Simple Supported Beams: Deflection at Supports?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the deflection of simply supported beams, particularly focusing on whether there is always zero deflection at the supports under various loading conditions. Participants explore theoretical definitions and practical considerations regarding support behavior.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a simply supported beam always has zero deflection at the supports, suggesting that conditions like ground support yielding or crushing of the support structure could lead to deflection.
  • Another participant asserts that, by definition, a support in a simply supported beam is assumed to have zero deflection.
  • A further contribution emphasizes that while supports are typically considered rigid, real-world conditions may necessitate modeling support flexibility, which complicates the analysis.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus on whether deflection at supports can occur; some participants maintain that supports are defined to have zero deflection, while others introduce conditions under which deflection might happen.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the assumption of rigidity for supports may not hold in all scenarios, and the discussion includes considerations of support flexibility and its implications for analysis.

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If i have a simple suppoted beam, let's say for example 2 supports with overhanging loads at end and/or midspan. DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE zero deflection at the support? or are there times that there is deflection at those supports? :confused:
 
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The definition of a "support" in a simply-supported beam bending problem is zero deflection.
 
Thanks! :D
 
jnlbctln said:
If i have a simple suppoted beam, let's say for example 2 supports with overhanging loads at end and/or midspan. DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE zero deflection at the support? or are there times that there is deflection at those supports? :confused:

Two things come to mind: 1) if the ground support for the supports give or 2) if the support structure gets somewhat crushed by the weight. Other than that, you assume the support structure does not give.
 
By definition, a support is assumed to be rigid unless something else is said about it. In reality, we know that nothing is truly rigid, and if you think support flexibility is a significant aspect of your problem, you should model the support as a spring (possibly non-linear, if you want to get fancy) to take flexibility into account. This usually complicates problems significantly, and is usually avoided if at all possible.
 

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