ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the structural members and the bending of beams from to consider bending stresses and the selection of beams. Consider a beam, or part of a beam, where it can be assumed that it is bent to form the arc of a circle. Thus, when we consider infinitesimally small areas, the total force is: But the beam is only bent and so there is no longitudinal force stretching the beam. Standard section handbooks give values of section modulus for different section beams. When a beam bends, one surface becomes extended and so in tension and the other surface becomes reduced in length and so in compression. This implies that between the upper and lower surface there is a plane which is unchanged in length when the beam is bent. This plane is called the neutral plane and the line where the plane cuts the cross- section of the beam is the neutral axis.
