Stresses In Beam

App for visualizing stress in a beam cross-section

This app is useful for gaining intuition on the internal stresses in a beam. A 3D cross-section and a 2D representation or this cross-section is shown. The user can change the shear force to see how this changes the internal stresses. The user can also make horizontal cuts in the cross section to see the shear stress on the horizontal surface.

This app allows the user to see how the stress, forces, and moments relate in multiple ways: The change in moment relates to the shear force through balance of moments, the shear stress on the vertical surface makes up the shear force, the normal stress makes up the moment, and the shear stress on the horizontal force relates to the normal stress through balance of forces.

The app could be a helpful tool for engineering students and could aid in explaining concepts.

Run STRESS_IN_BEAM to use app.