Curtin University

Engineering Foundation Year

Engineering Mechanics

Statics: Practical Test 1b

(45 minutes hands-on + 45 minutes analysis/interpretation)

Title Shear Force and Bending Moment in a Beam

Activity Type Discovery

Concept(s) Studied

A supported beam subjected to transverse concentrated loads experiences internal forces

on its cross section that may be conveniently resolved into a shear force and a bending
moment. It is important to be able to determine the shear force (S.F.) and the bending
moment (B.M.) at various points.

Definitions

Shear force – The component of the internal force acting on the beam’s cross section
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beam. The action of this force is to prevent
the beam moving in the fashion shown in Figure 1. To do so, the internal shear forces, V,
must exist. In the case of the cantilever shown, V = P . Notice that the portion of isolated
beam to the right of section AA cannot remain in vertical equilibrium unless V exists and
its magnitude equals P. The directions of the shear force, V, in Figure 1 are, by convention,
positive.

A A
P V =P
A
P
V

Figure 1 Shear force in a cantilevered beam

Bending Moment - The component of the internal force acting on the beam’s cross section
that imparts a couple. Note that the pair of forces P and V, acting on the isolated right
hand portion, form a couple tending to rotate the segment clockwise. The internal bending
moment will be equal and opposite to that couple, thus maintaining equilibrium (see
Figure 2). These internal forces cause the beam to deflect in bending. The sign convention
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assigns a positive bending moment to one that results in the beam bending concave
upward. The beam in Figure 2 will deflect concave downwards and hence is said to
support a negative bending moment, M.

A
P
V

V
M

Figure 2 Bending moment in a cantilevered beam

Description of the Tests

There are two tests to perform.

• Test 1 measures the bending moment being supported within the beam at one
location.
• Test 2 measures the shear force being supported within the beam at one location.

Test 1 – Bending Moment Test

Figure 3 shows the apparatus for the bending moment experiment. This assembly is hung
from an aluminium frame as shown in Figure 4 below.

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Figure 3 The beam with its supports

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 Figure 4 The beam supported in a frame

The apparatus for measurement of the bending moment consists of a beam which is cut or
separated into two portions, 140 mm to the left of the right hand support (Figure 5). The
two portions are then reassembled with special fittings that allow the internal forces to be
measured. In the case of this bending moment test, the sections are re-assembled with a
pin joint (cannot support a moment). To stop the beam acting as a hinge at the pin, an
extension arm, which is rigidly fixed to the right hand portion, projects 125 mm to the left
of the pin and bears on the left hand portion of the beam. A force-measuring load cell is
interposed between the arm and the beam to measure the contact force (Figure 5) at the
end of the moment arm, point E. A digital display reports the force on the load cell. The
beam’s right hand support is a pin, while the left hand support is a roller. They are 440
mm apart. Point loads can be applied to the beam via hangers hung from points available
every 20 mm along the beam.

The moment arm is 125 mm long and it is fixed to the right hand side portion at the “cut
position” C. The cut position is 140 mm from the right hand support D (Figure 5).

Load Fixed
cell Moment pin
E arm support
Roller Hinge
Beam support D
B C
A
RB RD
Load
125 mm (W)

300 mm 140 mm

440 mm

Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the beam

The support reactions RB and RD can be found by summing the moments of forces acting
on the beam about the supports B and D.

∑M B (+Q) = 0 i.e. RD(0.44)−W(0.3)= 0 ∴ RD =W (1)

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∑M D (+Q) = 0 i.e. W(0.14)−RB(0.44)= 0 ∴ RB =W (2)

To determine the theoretical bending moment at hinge C, we proceed by notionally

“cutting” the beam at C and isolating the right hand portion as a free body as shown in
Figure 6.
MC

VC 140 mm
RD W

Figure 6 Free body diagram of right portion of the beam

∑M C (+Q) = 0 i.e. RD(0.14)−MC = 0 ∴ MC =RD(0.14)=W (0.14) (3)

∴ MC = 0.0955W Nm, where W is in N (4)

Note that the load W, in Newtons, is obtained by multiplying the mass (in kg) by 9.81
N/kg.

Test 1 Procedure – Bending Moment

1. Check that the load cell meter reads zero when no load is applied. Note that while
the load cell is supporting some load under this condition (due to the beam’s
selfweight), we will measure the increase in load from this state.

2. Place a 10 g hanger with nine 10-gram masses at point C. This gives a total applied
mass of 100 g. Then W = 0.1 kg × 9.81 N/kg = 0.981 N.

3. Record the magnitude of the force indicated by the load cell in Table 1 below.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 using total masses of 200 g, 300 g, 400 g and 500 g.

5. Calculate the loads in Newtons.

6. The force experienced by the load cell can be converted into the bending moment at
point C by multiplying the force by the moment arm of 0.125 m.

