BeamBending: a teaching aid for 1-D shear force and bending moment diagrams

Abstract

BeamBending is both an educational module and a Python package, intended to serve as a teaching aid during a first course in Statics. The aim of this module is to enhance clarity and provide visual hands-on examples while introducing the concepts of: * stresses on slender _one-dimensional_ solids (i.e. beams) * normal force, shear force and bending moment diagrams

The package documentation includes a simple (but still rigorous) explanation of the background theory. It is assumed that the students understand static equilibrium of flat rigid bodies, but a short recap is provided. Code snippets that reproduce the theory examples are presented next to each result.

The package can be used by * teachers who want to automatically create problem sets with their solutions (easily scriptable, random-problem-generator friendly); * students who want to verify their solutions to introductory problem sets; * students who like to play with example problems and receive immediate visual feedback about how simple modifications to imposed loads affect the resulting reaction forces and internal stresses.