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Flip to reveal answersWhat separates the beam types?
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All 4 Flashcards — Structural members
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Question
What separates the beam types?
Answer
The supports: a pin lets the beam rotate there, a fixed end does not, a cantilever has one support only, a continuous beam has three or more.
Question
Where does each beam type fail?
Answer
A simply supported beam in the middle; a cantilever at its root; a fixed beam at the ends as well as the centre; a column sideways, by buckling.
Question
Why is a bracket thickest at the wall?
Answer
A bracket is a cantilever and the bending moment is largest at its root and zero at its tip, so material is placed where the bending is.
Question
Why does a slender column buckle rather than crush?
Answer
It becomes unstable sideways at a load far below its crushing strength. Doubling its length makes it about four times easier to buckle, so shortening or bracing it helps far more than a stronger material.
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Structural systems
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