MC =FC(0.125) Nm (5)

7. Complete Table 1 by calculating the theoretical bending moment using Equation (4)
and the experimental bending moment using Equation (5).

Table 1 Test Results for Experiment 1

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 Mass (g) Load W Theoretical Load Cell Experimental
(N) BM (Nm) Force BM (Nm)
Equation (4) (N) Equation (5)
0 0 0 0
0
0.981 0.094 0.700 0.088
100
1.962 0.187 1.400 0.175
200
2.943 0.281 2.100 0.263
300
3.924 0.375 2.800 0.350
400
4.905 0.468 3.500 0.438
500

8. Plot a graph to compare your experimental results to those you determined from
theory (Figure 7).

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Test 2 Procedure – Shear Force

Figure 8 shows the arrangement of the equipment used for the shear force experiment.
This is hung from the aluminium frame as shown in Figure 9 below.

In this experiment, the beam is loaded just to the left of the “cut” position. For practical
reasons the point of loading cannot be exactly at the “cut”. The loading arrangement is
shown in Figure 10.

Figure 8 Shear force in a beam experiment

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 Figure 9 The beam supported in the frame
Load

hanger to left of Load on

Roller ‘cut’ support first
Beam support D cell
B C Fixedpin

A
RB Load RD
(W)

260 mm 40 mm
Centre line
of ‘cut’
440 mm

Figure 10 Simplified diagram of the beam

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Figure 11 shows the detailed dimensions of the beam. Below we use the given distances
to calculate the experimental shear force.

Centre
of ‘cut’

15 mm 15 mm
260 mm
25 mm
440 mm

Figure 11 Dimensions of the beam for the shear force test

Theoretically, the shear force to the right of the load is equal in magnitude and opposite in
direction to the reaction force at D, RD . Summing moments about point B will determine
the magnitude of RD and hence the shear force to the right of the load W.

∑M B (+Q) = 0 i.e. −W(0.26)+RD(0.44)= 0 ∴ RD =W (6)

Therefore, the shear force, V, everywhere in the span between the load and the right hand
support at D is

V (between load and D) = 0.591W (7)

Test 2 Procedure – Shear Force

1. Run the test in a similar fashion to Experiment 1 by increasing the load from 0 to
500 g in steps of 100 g.

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2. Calculate the theoretical shear force from equation (7) and complete Table 2 below

Table 2 Test Results for Experiment 2

Mass (g) Load W Theoretical Experimental Load

(N) SF (N) Cell Shear Force
Equation (7) (N)
0 0 0
0
0.981 0.58 0.500
100
1.962 1.160 1.100
200
2.943 1.740 1.700
300
3.924 2.320 2.300
400
4.905 2.900 2.700
500

3. Plot the theoretical shear force - load, and the experimental shear force - load
relationships on the graph in Figure 12. Note that the theoretical relationship will
be plotted as a solid line, since its value is known for every load, whereas the
experimental data will be plotted as points (e.g. small crosses), since experimental
data has been obtained only at discrete loads.

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 Figure 12 Graph of shear force versus load

Questions (for analysis following the experiments)

(1) Comment on results in Table 1 and the shape of the graph in Figure 7. How does
the bending moment vary with the loading?

Bending moment increases with increase in load which means bending moment is directly
proportional to the loading.

(2) In Table 1 and Figure 7, does the equation used based on theory, Equation (4),
accurately predict the behaviour of the beam? Are there any discrepancies?

Yes, the equation used in theory does predict the behaviour of the beam. No there are no
discrepancies

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(3) In the bending moment test (Figure 5), if the roller support were located at A, instead
of B, how would the bending moment results alter?

There will be no change in the bending moment as the ratio of the distance between the
load and roller support and the distance between the pivot and the roller support says the
same.

(4) For the shear force test, comment on the shape of the graph (Figure 12). How does
the shear force vary with the loading?

Shear force increases linearly with respect to the loading. Therefore, it can be said shear
force is directly proportional to the load.

(5) Does the theory accurately predict the shear force in the beam (Table 2 and Figure
12)?

Yes, the theory accurately predicts the shear force in the beam.

(6) How would the shear force measurement alter were the applied load to be placed
130mm from the roller support (Figure 11)?

The shear force measurement will reduce by a factor of 0.5.

Assessment

The marking scale for this exercise will be as follows:

• Test 1 – experimental procedure performed correctly (0.25) •

Test 1 – accurate results, well presented (0.50)

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• Test 2 – experimental procedure performed correctly (0.25) •
Test 2 – accurate results, well presented (0.50)
• Questions 1 to 5:
- Answers poorly attempted (0.25)
- answers show an average level of understanding (0.75)
- answers show an above average level of understanding (1.0)
- answers show a high level of understanding with accurate comments etc. (1.5)

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