RECTANGULAR PORTAL FRAME

1.0 Objective
- To establish the relationship between applied load and horizontal displacement at
the roller support.
- To observe the effect of the load position on the roller displacement.

2.0 Theory

The equation for the horizontal displacement at the roller support of a portal frame with
one pinned support and other one roller support are given below:
3.0 Apparatus
1. Support frame
2. Portal frame

3. Dial gauge

4. Vernier caliper

5. Ruler / Tape measure

6. 1 set of load
4.0 Procedure
1. Removed the pinned attached to the load cell so that the roller was free to move.
2. Placed a load hanger at the location where the load was to be applied, i.e. distance
‘a’ which is equal to half of length L3.
3. Set the dial gauge reading to zero.
4. Placed a load on the load hanger (10N).

Figure 4.1: Placing a load on the load hanger

5. Recorded the dial gauge reading. This represented the horizontal displacement at
the roller support.

Figure 4.2: Recording the dial gauge reading

6. Increased the load on the load hanger and recorded the dial gauge reading.
7. Repeated step 6 for another 4 equal load increments of 10N up to a maximum total
load of 50N on the load hanger.
8. Tabulated the results.
9. Repeated the above procedure from step 1 to 8 for the value of ‘a’ equals 100mm
and 300mm.
5.0 Results

Height of portal frame, L1 = 600 mm

Width of portal frame, L3 = 400 mm
Width of member = 25.3 mm
Thickness of member = 9.2 mm
Second moment of area, I = mm
Dial gauge reading, 1 division = 0.01 mm
Material for the portal frame = Steel

6.0 Data and Collections

Material for the portal frame = Steel

Table 1: 100 mm displacement

Applied load (N) Roller displacement

Experimental Theoretical
10 0.03 -0.27
20 0.08 -0.55
30 0.21 -0.82
40 0.26 -1.10
50 0.40 -1.37

Load (10N), LPH = 10(100)(600)(100-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -180 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.27

Load (20N), LPH = 20(100)(600)(100-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -360 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.55

Load (30N), LPH = 30(100)(600)(100-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -540 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.82

Load (40N), LPH = 40(100)(600)(100-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -720 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.10

Load (50N), LPH = 50(100)(600)(100-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -720 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.37
 Table 2: 200 mm displacement

Applied load (N) Roller displacement

Experimental Theoretical
10 0.04 -0.37
20 0.11 -0.73
30 0.28 -1.10
40 0.40 -1.46
50 0.74 -1.83

Load (10N), LPH = 10(200)(600)(200-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -240 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.37

Load (20N), LPH = 20(200)(600)(200-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -480 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.73

Load (30N), LPH = 30(200)(600)(200-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -720 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.10

Load (40N), LPH = 40(200)(600)(200-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -960 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.46

Load (50N), LPH = 50(200)(600)(200-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -1200 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.83
 Table 3: 300 mm displacement

Applied load (N) Roller displacement

Experimental Theoretical
10 0.03 -0.27
20 0.07 -0.55
30 0.17 -0.82
40 0.26 -1.10
50 0.42 -1.37

Load (10N), LPH = 10(300)(600)(300-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -180 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.27

Load (20N), LPH = 20(300)(600)(300-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -360 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.55

Load (30N), LPH = 30(300)(600)(300-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -540 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -0.82

Load (40N), LPH = 40(300)(600)(300-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -720 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.10

Load (50N), LPH = 50(300)(600)(300-400) / 2(200x103)(1.64x103)

= -900 x 106 / 656 x 106
= -1.37