Change how much this beam bends

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Cantilever beam loaded at end

Design your own beam

Move the sliders below, change the material with the radio buttons and then hit "Submit"

A popup page will appear with a new picture of beam. Try to get the defection below 100 mm.

You may have to adjust your browser's settings to allow pop-ups.

Obesrve: For steel the beam can be under 5mm thick while for a very elastic substance such as cartilage, the thickness (h) needs to be about 50 mm before it is acceptably rigid.

What this demo aims to explain, is that an acceptably rigid structure can be made out of even very elastic materials, as long as its cross sectional geometry (Ia) is adjusted appropriately.

Adjust beam thickness Adjust beam breadth
Steel Titanium Cortical Bone Cancellous Bone Cartilage

Influence of elasticity of a material vs cross-sectional moment of inertia

How much this cantilever beam will bend when a load is applied to its end will depend on:-

  • length
  • moment of Inertia (in this case rectangular cross section Ia = b*h3/12)
  • Weight applied
  • Elasticity(Young's) modulus of the material

Formula for defection of a cantilever beam loaded at end

Deflection at end = Wl3/3EI