ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the bending of cantilevers and simply supported beams with point loads and uniformly distributed loads. It talks about the bending of beams; a beam is defined as being any structural member which carries loads at right angles to its axis and so results in bending. Two common forms of beam are cantilevers and the simply supported beam. With a cantilever, the beam is rigidly fixed at one end and the other end is free to move. With the simply supported beam, the beam is supported at its ends on rollers or smooth surfaces or one of these is combined with a pin at the other end. The result is that the beam is free to bend under the action of forces. The shear force at a transverse section of a beam is the algebraic sum of the external forces acting at right angles to the axis of the beam on one side of the section.
