CANTILEVER BEAM

Bharadhwaj.H.Nath, Burle Koushi Priyatham, Bansode Vasu Satyawan, Chavda Milan,

Madhu Swapnika.Ch, Praneeth Kumar Eguri, Harsha Koganti, Garima Aggarwal
IIST Department of Aerospace
(Dated: October 4,2016; Experiment Number:8b)
Abstract
Youngs modulus is a mechanical property of a material which is measure of stiffness of mate-
rial[1].Cantilever beams are used to measure youngs modulus of materials.The deflections obtained
from cantileverbeams when forces are applied are used to calculate youngs modulus of material.Using
the deflections the youngs modulus of given aluminium,Brass and Mildsteel specimens are calculated
and the values are found to be 48.296GPa, 61.896GPa and 135.008GPa.

I. INTRODUCTION particular distance such that moment due to weight of

the beam itself can be neglected.Deflection produced in
A beam is a structural element that is capable of a beam due to applied force is given by Equation 1.
withstanding load primarily by resisting against bend-
ing.A Cantilever beam is fixed at one end.When sub- P L3
jected to a structural load, the cantilever carries the = (1)
3EI
load to the support where it is forced against by
a moment and shear stress[5].When force is applied
on beam then beam bends as shown in figure 1 where,
is the deflection(m),
P is Applied load (N),
L is effective length (m),
E is Youngs modulus(Pa),
I is Moment of inertia(m4 )
Using observed deflections Youngs modulus of Alu-
minium,Brass and Mildsteel are calculated using Eqn 1.
The dimensins of given specimens are:

For Aluminium and Mild steel,

Fig 1 : Deflected cantilever beam Length=200mm
(Taken from www.chegg.com) Breadth=19mm
Depth=3.1mm
When forces are applied on beam as shown in figure 1
the beam will experience tensile stresses in the upper
For Brass,
part and compressive stresses in lower part.For a given
Length=150mm
beam and given force deflection is inversely proportional
Breadth=19mm
to youngs modulus of beam. Deflection varies directly
Depth=3.1mm
with applied force.So,deflections at different forces are
measured and Youngs modulus is calculated.

II. OBJECTIVE
The aim of the experiment is to determine the Youngs
modulus of aluminium, Brass and Mild steel of specific
dimensions.
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS
When point force is applied to cantilever beam the
maximum deflection occurs at the free end.Deflection of
cantilever beam is measured using dial gauge.In the ex-
periment point forces are applied by hanging weights at
specific distance from fixed end.The weights are hung at
IV. PROCEDURE
1.Given aluminium beam was fixed at one end and dial
gauge was fixed at a distance of 200mm from fixed end.
2.Now dial gauge reading was set to zero .
3.By using weights at a distance of 200mm from fixed
end point forces are applied.
4.Deflections for 100g,200g,300g,400g and 500g were
noted.The beam gets deflected as shown in figure2
5.The same procedure was followed for Brass and
Mildsteel and dialgauge is fixed at a distance of 180mm
and 200mm respectively.
 2

Moment of Inertia,

bd3
I=
12

breadth (b) = 19mm

height (h) = 3.1mm
Fig 2 : Deflected cantilever beam
Therefore, I = 47.169mm4
(Taken from www.epsilonengineer.com)
For Aluminium,
V. RESULTS Force (P) = 0.981 N
Length (L) = 200 mm
Table 1 : Observation Table for Aluminium Moment of Inertia (I) = 47.169mm4
Deflection () = 1.64mm
Weights(g) Deflection(mm) Youngs Modulus(GPa)
500 4.52 60.76 By Eqn 1,

400 4.04 54.39 0.981 0.23

Y oung 0 sM odulus(Y ) = (2)
3 1.64 47.691
300 3.42 48.18
Y = 33.49GP a (3)
200 2.46 44.66
Deflections and Youngsmodulus of Aluminium, Brass
100 1.64 33.49 and Mildsteel are tabulated at diffferent loadings and the
average Youngsmodulus values of Aluminium, Brass and
Mildsteel are found to be 48.296GPa, 61.896GPa and
Table 2 : Observation Table for Brass 135.008GPa.
Weights(g) Deflection(mm) Youngs Modulus(GPa)
500 1.55 74.76 VI. DISCUSSION

400 1.37 68.31

The Youngs modulus of Aluminium,Brass and Mild-
300 1.15 60.45 steel are found to be 48.296GPa, 61.896GPa and
135.008GPa.As Mildsteel has high youngsmodulus it has
200 0.79 58.67
high stiffness comparitive to Brass and aluminium.The
100 0.49 47.29 deflection produced by Mildsteel is less on loading when
compared to Brass and Aluminium.Due to high modulus
of elasticity Mild steel is used in machineries,construction
Table 3 : Observation Table for Mildsteel etc [2].Due to neglection of self weight and errors in dial
gauge the obtained youngs modulus values have some
Weights(g) Deflection(mm) Youngs Modulus(GPa) deviations when compared to original values. A perfect
dial gauge can be used for more accurate values of Youngs
500 1.77 155.18
modulus. Thus test is much better than tensile test as
400 1.46 150.50 this is a non destructive testing method.Besides, the ease
of testing and an indication of the materials stiffness are
300 1.17 140.86
all advantages of the test.
200 0.88 124.85
100 0.53 103.65 VII. CONCLUSION

Deflections of cantilever beams are used to calculate

youngs modulus of given test specimens.Deflection of
A. CALCULATION beam depends upon magnitude of force applied.So, dif-
ferent magnitudes of forces are applied to the specimen
Sample Calculation is shown below: to find deflections. Through this method Youngs mod-
ulus of Aluminium,Brass and Mildsteel were found.Mild
 3

steel(130.088GPa) has high Youngs modulus when com- [2]The Science and Engineering of Materials, R.Askeland,
pared to Aluminium(48.296GPa) and Brass(61.896GPa). ISBN:81-315-0321-6.
These values can also be used to predict the behaviour [3]www.engineeringtoolbox.com, 08/10/2016
of the object under the application of an external force [4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beam structure,(
and can be used to compare them with each other so as 07/10/2016)
to get an idea on their engineering applications. [5]Victor Divas, Mechanics and Strength of Materi-
als,Springer,2009.

VIII. REFERENCES

[1]Mechanics of materials,R.C.Hibbler, ISBN:81-315-

0321-6.