Department of Civil Engineering

International University (IU)

ST01: BENDING STRESS IN A BEAM

Department of Civil Engineering

Room 506, International University – Viet Nam National University HCMC
Quarter 6, Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
Phone: 848-37244270. Ext 3425 Fax: 848-37244271
www.hcmiu.edu.vn
1. Introduction

The Bending Stress in a Beam experiment introduced students to stress and strain,
bending moment, section properties and the bending equation.

2. Theory

Considering the simply supported beam as shown in Figure 1, there are two point loads
( W / 2 ) applying to this beam.

Figure 1 Beam set-up and schematic

The applied bending moment (M) is calculated as:

WL
M = (1)
2

where:

M=Bending moment (Nm)

L=Span length as shown in Figure 1 (m)

From the bending equation, we have:

M σ
= (2)
I y

where:

I=Second moment of area of the section (m4)

σ =Stress (Nm-2)

y= Distance from the neutral axis (m)

From the Hooke’s law, we have:

σ
E= (3)
ε

1
 where:

ε = Strain

E = Young’s modulus for the beam material (given as 69GPa in this experiment)

3. Experimental Apparatus

The experimental apparatus consists of the following parts:

• A loading assembly as shown in Figure 2

• The structural test frame to support the loading assembly as shown in Figure 3.

• The Digital Force Display to measure and displace force electrically.

• The Digital Strain Display to measure and displace strains.

• Automatic Data Acquisition Unit and software to record all measured data (strains and
force) to the computer system.

Figure 2 Bending Stress in a Beam Experiment

2
 Figure 3 Bending stress in a beam experiment in the structures frame

4. Experimental Procedures

• Ensure the beam and Load Cell are properly aligned.

• Turn the thumbwheel on the Load Cell to apply a positive (downward) preload to the
beam of about 100 N.

• Zero the Load Cell using the control.

• Take the nine strain readings at the zero force and fill in Table 1 at the zero force
column.

• Increase the load to 50 N and record all nine of the strain readings.

• Repeat the procedure in 50 N increments to 250 N.

• Finally, gradually release the load and preload.

3
 Table 1 Results for Experiment

Gauge Load (N)

number 0 50 100 150 200 250
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

5. Analyzing the Experimental Results

• Correct the strain reading values for zero (be careful with your signs!) and convert the
load to a bending moment then fill in Table 2.

• From your result plot a graph of strain against bending moment for all nine gauges (on
the same graph).

• What is the relationship between the bending moment and the strain at the various
positions?

• What do you notice about the strain gauge readings on opposite sides of the section?
Should they be identical?

• If the readings are not identical, give two reasons why.

• Calculate the average strains from the pairs of gauges and enter your results in Table 3
(disregard the zero values). Carefully measure the actual strain gauge positions and enter
the values into Table 3. Plot the strain against the relative vertical position of the strain
gauge pairs on the same graph for each value of bending moment. Take the top of the
beam as the datum.

• Calculate the second moment of area and position of the neural axis for the section and
add the position of the neural axis to the plot.

• What is the value of strain at the neural axis?

• Calculate the maximum stress in the section by turning the strains into stress values (at
the maximum load). Compare this to the theoretical value.

• Does the bending equation accurately predict the stress in the beam?

4
 Table 2 Results for Experiment 1

Bending moment (Nm)

Gauge number
0 8.75 17.5 26.25 35 43.75
1 0
2 0
3 0
4 0
5 0
6 0
7 0
8 0
9 0

Table 3 Averaged strain readings for Experiment 1

Nominal Actual Bending moment (Nm)

Gauge Vertical Vertical
number Position position 0
(mm) (mm)
1 0
2, 3 8
4, 5 23
6, 7 31.7
8, 9 38.1

Please provide the following parts in your report:

1. Introduction (purpose of the experiment)

2. Theory

3. Experimental Results

4. Analyzing the Experimental Results

5. Conclusions