Mechanics of Materials II

ECIV 1533
Experiment #1 – Deflection of a Simple
Beam
Eric Stone
Group: 132
Date: September 9, 2022
Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

Table of Contents
1. Purpose............................................................................................................................... 3
2. Theory................................................................................................................................. 3
3. Procedure ........................................................................................................................... 4
4. Equipment .......................................................................................................................... 4
5. Results ................................................................................................................................ 5
5.1. Data ................................................................................................................................ 5
5.2. Calculations .................................................................................................................... 7
5.3. Graphs ............................................................................................................................ 8
6. Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 9
6.1. Results ............................................................................................................................ 9
6.2. Comparison Table ......................................................................................................... 10
6.3. Sources of Error............................................................................................................. 10
7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 10
8. Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 11
9. Attachments ..................................................................................................................... 11

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 Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

1. Purpose
To confirm the relationship between deflection, load, span, moment of Inertia, and Modulus of
Elasticity for a simply supported beam with a concentrated mid-span load.
Figure 1. 1 Simple beam with mid-span load
2. Theory
1.MEC
ECIV/E A simply
1533 supported beam’s deflection, as per Figure 1, is
M defined by OF
theMfollowing II
Theory predicts
equation: that the central deflection, , for this ECHANICS
exact situation ATERIALS
is given by:

1. DEFLECTION OF A SIMPLE BEAM 𝑃𝐿

∆
48 𝐸𝐼
When
Where: designing a structural beam, it is necessary to check the deflection. Too large
The exact detail of the equation is different
a deflection will crack the plaster or cause undesirable slopes. for a different location ofofload
Calculation or support
deflections
isconfiguration,
also
Deltaan
or location
(△)important part of of
– Is the deflection thedeflection
of theory of measurement.
the beam indeterminate, or continuous, beams.
(inches).
L – Is the length of the beam (inches).
There are four independent variables involved, but we must allow only one to vary
P –We want
Force to confirm
in pounds (lbs).the relationship between deflection, Δ, load, P, span, L, moment
at a time to test the equation.
of inertia, I, and modulus of elasticity, E, for a simply supported beam having a
E – Youngs Modulus (PSI)
concentrated mid-span load.
I – Moment of Inertia of the Beam ("#$ )
(1) Load vs. Deflection. All other factors except the load are kept constant and the
48 – is a constant.
deflection is measured. A plot of P against  should have a straight line. The linearity
of this graph is sufficient to prove the relationship. The gradient of that line should
agree with that determined by the deflection equation. This does not prove the
relationship, but gives confidence in the values for E, I and L.

Fall 2021 1-1

Figure 1: Simple Beam with mid-span Load (Stangier, 2021)

Figure 1. 1 Simple beam with mid-span load

2. The moment of inertia for a rectangular section, as per Figure 2, is defined as:

Theory predicts that the central deflection,'ℎ ,) for this exact situation is given by:
%=
12
Where: 𝑃𝐿
∆
48 𝐸𝐼
$
I – Is the moment of inertia ("# ).
B –The exact
is the detail
length of base
of the the equation is different
of the rectangular for a (inches).
section different location of load or support
configuration, or location of deflection measurement.
H – is the length of the height of the rectangular section (inches).
There are four independent variables involved, but we must allow only one to vary
at a time to test the equation.
Mechanics of Materials Lab 1 - Deflection of Simply Supported Beam.docx 3 of 10
(1) Load vs. Deflection. All other factors except the load are kept constant and the
deflection is measured. A plot of P against  should have a straight line. The linearity
Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

Figure 2: Rectangular section moment of inertia

3. Procedure
Refer to Mechanics of Materials, ECIV/EMEC 1533 Laboratory Manual (Stangier, 2021).

4. Equipment
1. One steel rectangular rod (1in x 1/4in), 2. Deflection Gauge
one steel rectangular rod (1in x 1/8in),
one brass rectangular rod (1 in x 1/4in)
respectively.

3. Structural Test Frame 4. Load Hanger

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

5. A set of weights

5. Results
5.1. Data
1. Load vs Deflection

Table 1: Load vs Deflection Beam Properties

Material Modulus of Cross Section Dimensions Span (L) Moment of

Elasticity (E) (PSI) (inches) Inertia (I)
(,-. )
Base (B) Height (H)
(inches) (inches)
Steel ASTM 29x100 1.00 0.25 25.00 1.302x101)
A-36

Table 2: Data for Load vs Deflection Test

Load P (lb) Deflection △ (in)

0 0.000
1 0.008
2 0.017
3 0.026
4 0.035
5 0.043
6 0.052

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

2. Span vs. Deflection

Table 3: Span vs Deflection Beam Properties

Material Modulus of Cross Section Dimensions Load (P) Moment of

Elasticity (E) (PSI) (lbs) Inertia (I)
(,-. )
Base (B) Height (H)
(inches) (inches)
Steel ASTM 29x100 1.00 0.25 5.00 1.302x101)
A-36

Table 4: Data for Span vs Deflection Test

Span L (in) Deflection △ (in)

17 0.013
19 0.019
21 0.025
23 0.034
25 0.043
27 0.053
29 0.067

3. Deflection vs Moment of Inertia

Table 5: Deflection vs Moment of Inertia Beam Properties

Deflection Material Modulus Cross Section Dimensions Span L Moment of

Number of (in) Inertia (I)
Elasticity (,-. )
(E) (PSI)
Base (B) Height (H)
(inches) (inches)
△2 Steel 29x100 1.00 0.25 25.00 1.302x101)
ASTM A-
36
△3 Steel 29x100 1.00 0.125 25.00 1.628x101$
ASTM A-
36

