Engineering Mechanical Practical

UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR

MALAYSIA FRANCE INSTITUTE

YOUNGS MODULUS EXPERIMENT (B)

OBJECTIVES.
1) The objectives of the experiments are to investigate the relationship between load, span
weight, height and deflection of a simply supported beam.
2) To ascertain the Coefficient of Elasticity (Youngs Modulus) for the given specimen
THEORY.
The relationship of span length and beam deflection (Experiment 1B)
The mid-span deflection as previously discussed is:

In order to study the effect of span length to the deflection , the power 3 for the span is replaced
by n.
Thus the deflection equation can be written as:

Where the constant C = 1/48EI

The deflection equation can be written in log form as below:
log (/W) = n log L + log C

This represents the equation of a straight line. The slope of the graph represents the power of the
span and the vertical intercepts represents the constant.
The relationship of beam thickness and beam deflection (Experiment 2B)
The mid-span deflection as previously discussed is:

The Youngs/section modulus I = bt3/12

Thus the equation can be rewritten as:

In order to study the effect of thickness, t, upon deflection, , the power 3 for the thickness is
replaced with n.

Or

Or,
/W = C x t(-n)
Where C is a constant
The above equation can be written in the log form as:
log (/W) = log C n log t
This represents the equation of a straight line
Y = mx + c
Experiment 1B: Deflection of a Simply Supported Beam (Relationship Between Deflection
and Beam Span)
Objective
The objective of this experiment is to find the relationship between deflection and span of the
beam specimen.
Apparatus
1. A support frame

2. A pair of knife - edge support

3. A load hanger
4. A dial gauge with 0.01 mm accuracy to measuring deflection
5. Beam specimen with constant depth and width through out its length 6. A micrometer to
measure the depth and with of the beam specimen 7. A meter ruler to measure the span of
the beam
1. A set of weights
Procedure
1. Bolt the two knife edge supports to the support frame using the plate and bolt supplied
with the apparatus. The distance between the two supports should be equal to the span of
the beam to be tested.
2. Measure width and depth of specimen and record the readings (take measurement at 3
locations and record the average reading)
3. Place the beam specimen on the knife edge supports.
4. Fix the load hanger at the mid-span of the beam.
5. Position the dial gauge at the mid-span of the beam to measure the resulting deflection.
6. Set the dial gauge reading to zero.
7. Place a suitable load on the load hanger
8. Note the resulting dial gauge reading.
9. Increase the load on the load hanger.
10. Repeat step 8 and 9 for a few more load increments
11. Repeat the above test for another two lengths of the beam.
Results
Beam Specimen Dimension:
Width, b

mm

Depth, d

mm

Moment of Inertia, I =
Dial gauge 1 div
=
reading

mm4
mm

Table 2.1:

0.01

Experimental Mid-span Deflection

Load
Span L1
N

div

Span L2
mm

div

mm

Span L3
div

mm

Table 2.2:
Span, L

Log (L)

Slope, /W

Log (/W)

1. For each span, plot the graph of deflection against load. Draw the best-fit curve through
the plotted points.
2. Obtain the slope for each graph. The slope represents the deflection per unit load.
3. Fill in Table 2 with the information from step 2
4. Using the data from Table 2, plot the graph of log verses log L.
5. From the graph of log (/W) Vs log L obtain the power for the span by determining the
slope of the straight line graph.
6. The intercept on the vertical axis represents the value for log C. From this value calculate
the modulus of elasticity for the beam specimen.
Conclusion

1. From the experiment state the relationship between thickness and deflection at mid-span
2. Comment on the accuracy of the experiment by calculating the theoretical deflection and
the log (/W) Vs log L for theoretical deflection.

Experiment 2B: Deflection of Simply Supported Beam (Relationship between Deflection

and Beam Thickness/Depth, d)
Objective
The objective of the experiment is to establish the relationship between deflection and depth and
hence determine the elastic modulus for the beam specimen.
Apparatus

1. A support frame
2. A pair of support stand
3. A pair of knife - edge support
4. A load hanger
5. A dial gauge with 0.01 mm accuracy to measuring deflection
6. 3 beam specimens having similar width but of different depth. Each beam must have
constant depth and width throughout its length
7. A micrometer to measure the depth and with of the beam specimen
8. A meter ruler to measure the span of the beam
9. A set of weights
Procedure
1. Bolt the two knife edge supports to the support frame using the plate and bolt supplied
with the apparatus. The distance between the two supports should be equal to the span of
the beam to be tested.
2. Measure width and depth of specimen and record the readings (take measurement at 3
locations and record the average reading)
3. Place the beam specimen on the knife edge supports.
4. Fix the load hanger at the mid-span of the beam.
5. Position the dial gauge at the mid-span of the beam to measure the resulting deflection.
6. Set the dial gauge reading to zero.
7. Place a suitable load on the load hanger
8. Note the resulting dial gauge reading.
9. Increase the load on the load hanger.
10. Repeat step 8 and 9 for a few more load increments
11. Repeat the above test for two other beams. The span of the beam should be similar to the
first beam.
Results
Span of beam

mm

Width of beam
Dial gauge reading, I div

mm

0.01

mm

Table 3.1:
Experimental Mid-span Deflection

Load
Thickness d1
N

div

mm

Thickness d2
div

mm

Thickness d3
div

mm

Table 3.2:
Thickness d

Log (d)

Slope, /W

Log (/W)

1. For each thickness, plot the graph of deflection against load. Draw the best-fit curve
through the plotted points.
2. Obtain the slope for each graph. The slope represents the deflection per unit load.
3. Fill in Table 2 with the information from step 2
4. Using the data from Table 2, plot the graph of log (/W) verses log d.
5. From the graph of log (/W) vs log d obtain the power for the thickness by determining
the slope of the straight line graph.
7. Calculate the percentage error for this experiment.
Conclusion
1. From the experiment state the relationship between thickness and deflection at mid-span.
2. Comment on the accuracy of the experiment by comparing with theoretical calculations.