm STEEL BAR
LOAD
DEFLECTION
Kg
Dial Gauge
Reading
(mm)
00.0
0.00
20
36.0
0.36
40
82.0
0.82
80
122.0
1.22
100
170.0
1.70
10
120
214.0
2.14
12
140
265.0
2.65
14
160
308.0
3.08
16
160
355.0
3.55
18
180
404.0
4.04
20
200
479.0
4.79
22
220
540.0
5.40
24
240
593.0
5.93
REPORT
The experiments carried out to determine
the deflection of simply supported beams
were done using:
A 25mm by 6mm flat bar of 1200mm span;
A 12mm by 12mm square bar of 1000mm
span; and
A 12mm by 12mm square bar of 1200mm
span.
Thus, the results and the graphs obtained
in the former pages.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
From the theory, it is already stated that
the deflection depends on the applied load,
the length of the beam (span), the crosssectional area, the moment of inertia and
the results obtained from the experiments
carried out, it will be thus proven.
Comparing tables 3 and 2. Table 3 shows the
deflection of a beam with 25mm by 6mm flat
bar with 1200mm span while table 2 is of a
beam 12mm by 12mm square with 1200mm span.
Both have the same span but different
cross- sectional areas.
The beam of 25mm by 6mm given an area of
150mm2 has a lesser deflection at a 2kg
load than that of the 12mm by 12mm, area
144mm2 beam. This is shown still as the load
is increased.
PRECAUTIONS
I continually made sure that the tip of the
dial gauge was in contact with the beam
first touching at its centre.
I made sure the instrumental parts were not
touched not to create false deflection.
I avoided error due to parallax when
measuring the deflection on the beam.
REFERENCES
1)
Strength of Materials by R.S. Khurmi
2)
Strength of Materials by G.H. Ryder
3)
Strength of Material by Beer &
Johnson
4)
beam
www. Wikipedia.com/deflection of
