Flex a Rainbow
Chun Meng Goh, Doctoral Candidate
Flexure or bending of an elastic rubber beam is simple in action, but fascinatingly complex in theoretical and computational mechanics. In order to bend a beam, one of the lateral faces of the beam is under compression while the other lateral face undergoes extension, forming a circular arc shape. The compression and extension of a beam corresponds to the development of internal stresses, which when we take the average of these stresses, a rainbow across the lateral faces is obtained! This average stress profile is important in determining the strength of a material under both compression and extension and found major applications in biomedical engineering industry.