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Beams
Beams belong to Engels category of section active structures. These are structures that are subjected to bending, and
hence, develop internal resisting bending moments that create bending stress on the material of the beam. Other types
of structures in this group include flat slabs and frames. Frames are structures composed of both beams and columns,
rigidly connected to each other at the corners. Flat slabs are simply very wide and shallow beams.
Some characteristics of beams:
beams are horizontally spanning structures.
beams can be made of many different materials. The most common are wood, steel and concrete.
Beams that use two or more materials are called composite beams.
beams can vary in profile and section. Both parameters impact the efficiency of the beam.
in general, the deeper a beam is, the more load it can carry. However, the configuration (shape) of the section
plays an important role in the beams overall strength and stiffness.
beams can be of simple span, that is connecting two points in space, or they can be continuous over
several supports and therefore called continuous beams.
the stiffness of a beam is directly related to its sectional configuration measured by the moment of inertia ( I )
and by the stiffness of the material it is made from, measured by the modulus of elasticity ( E ).
the end conditions of a beam (how it is connected at the ends, i.e. fixed or pinned) have a large influence on
the behavior of a beam under load, its stiffness (which determines the amount of deflection) and therefore,
its ultimate load.
if a beam is made of a very soft material (modulus of elasticity low) it will require greater depth and a
larger moment of inertia to prevent excessive deflection ( > L / 360).
Beam - Truss Analogy. A truss acts like a beam: bending resisted by tension in the lower chord, compression
in the upper chord and either tension or compression in the interior web members. The interior web members
largely resist the external applied shear forces while the upper and lower chord members resist the bending
moment.
fb max = Mmax c / I
Mmax is the largest external applied moment on
the beam (either +M or -M)
c is the distance from the neutral axis of the
section to the outermost edge of the section
I is the moment of inertia (for a rectangular
section, I = b h3 / 12 )
Stability: beams must be stable under loading. Because most beams develop large compression forces in the
upper portion of the section (as in the top chord of a typical truss) they can have the tendency to
buckle or fall over sideways, especially if the proportion of the beam section is slender (h>>b). This is
called lateral buckling and is a serious concern for beams that are un-braced.
Stiffness: A beam must also have a certain stiffness such that it will not deflect more than a specified limit.
These limits are given as:
floors:
roof:
The predicted maximum deflection of a simple supported beam (shown below) can be calculated using
deflection equations such as:
= P L3 / 48 E I
From this equation we can see certain relationships between deflection and load (P), span (L), material
(Modulus of Elasticity E), and section (Moment of Inertia I).
= P L3 / 3 E I
In any beam section, efficiency is improved by a re-distribution of the material of the section, so that it is more
effective in resisting stress. In general, the greater the distance of the material of the cross section from the
neutral axis, the more efficient the beam section is in resisting bending.
Profile:
the profile of a beam can vary in accordance with the size of the bending moment. The following are five types
of beams. Each type will have a different bending moment diagram according to the types of supports and
whether the beam is a simple span (one span length) or a continuous span (several adjacent span lengths).
Section:
the section of a beam can vary to accommodate the bending moment with the least amount of material.
Harry Seidler
ca. 1980