HES1125

Mechanics of Structures

Lecturer Name Saravana Kannan Thangavelu

Student Name/ ID Muaid Abdul Kareem Alnazir (4207114)
Lab Date 07/10/2009
Submission Date 21/10/2009
Lab Report (EQUILIBRIUM OF A CANTILEVER)
1.0 Objective
1.1 To investigate the state of equilibrium of a cantilever beam

1.2 To gain an in depth understanding of equilibrium of forces and moment

1.3 To introduce Shear Force (SF) and Bending Moment (BM) distribution

2.0 Equipment
2.1 Wooden cantilever beam rig

2.2 Calibrated weights

2.3 Steel Ruler

3.0 Theoretical background and preliminary work

Draw SF and bending moment Diagram of cantilever beam loaded below
4.0 Theory

Figure 1

In this experiment, we are going to use the cantilever beam shown Figure 1. The load W is
calibrated weight. From the theory of equilibrium, we are able to calculate the support reaction
Bx, Cx and Ay in terms of W. Experimentally, we keep the W as constant and we keep on
increasing and decreasing Bx, Cx and Ay by putting in or taking out the calibrated weights until
the cantilever beam is exactly on its equilibrium state and correctly aligned horizontally and
vertically. After obtaining the experimental results, then we are able to compare the results with
the theoretical results that will be discussed in Model Calculation.

5.0 Experimental Procedure

5.1 Label the diagram using the information provide in the table below. You may do this by
carefully removing the pinned wooden beam from its supporting frame, use the weighing scale
provided to find its weight in kg, and the steel ruler to find the beam length, centroid distance
from the free end and distance between the couple forces in mm.

The diagram are labeled in Figure 1

5.2 Apply --------- N load to the end of the cantilever. Calculate the equilibrating vertical
reaction and couple forces required at the wall to maintain equilibrium and record on a FBD.

The equilibrating values are recorded on the next section Data Sheet

5.3 Apply the loads obtained from your calculations above to the experimental cantilever
rig. Then adjust and fine-tune the shear reaction force so that the cantilever beam is sitting
horizontally without any reaction at the pin. Adjust also the couple force values until the
cantilever beam behaves likewise with no tendency to move to either the right or the left.
Remember that the couple forces must remain identical at all times.

6.0 Data sheet

These are the data obtained from the experiment

Applied Load, W -----5---------- N

Couple Reaction Forces, Bx, Cx ---12.405---- N

Shear Reaction Force, Ay ----17.962--- N

7.0 Model Calculation:

As the cantilever at equilibrium, then the F= Fx + Fy = 0 and M=0

1) Fx= 0, Cx -Bx=0
Cx = B x (1)

2) Fy= 0, -W (1.25x 9.81N) + Ay = 0

Ay = 5N + 12.2625N ( W= 5N)

= 17.2625 N

3) Mc= 0, -(0.25m)(W) (0.08m)(1.25x9.81N) + (0.20m)(Bx)=0

Bx=[(0.25m)(5N)+ (0.08m)(1.25x 9.81N)] / (0.20m)

= 11.155 N

From equation (1)

Cx =11.155 N

8.0 Results and Discussion

%Discrepancy=[(Experimental Value Calculated Value) x 100]/ Calculated Value

Force Calculated (N) Experimental (N) % Discrepancy

[(12.405 11.155)x100] /(11.155)
Couple Reaction 11.155 12.405 = 11.21
Force

[(17.962 17.2625)x100%] /(17.2625)

17.2625 17.962
Shear Reaction = 4.05
Force
Table 1 Comparison of Calculated and Experimental values

9.0 Conclusion
As forces(loads) are applied to the cantilever beam then the latter faces shear forces and bending
moments acting along the beam.

The equilibrium of a body requires a balance of both the external and internal forces to prevent
the body from having accelerated motion and the balance of moments to prevent the body from
rotating. All in all, to reach an equilibrium state there are two terms must be applied:

(1) F= Fx +Fy =0
(2) M= 0

In the experiment there were discrepancy and difference between the calculated forces and
experimental forces and that is due to some factors related to the experiment:

1) Parallax and sight error.

2) The mass of the strings are ignored.

3) Apparatus namely weights loads cannot help to get an accurate state of equilibrium. If the
weights are much smaller in their units (e.g. milligram) that will make the experiment more
precision.

4) The friction in the pulleys.

Reference
Swinburne University of Technology (Sarawak Campus) 2009,Unit1: Force & Equilibrium
(Part2)[slide], Kuching.