Objective:

To show that the bending moment at a cut section of a beam is equal to the algebraic
sum of the moment acting to the left or right of the section.

1
Individual background:
Bending Moment is the torque that keeps a beam together (anywhere along the beam).
It is found by cutting the beam, then calculating the MOMENT needed to hold the left
(or right) half of the beam stationary.If this is done for the other (left) side you should
get the same answer.

Figure 1 show that the hinge is applying

a moment to BOTH sides of the beam.
This is called Bending Moment. You
can't normally see it happening unless the
beam breaks, but bending moment is
being applied everywhere along the
length of the beam.
Figure 1 bending moment

Figure 2 show that The gymnast pushes

each arm downwards - hard. He is
applying a moment to each arm, turning
himself into a "beam" between each ring.
The longer the arms the greater the
bending moment - which is why the wrist
is turned inwards, slightly reducing the
length of each arm.

Figure 2 gymnast

Positive bending moment is where the load is pushing down and reactions at the
end push upwards. This is called positive bending. In a more strict sense, positive
bending is a sagging beam. Positive bending is whenever the beam tends to sag
downwards. Negative bending bows upwards - called hogging.

2
Figure 3 positive bending moment

To calculate the Bending Moment at any location along the beam, we "cut" the beam
at that point, then do a moment equation for ONE SIDE of the beam (left or right -
whichever is easier). You don't do both sides because the moments balance each other
and you will get ZERO.

3
Discussions:
1. What actually happens when a load is applied to the beam and why does this
condition occur?

The beam gets bend if the load is more then the resisting force of the beam and if
the resisting force is more then the load it doesn't bends.

2. Will the readings of the load cell differ from the above if the load is placed
100mm to the left from the centre of the cross-section. If your answer is yes,
then by how much. If your answer is no, then why?

Yes, the reading of the load cell will differ by 75% for every case of load.
Load (N) Load Cell reading of 300mm Load Cell reading of
100mm (F)
(F)

10 4.85 8.40
20 9.75 16.8
30 15.18 33.8
40 20.19 42.1
Table 1

3. Comment of the accuracy of the experiment.

Because of the errors committed by human or environmental changes, the
theoretical value and the experimental value will differ. Hence, the percentage
error obtained causes low accuracies. These errors can be minimized or greater
accuracy can be obtained throughout the experiment by taking several
precautions.

4. State the probable factors that affect the accuracy of the experiment.
 Reading error
 Stability of beam
 Air flow rate in the lab
 Carelessness

4
5
Conclusion:
Aim of this task was to study the effect of different forces on the bending moment
in the beam and the result show that there is a linear relationship between bending
moment and applied load. Experimental and theoretical bending moment shows
perfect linear relationship with applied load with very little difference in the values of
bending moment. With this knowledge, a building must design a structure with the
usage of reinforce beam with the capability to withstand external forces without
losing its balance.

Based on this experiment, it has a few of possible sources effect the accuracy of the
test procedure. First is air flow rate, keep the fan movement are slow and people who
are passing by the beam structure causes wind movement and thus vibration in the air.
Also when conducting the experiment makes sure there are no vibrations that cause
the settings of the beam structure to move. Next is reading error, human made a
mistake while looking the load cell indicator. By miscalculating the distance of the
load from the shear section makes the theoretical value and experimental value totally
going off the charts. To remove any of these errors, the whole experiment is repeated
a few times so that the experiment can exclude the extreme values. Also by taking the
average readings, the error is lessened and this method are able to obtain a higher
accuracy result.