Curved Bar Apparatus

Designed for higher education and undergraduate engineering courses, the Curved Bars Apparatus provides a hands-on platform for exploring strain energy methods, such as Castigliano’s First Theorem, in the analysis of curved structural elements.

The bench-mounted unit includes a selection of precision-engineered curved bars, rings, semi-circles, and quadrant/davit shapes allowing students to investigate how different geometries respond to bending loads. Specially designed weight hangers apply controlled loads to the specimens, inducing deflections that are accurately measured using adjustable dial gauges mounted on a rigid frame.

Students can easily switch between different bar shapes and reposition the gauges to examine both horizontal and vertical deflections under various loading conditions. The apparatus includes all required components: curved bar specimens, weight hangers, and a full set of calibrated weights, making it a complete and flexible solution for practical teaching of strength of materials concepts.

Learning Objectives:

• To experimentally determine the vertical and horizontal deflections of various curved bars whose cross-sectional dimensions are small compared with the bar radius.​
• To compare with theoretical estimates  using strain energy theories such as Castigliano’s first theorem or Simpson’s Rule.