INTRODUCTION

Level 1 laboratory activity refers to condition where the problem and

ways & means are guided and given to the students. However the
answers to the assignment are left to the students to solve using the
group creativity and innovativeness. The activity is designed to slowly
introduce and inculcate independent learning amongst students and
prepare them for a much harder task of open-ended laboratory activities.
In this laboratory activity students will be exposed to the apparatus and
the procedures to carry out experiment on statically determinate pinjointed truss.
Cables are often used in engineering structures for support and to
transmit loads from one member to another. The application of cable can
be used in suspension bridge, cable cars, etc.
Due to its flexibility, the cable offers no resistance to shear or bending.
The force acting in the cable is always tangent to the cable at points
along its length.
The maximum tension in a suspension cable can be approximate using
equation below:

BASIC CONCEPT

Note: Uniformly distributed load (UDL) and central point load give the
same answer for this experiment.
Before using the equipment, always:
Make sure the test frame is placed on a solid and level surface.
Check all components are set up correctly and fastened sufficiently tight.
PROCEDURE

Do not re-adjust the pin ob the suspension cable ends, which was
already set at factory to give the correct geometry and accurate results.
Experiment 1:A point load at centre
1) The mini DIN lead from Force Input 1 was connected on the
1

2)
3)

4)
5)

Digital Force Display to the socket marked Force Output on the

left-hand support.
The Digital Force Display was switched on.
The Set Zero control of the left-hand support was adjusted so
that the Force Display shows zero to cancel out the force due to
the self-weight of the deck.
A load was added at the centre of the suspension cable. The
tension measured by the force display was recorded.
The applied load was increased and steps 4 and 5 was repeated
at least 5 more readings (Do not exceed 15 N cable tension)
as it may damage the load cell.

Experiment 2: A moving point load

1) Steps 1 to 3 were followed as in Experiment 1.
2) A single load was added to the first position of the suspension
cable, started from the left-hand support. The tension was
recorded.
3) Previous step are repeated for other positions along the deck
3.1 Results
The group is required to perform the data acquisition process and
complete the information required and Tables 1 and 2 below.
Span

= 116

cm

Sag

= 17.9

cm

Table 1. Experiment 1
Load (N)

Measured Tension
2
3
27.1
0.5
1.0
48.6
1.4
50.2
1.9
51.7
2.4
53.3

1
0.5
27.8
28.9
29.8
31.8

2
4
ANALYSIS AND 6
INTERPRETATIO8
N OF DATA 10

47.1
15.0
16.6
18.3
19.9

Table 2. Experiment 2
Support/
Position
across
the deck
1
2
3

1.9
26.7
72.8

1.9
26.6
73.0

1.4
26.5
73.2

1.6
26.4
73.4

1.2
26.3
73.5

1.1
26.1
73.7

0.9
26.0
73.8
2

38.9

39.1

39.3

39.4

39.5

39.8

39.9

The maximum and minimum was calculated based on the data acquired
from the experimental. All the calculation was shown in the appendix.
The force vs Distance Graph was acquired from the data in Table 2.

Force vs. Distance Graph

80
70
60
50

Force (N)

40
30
20
10
0
1

Distance (m)
Support 1

Support 2

Support 3

Support 4

Graph 1The Force vs Distance Graph

The data acquired from the test were analysed by formula (theoretical
value) and calculation (experimental). From the analysis, it can be
seen that the value of minimum tension (Tmin) at the lowest point of
the cable differs by some numbers. The difference was shown in the
table 3 below:
Table 3:

DISCUSSION

Load Applied,
(N)

Theoretical Value,
(N)

Experimental V
3

2.2

4.4

6.6

8.8

10

11

The differences occur due to several factors. One of it is error that

happened while conducting the experiment. Another factor is
miscalculation and interpretation of data
From Experiment 1, the allowable stress on the cable was obtained and
shown in the Table 3 below:
Table 2:
Load Applied ( N )
2
4
6
8
10

Allowable Stress, ( kN/m^2 )

2.70
0.64
0.83
0.92
1.00

In Experiment 2; a graph was drawn to show the relationship between the

data acquired in the experiment. The Force vs Distance graph was
obtained. From the graph, it can be seen that force on support 1 and 2
decrease slightly as the position of the load added. Meanwhile, force on
support 3 and 4 increase slightly as the position of the load added.

CONCLUSION

Based on the group discussion that has been conducted, the data from
the experiment can be analysed and manipulate to achieve the objective
of the experiment.
From Experiment 1, the tension of each point was calculated to obtain the
experimental value of maximum and minimum tension on the suspension
cable. The equation below was used to obtain the theoretical value of the
minimum tension on the suspension cable;

A comparison was made and it shows a great different between

the two values.
The difference occurs due to errors that happened during the
experiment was conducted.
From Experiment 2; the data was analysed and a graph was
obtained. The Force vs Distance Graph and it shows the
relationship between Force and Distance.

Based on both of the experiment we can relate the data

obtained with each other and achieve the objective of this
experiment.

APPENDIX