MMT3043 MATERIAL ENGINEERING

2023/2024

LABORATORY REPORT
EXPERIMENT D: TORSIONAL DEFLECTION OF A SOLID ROD

PROGRAME: BASC MARITIME TECHNOLOGY

GROUP NO: 3

NAME MATRIX.NO
HARSHINI KALIMUTHU S65687
MUHAMMAD HAFIZI BIN MOHD S65670
ZULKAPLI
MOHAMMAD NAZMI AIMAN BIN ABDUL S66291
KADIR
NUR QUZANRIAH BINTI PAHARI S66973

DATE OF EXPERIMENT
4 NOVEMBER 2023

DATE OF SUBMISSION
11 NOVEMBER 2023
Moment of Inertia, I

Moment of inertia, I is the property of an object associated with its resistance to rotation.
It depends on the objects mass and the distribution of mass with respect to the axis of
the rotation. For any beam, the inertia is calculated based on the cross sectional shape
and the thickness. It does not depend on the length and material of the beam. For a
rectangular section beam, the I value can be calculated using Equation 2.

bh 3
I=
Moment of Inertia (for rectangular section) 12 (2)

Where;
b=width of the beam
h=height of the beam

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this experiment are;

i) To examine the deflection of a simply supported beam subjected to an increasing
point load for two different materials.
ii) To determine the effect of beam length on the deflection.
THEORY
APPARATUS

The list of apparatus required are;

 Metal beam (aluminum, brass, steel)
 Knife-edge hanger
 Weights (10g per piece)
 Frame with movable knife-edge support

Figure 1 and 2 show the test frame which consists of a backboard with a digital dial test
indicator. The digital dial test indicator is on a sliding bracket which allows it to traverse
accurately to any position along the test beam. Two rigid clamps mount on the
backboard and can hold the beam in any position. Two knife-edge supports also fasten
anywhere along the beam. Scales printed on the backboard allow quick and accurate
positioning of the digital test indicator, knife-edges and loads.

PROCEDURES
In this experiment, the student will examine the deflection of a simply supported beam
subjected to an increasing point load. The student will repeat this for TWO (2) different
materials (i.e aluminum & brass; aluminum & steel or brass & steel). The relationship
between the deflection and the length of the beam will be investigated by varying the
beam length or changing the distance between the supports.

PART A:

1. The width and the height of the aluminum test beam was measured using vernier
gauge and the values in Table 1 was recorded. Based on the values, the moment
of area was calculated, based on Equation 2.

2. Length was set up between supports L to 400 mm, set the beam was set up as
shown in Figure

3. The digital dial test indicator was slided into position on the beam and locked it
using thumbnut at the rear. A knife-edge hanger was slided to the position shown.
The frame was tap lightly and zero the digital dial test indicator using the “origin”
button.

4. Masses was applied to the knife-edge hanger in the increment shown in Table 1.
The digital dial test indicator reading was recorded in each increment of mass.
 Figure 3. Simply supported beam set-up and schematic
(fixed beam with variable load)

5. The procedure was repeated for the other two materials.The data was recorde in
Table 2 – 3.

6. Calculate the Theoretical deflection was calculated using formula in Equation 1.

PART B:

The beam with the length, L at 200 mm was set up. Ensure the digital dial test indicator
and load hanger are still central to the beam, as shown in Figure 4.

1. The digital dial test indicator was zero using the “origin” button.

2. A 500 g mass (W) was applied and the deflection was recorded displayed on the
digital dial test indicator in Table 4.
3. The procedure was repeated for each increment of beam len

Figure 4. Simply supported beam set up and schematic

(fixed beam load with variable length)

DATA COLLECTION
Part A:
Table 1. Result for beam I (aluminum/brass/steel)
Material ALUMINUM

Length, L (mm): 400 Thickness, h (mm): 3.7

Width, b (mm) : 9.3

Moment of inertia, I (m4) :

Modulus Young, E (Nm-2):

Load (g) Experimental deflection Theoretical deflection % Error

(mm) (mm)

0 0 0 0

100 0.39 0.30 30

200 0.72 0.61 18.03

300 1.09 0.92 18.48

400 1.42 1.21 17.36

 500 1.74 1.53 13.73

Table 2. Result for beam II (aluminum/brass/steel)

Material STEEL

Length, L (mm): 400 Thickness, h (mm): 3.3

Width, b (mm) : 18.5

Moment of inertia, I (m4) :

Modulus Young, E (Nm-2):

Load (g) Experimental Theoretical deflection (mm) % Error

deflection (mm)

0 0 0 0

100 0.06 0.000114 5.01

200 0.22 0.0002281 9

300 0.37 0.0003421 11.11

400 0.48 0.000456 14.03

500 0.65 0.000572 17.97

GRAPH DEFLECTION AGAINST APPLIED MASS ( STEEL)

