Experiment: Stresses in curved beams

Apparatus:

Weights
Curved beam
Vernier Caliper
Meter ruler

Introduction:
A beam in which the neutral axis in the unloaded condition is curved instead of straight. Or If the beam
is originally curved before applying the bending moment, are termed as Curved Beams.
A curved beam is a member that carries bending loads and whose axis describes an arc rather than a straight line.
Stresses in a sharply curved beam differ significantly from stresses in a straight beam of the same cross section.
Beams of small to medium curvature are approximately analyzed by the bending of initially straight
beams formulae without any serious errors. However curved beams formulae are needed for beams of
large curvature. Attention is confined to beams having an axis of symmetry of the cross section. Particularly
that in the curved beams, the neutral axis is placed towards the center of the beam. This results from the
higher stresses developed be the neutral axis. Axis the neutral axis does not generally pass through the
centered.
Differences between Straight and Curved Beams
Straight beam
1. The neutral axis of beam coincides with

Curved beam
The neutral axis is shifted towards the centre of

centroidal axis.

curvature by a distance
called eccentricity i.e. the neutral
axis lies between centroidal axis
and centre of curvature.

2. The variation of normal stress due to bending is

The variation of normal stress due

linear, tensile at the inner fibre and compressive at

to bending across section is

the outer fibre with zero value at the centroidal

non-linear and is hyperbolic.

axis.
.

s
Theory:
Curved beam theory given by equation is used to determine the maximum stresses in curved beams, where

= the normal stress in the member

M= the internal bending moment calculated about the neutral axis for the cross section. This moment is
positive if it tends to increase the members radius of curvature, i.e. it tends to straighten out the member
A= the cross sectional area of the member
R= the distance measured from the center of curvature to the neutral axis, and =
=
the distance measured from the center of curvature to the centroid of the cross section
= the distance measured from the center of curvature to the point where the stress is to be determined
y=R-r and
e=

PROCEDURE:
Step 1: Select two curved beams where the diameter of one beam is approximately half of the other.
Step 2: Measure the cross sectional dimensions of both curved beams using the Vernier caliper and
diameters of both beams using the meter ruler.
Step 3: Fix the larger diameter beam to the curved beam apparatus and apply a known load and visually
inspect the bending of the curved beam.
Step 4: Fix the smaller diameter beam to the apparatus and apply twice the amount of the load that was
applied to the larger beam (this is to have approximately the same maximum bending moments in both
beams if the smaller beam diameter is approximately half of that of larger beam) and visually inspect the
bending of that curved beam for the same bending moment as in the larger beam.

Assumptions:
In this analysis and design of horizontally curved beams, the following assumptions are used:
(1) Material is homogeneous and isotropic.
(2) The material has linear stress-strain relationships, so the principle of superposition is valid.
(3) The cross section of the beam is uniform and small compared with the radius of curvature.

Errors:

Applied load is not a standard value.

A digital indicator should be attached so that errors can reduce.
Parallax due to reading the experiment.
Work bench is not horizontally kept so unbalance will create errors.