Tag Archives: Hooke’s Law

Bending moment by discovery: measuring strains on an aluminum beam

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 OVERVIEW This inquiry-based learning activity (IBLA) is completed by students in class before elastic bending theory is presented. PRINCIPLES By completing this scripted exercise, students are exposed to the varying strain profile through the depth of a beam. From this strain profile, students apply Hooke’s law to develop the stress profile, then calculate equivalent tension […]

Balloons!!: A demonstration of thin-walled pressure vessels

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 Overview This is a simple demonstration of the basic principals underlying the behavior of thin-walled pressure vessels (TWPVs).  A balloon or balloons are used to show that hoop stresses are twice as high as longitudinal stresses in cylindrical pressure vessels. Principle The basic derivation for TWPV behavior states that for a cylindrical pressure vessel   […]