Structures - Indeterminate and Continuous Beam

This kit allows students to apply concentrated load(s) or Uniformly Distributed Load (UDL) on a determinate beam or indeterminate beam to explore the reaction forces in different loading scenarios.

This kit consists of 3 supports for the beam. The most left-hand side (LHS) support is a Pinned Support, the middle support is a Roller Support, and the most right-hand side (RHS) support is another Roller Support. The middle support (Roller Support) has two features: (a) its height can be adjusted easily using a twisting mechanism. When it is at its lowest position, the kit turns into a determinate beam. Different height can be adjusted according to each experiment setups (b) It can be slided towards left or right for different experiments setups, such as experiments for equally spanned supports or unequally spanned supports. The distance between most LHS support and most RHS support is fixed at 500mm.

There are different loading scenarios for the students to do the experiments. These scenarios include (a) 1 concentrated load with 2 equally spanned supports, (b) 1 concentrated load with 3 equally spanned supports, (c) 2 concentrated loads with 3 equally spanned supports, (d) 1 concentrated load with 3 unequally spanned supports. (e) 2 concentrated loads with 3 unequally spanned supports, (f) UDL with 3 equally spanned supports and (g) UDL with 3 unequally spanned supports.

There is a tape measure sticked on top of the beam so that the distance between supports and the distance between concentrated load to each adjacent support can be determined. In some loading scenarios, the three vertical reaction forces can have both positive and negative value which allows students to explore the direction of forces and principles of superpositions. Students can also calculate the theoretical reactions forces and compare these with the experimental reaction forces.

Construction is made in 2mm mild steel, providing a strong and stiff base to perform experiments on.

Learning Objectives

• Reaction Forces when the setup is:
• 1 Concentrated Load with 2 equally spanned supports.
• 1 Concentrated Load with 3 equally spanned supports.
• 2 Concentrated Loads with 3 equally spanned supports.
• 1 Concentrated Load with 3 unequally spanned supports.
• 2 Concentrated Load with 3 unequally spanned supports.
• UDL with 3 equally spanned supports.
• UDL with 3 unequally spanned supports.
• Concepts:
• Principles of Superposition.
• Understand determinate beam and indeterminate beam.
• Comparison of theoretical reaction forces vs experimental reaction forces.