Problem
A timber beam 4 m long is simply supported at both ends. It carries a uniform load of 10 kN/m including its own weight. The wooden section has a width of 200 mm and a depth of 260 mm and is made up of 80% grade Apitong. Use dressed dimension by reducing its dimensions by 10 mm.
Properties of Apitong
Bending and tension parallel to grain = 16.5 MPa
Shear parallel to grain = 1.73 MPa
Modulus of elasticity in bending = 7.31 GPa
The slope or deflection at any point on the beam is equal to the resultant of the slopes or deflections at that point caused by each of the load acting separately.
In simply supported beams, the tangent drawn to the elastic curve at the point of maximum deflection is horizontal and parallel to the unloaded beam. It simply means that the deviation from unsettling supports to the horizontal tangent is equal to the maximum deflection. If the simple beam is symmetrically loaded, the maximum deflection will occur at the midspan.