GRAPH DEFLECTION AGAINST APPLIED MASS ( ALUMINUM)

Theoretical deflection

Actual deflection

Part B:
Table 3. Result for beam I (Aluminum)
Material Aluminum

Length, L (mm): 200 Thickness, h (mm): 3.7

Width, b (mm) : 9.3

 Moment of inertia, I (m4) :

Modulus Young, E (Nm-2):

Length (mm) Experimental deflection Theoretical deflection % Error

(mm) (mm)

0 0 0 0

100 0.6 0.4 50

200 1.43 1.2 19

300 2.27 1.8 26

400 2.82 2.4 18

500 3.41 3.0 14

Table 4. Result for beam II (Brass)

Material Brass

Length, L (mm): 200 Thickness, h (mm): 3.3

Width, b (mm) : 18.5

Moment of inertia, I (m4) :

Modulus Young, E (Nm-2):

Length (mm) Experimental deflection Theoretical deflection (mm) % Error

(mm)

0 0 0 0

100 0.03 0.0142 9

200 0.06 0.0285 10.1

300 0.09 0.0427 12.03

400 0.13 0.057 12.1

500 0.17 0.0712 14.50

GRAPH DEFLECTION AGAINST BEAM LENGTH (ALUMINUM)

 Theoretical deflection

Actual deflection

GRAPH DEFLECTION AGAINST BEAM LENGTH ( BRASS)

DISCUSSION
Based on the results, the discussion part in report may include the following:

1. Based on the plot of deflection against applied mass, discuss the relationship
between the mass and the beam deflection for a simply supported beam.
 The deflection of a beam is directly proportional to the mass applied to the beam.
From the experimental and theoretical calculation made above it can be concluded
that theoretical values are always less than the experimental values. This is
because theoretical values are made with ideal cases ignoring many facts of real
life, like damaged apparatus, human error and human/machine limitations. Since
the modulus of elasticity (E) for aluminum is generally lower than that of steel. This
means that, the aluminum beam will experience more deflection than a steel beam
under the same applied load.

2. Based on the plot of deflection against beam length, discuss the relationship
between the variable length and the beam deflection for a simply supported beam.

The deflection is directly proportional to the beam length. If the length of the beam
increases, the deflection will increase. This relationship highlights the sensitivity of
beam deflection to changes in length. The farther the load is from the fixed
support, the greater the deflection will be. And also, the longer the cantilever the
greater the deflection will be, due to the fact that the load is applied to a longer
distance. The modulus of elasticity (E) is a material property that represents its
stiffness. For aluminum, the modulus of elasticity is generally lower than that of
brass. A lower modulus of elasticity means that the material is more flexible and
prone to deformation under load. From the experimental and theoretical
calculation made above it can be concluded that theoretical values are always less
than the experimental values.

3. List THREE (3) practical applications of simply supported beam.

Building Construction: Floor systems in buildings often utilize simply supported

beams. Horizontal beams support the floor slabs and transfer loads to vertical
elements such as columns or walls. In multi-story buildings, each floor may be
designed with a system of simply supported beams.

Bridge Construction: Simply supported beams are frequently used in bridge

construction. Bridges often have spans that can be effectively modeled as simply
supported beams. The beams support the load of the bridge deck, traffic, and
other applied loads. The simplicity of the support conditions makes it easier to
design and analyze the structure

Cantilevered Canopy or Awning: Simply supported beams are used in the

construction of cantilevered canopies or awnings. In this application, one end of
the beam is supported, while the other end extends outward. The supported end
could be attached to a building, and the extended end provides a shaded area or
protection from the elements.

CONCLUSION
The aim of this lab work to study the deflection of beam has been completed
successfully and two different experiments have been conducted on three different
materials. At the end of this lab work it can be concluded that increase in modulus of
elasticity and moment of inertia decreases the deflection where increase in number of
loads, magnitude of load and distance of load from ends increase the deflection of
beam. Each beam show deflection based on its modulus of elasticity and moment of
inertia. It also can be concluded that experimental values of deflection are always
greater than calculated values. The deflection of a beam is directly proportional to the
mass applied to the beam The deflection is directly proportional to the beam length.

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

CALCULATIONS

PART A: THEORETICAL DEFLECTION CALCULATION

WL 3
Maximum deflection =
48 EI
Aluminum Steel

100g 100g

= 0.30mm =

200g

= 0.61 =

Repeated for 300g,400g,and 500g

PART A: THEORETICAL DEFLECTION CALCULATION

3
WL
Maximum deflection =
48 EI

Aluminum Brass

100mm 100mm

=0.4mm = 0.0142

= 1.2mm =0.0285mm
Repeated for 300mm,400mm,and 500mm