MECHANICS OF

MATERIALS

Lab Report
Submitted To:
Engr. Arhum Hassan
 Group Members:
M. Rafay Khwaja Abdul Moiz
(170301040) (170301058)

Syed Abdullah Shah Ushna Liaqat

(170301003) (170301005)
 Deflection in beams

Literature Review:
Beam may be defined as member whose length is large in comparison with its
thickness and is loaded with transverse loads or couples that produce
significant bending effects. Beams are so common in engineering structures
that their importance cannot be overemphasized. In engineering structures
members that are oriented such that their lengths are horizontal are
considered beams. Beams are also used in machine parts, for example, the
armature shaft in a generator may be considered as a simply supported beam
carrying a uniformly distributed load over a portion of its length. The axis of
the beam deflects from its initial position under action of applied forces.
Accurate values for these beams deflections are sought in many practical case:
elements of machines must be sufficiently rigid to prevent misalignment and
to maintain dimensional accuracy under load; in buildings, floor beams cannot
deflect excessively to avoid the undesirable psychological effect of flexible
floors on occupants and to minimize or prevent distress in brittle-finish
materials; likewise, information on deformation characteristics of members is
essential in the study of vibrations of machines as well as of stationary and
flight structures. In this experiment we will study the bending in beam with its
relationship to deflection, span length, width and height.
 Procedure

Part 1
In the first part of this experiment we study the relationship between load and
deflection. In this process we take a beam of steel and fix it in such a way
that the beam becomes simply supported. The beam in this experiment has a
span length of 600mm with the width of 6x25mm. now we take a load hanger
and place it in the middle of the beam. Now zero out the angle meter. Now
place loads of 5N,10N,15N and 20N and note the deflection of the in each load
application.

Load (N) Deflection(mm)

 5 0.25
10 0.50
15 0.75
20 1

Part 2
Now in the second part we will study the relationship between span length and
deflection. Now in this experiment we will fix the load to 10N and we will vary
the span length. Now fix the span length to 600mm by looking at the division
made on the rod on the instrument. Each division is 100mm. Now fix span
length and zero out the angle meter and study the deflection. The span length
is kept as 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600mm.

Span length (mm) Deflection(mm)

300 0.05
400 0.14
500 0.30
600 0.50

Part 3
In the third part of the experiment we will study the relationship between
specimen dimension(width) to the deflection of the angle meter. Now we will
place the beam of specific width on the holders at a particular span length
and place a fixed load in the middle of the beam, note the deflection on the
angle meter. Now replace the beam with a beam different width and note the
deflection. We will obtain a table as given below.

Width of the specimen Deflection(mm)

4x15 0.80
4x20 0.58
4x25 0.53
 4x30 0.40

Part 4

In the fourth part of the experiment we will study the relationship between
specimen dimension(height) to the deflection of the angle meter. Now we will
place the beam of specific height on the holders at a particular span length
and place a fixed load in the middle of the beam, note the deflection on the
angle meter. Now replace the beam with a beam different height and note the
deflection. We will obtain a table as given below.

Height of the specimen Deflection(mm)

3x25 1.12
4x25 0.53
6x25 0.15
8x25 0.07

Conclusion:

From the observed data above we conclude that deflection induced in a beam
is directly propotional to load applied and the span length keeping other
factors constant. Similarly in part 3 and part 4 we conclude that deflection
induced is inversely propotional to both width and height keeping load and
span length constant.
 Works Cited

[1] "mechanics and strength of material," 16 08 10. [Online]. Available: echanics and strength of mate
https://www.mathalino.com/reviewer/mechanics-and-strength-of-materials/chapter-6-beam-
deflections.

[2] J. M. Gere, Mechanics of Material sixth edition, Stanford : Thomson Learning, Inc., 2004.

[3] "Definitions and Keywords," 7 10 2015. [Online]. Available:

https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/virtual_lab/popups/defKeywd.html.