Objectives

The objectives for this week's experiment are:

  1. To measure the maximum fiber strains at a particular cross-section of a simply supported elastic beam of two materials.
  2. To determine the experimental maximum fiber stresses using measured strains.
  3. To compare the experimental maximum fiber stresses to the values predicted from theory utilizing the transformed section.

The experiment will hopefully verify the theory associated with beams composed of more than one material.  The beams in the lab consist of stainless steel and aluminum sections, which are bolted together to act as a unit.

The beam will be simply supported and loaded such that the strains can be measured in the two materials using strain gages on the top and bottom surfaces.

Station 1 Station 2
 Strain Indicators
channel 1: axial gage on top (negative strain)
channel 2: axial gage on bottom (positive strain)
channel 1: axial gage on bottom (positive strain)
channel 2: axial gage on top (negative strain)