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

Table 6: Data for Deflection vs Moment of Inertia Test

Load P Deflection △2 (in) Deflection △3 (in) △2 /△3

2 0.017 0.136 0.125
4 0.035 0.274 0.128
6 0.052 0.413 0.126
Average: 0.126

4. Deflection vs. Modulus of Elasticity

Table 7: Deflection vs Modulus of Elasticity Beam Properties

Material Modulus of Cross Section Dimensions Span L Moment of

Elasticity (in) Inertia (I)
(E) (PSI) (,-. )
Base (B) Height (H) (inches)
(inches)
Steel ASTM 29x100 1.00 0.25 25.00 1.302x101)
A-36
Brass 14x100 1.00 0.25 25.00 1.302x101)

Table 8: Data for Deflection vs Modulus of Elasticity Test

Load P Deflection △45667 (in) Deflection △89:44 △45667 /△89:44

(in)
2 .017 0.033 0.515
4 0.35 .067 0.522
6 0.52 .100 0.520
Average: 0.519

5.2. Calculations
Sample calculations provided in Appendix A.

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

5.3. Graphs
1. Load vs Deflection

Load vs Deflection
7

5
P - Load (lbs)

4
y = 114.72x + 0.0336

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
⃤ - Deflecdon (inches)

Figure 3: Graph of Load vs Deflection of Table 2 data

2. Span vs. Deflection

See attached appendix B for graph of “Deflection vs Span.”

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

6. Discussion
6.1. Results
1. Load vs Deflection
It can be seen that the experiment of load versus deflection is in close proximity to the
theoretical calculation (Appendix A) shown in Figure 3 of load versus deflection; the
slope of the load versus deflection in the experiment is 114.72 psi-in and the
theoretical slope is 115.993 psi-in (as shown in Error! Reference source not found. c
omparison table). This confirms that the load is directly proportional to deflection.

2. Span vs Deflection
It can also be seen that the experiment of span vs deflection is in close proximity to
the theoretical calculation (Appendix A) as shown in the graph of deflection versus
span (Appendix B); the slope of the deflection versus span, is 3.056 and the
corresponding theoretical slope is 3.000. This confirms that the span is directly
proportional to deflection.

3. Deflection vs Moment of Inertia

The calculated moment of inertia of 0.25-inch steel (%; ) was found to be
1.302x101) "#$ and the moment of inertia for the 0.125-inch steel (%< ) was found to be
1.628x101$ "#$ (Table 5). The ratio of %; /%< was calculated to be 0.125 (Appendix A).
The deflection of the beam at various loads and △2 /△3 ratio was tabulated in Table 6;
the average of △2 /△3 was calculated to be 0.126 (Appendix A). Comparing the two
ratios, it confirms that the ratios %; /%< and △2 /△3 correlate with each other.

A beam with half of the depth (height-h) results in eight times the deflection because
% ∝ 'ℎ) (b-base dimension does not change in this case). This means that a material
with half the thickness has a moment of inertia that is % ∝ 1/8, and deflection ∆∝ 1/%;
relating this to % ∝ 1/8, the deflection would be eight times if the material is half the
thickness.

4. Deflection vs Modulus of Elasticity

The given modulus of elasticity of steel and brass was 29B100 CD" and 14B100 CD"
respectively. The ratio of FGHIIJ /FKLMGG was found to be 0.483 (Appendix A). The
deflection of the beam at various loads and △45667 /△89:44 ratio was tabulated in Table
8; the average △45667 /△89:44 was calculated to be 0.519 (Appendix A). Comparing the
two ratios, if confirms that the ratios of FGHIIJ /FKLMGG and △45667 /△89:44 correlate with
each other.

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psi in psi in

6.3. Sources of Error

There were several sources of error that occurred during the simple beam deflection
experiment:

1. The span was adjusted by hand and was inaccurate since adjustment was made by
eye.
2. Finding the middle of the span was also adjusted by hand and was inaccurate since it
was done by eye.
3. The deflection gauge was also zeroed by hand and could have been slightly off when
adjusted. Rounding of the gauge reading also could have contributed to reading
errors.
4. The weights were never accurately measured, so there may be some level of error in
the amount loaded on to the load hanger and thus the deflection is inaccurate.

7. Conclusion
Fall
Fall2021
2021 1-5
1-5 9) confirm the relationships between load,
The experimental versus theoretical results (Table
span, moment of inertia, and modulus of elasticity for a simply supported beam with a
concentrated mid-span load.

In part one, the experimental results confirm that the deflection is proportional to the loading
in comparison with the theoretical value. In part two, the experimental results confirm that the
deflection is proportional to three time the span in comparison to the theoretical value. In part
three, the theoretical ratio of %; /%< and experimental ratio of △2 /△3 confirms that they are
proportional. In part four, the theoretical ratio of FGHIIJ /FKLMGG and experimental ratio of
△45667 /△89:44 confirms they are proportional.

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Experiment 1 – Deflection of Simply Supported Beam

8. Bibliography
Stangier, S. D. (2021). Mechanics of Materials 2, ECIV/EMEC 1533 Laboratory Manual. Thunder
Bay, Ontario: Faculty of Engineering, Lakehead University.

9. Attachments
1. Appendix A – Sample Calculation
2. Appendix B – Deflection vs Span Graph

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