ABSTRACT
In all the types of problems we have considered in detail so far, stresses have been uniformly distributed over the components concerned. In most cases they have also been normal stresses, and frequently uniaxial. We now start to examine situations where the stresses are not uniform. An example is provided by the bending of a component. Although many components of engineering systems are subject to bending, the theory of bending is usually developed with reference to beams. Formally, we can define a beam as a laterally loaded structural member, whose cross-sectional dimensions are small compared to its length. First we review some engineering examples of beams.
