Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Faculty of Science and Technology

University of Macau
CIVL 2001

Mechanics of Materials
Laboratory report No 3
FLEXURAL BENDING TEST

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2
 Lab. #3 FLEXURAL BENDING TEST

Objectives:

This experiment is to verify the elastic flexure formulas for pure bending
of a steel beam.
M  E
 x 
I y 

THEORY
A member subjected to equal and opposite couples acting in the same
longitudinal plane is said to be in pure bending (Fig.l). The internal forces
in any cross section of a member in pure bending are equivalent to a
couple (Fig.2). The moment M of that couple is known as the bending
moment in the section and is equal to

M=  (- y  xdA)

In the case when the bending moment M is such that the normal stresses in 、4dA
Fig.2
the member remain below the yield strength %, we can prove that the
normal stress varies linearly with the distance from the neutral surface
(Fig.3) and is equal to
y
x   m
c
Combining the two equations, we obtain
x M
- 
y I
The deformation of the member caused by the bending moment M is
measured by the curvature of the neutral surface. The curvature is defined
as the reciprocal of the radius of curvature p (Fig.4), which is obtained
from

y
 -
x

2
Substituting for  x from Hooke's law. we can rewrite Eq.4 as

E x
-
 y

Combining Eq.3 and Eq.5. we can get flexure formulas as a result

M  E
 X 
I y 

APPARATUS
3 - HAC.6mm Dial gauge assembly
2 - HSA.109 Hanger clamps
2 - HSA.lll End support brackets
1 - HST.l Hi-Plan universal frame & stand
2 - HST.1313 Knife edges
1 - HST.1314 25mm*6mm mild steel beam
2 - HWH.3 Hanger 150 mm * IN
2 - Strain gauges
gauges
1 - P-3500 Strain indicator
1 - SB-10 Switch balance unit

2
PROCEDURE

1. Fix two knife-edge support on the frame and lay the 25*6mmfc beam across
500 mm span.
2. Add hanger clamps to the beam 125mm from each knife edge.
3. Connect the leadwire from the strain gauges, which are mounted on the beam,
to the SB-10 switch balance unit. Connect also the P-3500 strain indicator to
the SB- 10 switch balance unit.
4. Set up three dial gauges at two load points and at mid span respectively.
5. Set the initial readings of the dial gauges and the readings of the strain gauges
to zero respectively.

DATA :

Gauge length of beam. L= 250 MM

Breadth. B= 25 MM
Height, H= 6 MM
3
Moment of Inertia, I = B*H = 450 MM 4
12

Load Strain gauges Dial gauges Relative

top bottom Load pt. 1 Load pt.2 Mid span sagging at mid
P d2 span
d=d3-(d1+d2）/2
u b d1 d3
(N) (\0 01mm) (mm)
(xlO^mm) (\0 01mm) (xO.Ol mm)
0 1591
(xlO^mm 1480 0 0 0 0
20 1500) 1546 0.565 0.561 0.775 0.212
0.561
40 1427 1626 1.163 1.165 1.603 0.439
1.165
60 1331 1690 1.759 1.764 2.42 0.6655
20
80 1241 1776 2.368 2.366
1.764 3.255 0.888
40
100 1199 1899 2.969 2.980 4.100 1.1255
2.366
60
2.98
60 2

100
 Modulus of elasticity, (Given) E= 21000 MPA

列1 列2 列3 列4 列5 列6列7 列8 列9

Load Moment Stress Deflection

Experimenta Dif
P M l Theoretical f Experimental Theoretical Diff

Top Bot (Mpa) (mm) (%)

For class
(kN) (Nm) d=d3-(d1+d2)/2 practicee

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0.212 0.02574342
20 0.0025 -0.01911 0.01386 0.01667 0.206679365 6

0.439 0.06203151
40 0.005 -0.03444 0.03066 0.03333 0.41335873 9

0.6655 0.07332114
60 0.0075 -0.0546 0.0441 0.05 0.620038095 8

0.888 0.43217006
60 0.0075 -0.0735 0.0609 0.06667 0.620038095 6

1.1255 0.08912662
100 0.0125 -0.08232 0.08799 0.083333 1.033396825 8