Skip to content

Please be aware that some material may contain words, descriptions or illustrations which will not reflect current scientific understanding and may be considered in today's context inaccurate, unethical, offensive or distressing.

Unpublished paper, 'On the cause and theoretic value of the resistance of flexure in beams subject to transverse stress' by W H [William Henry] Barlow

Reference number: AP/52/1

Date: 1870

Description

Barlow refers to his previous papers, read in 1855 and 1857, wherein he described experiments showing the existence of an element of strength in beams, which varied with the degree of flexure, and acts in addition to the resistance of tension and compression of the longitudinal fibres (see PT/51/1 and PT/58/8). It was pointed out that the ratio of the actual strength of solid rectangular beams to the strength as computed by the theory of Liebnitz is, In cast iron, as about 2 1/4 to 1. In wrought iron as 1 3/5 and 1 3/4 to 1. And in steel, as 1 3/5 and 1 3/4 to 1. The theory of Liebnitz assumes a beam to be composed of longitudinal fibres only, contiguous, but unconnected, and exercising to mutual lateral action. But it remarked that a beam so constituted would possess to power to resist transverse stress, and would only have the properties of a rope.

Annotations in pencil and ink throughout. Includes three figures of beams and an additional eight geometrical diagrams in the text.

Subject: Civil engineering

Received 13 April 1870. Read 19 May 1870.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 18 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the cause and theoretic value of the resistance of flexure in beams'.

Reference number
AP/52/1
Earliest possible date
1870
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
25 pages
Format
Drawing
Diagram
Manuscript

Creator name

William Henry Barlow

View page for William Henry Barlow

Use this record

Citation

William Henry Barlow, Unpublished paper, 'On the cause and theoretic value of the resistance of flexure in beams subject to transverse stress' by W H [William Henry] Barlow, 1870, AP/52/1, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_52_1/unpublished-paper-on-the-cause-and-theoretic-value-of-the-resistance-of-flexure-in-beams-subject-to-transverse-stress-by-w-h-william-henry-barlow, accessed on 03 November 2024

Link to this record

Embed this record

<iframe src="https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/embed/items/ap_52_1/unpublished-paper-on-the-cause-and-theoretic-value-of-the-resistance-of-flexure-in-beams-subject-to-transverse-stress-by-w-h-william-henry-barlow" title="Unpublished paper, 'On the cause and theoretic value of the resistance of flexure in beams subject to transverse stress' by W H [William Henry] Barlow" allow="fullscreen" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="500px"></iframe>

Hierarchy

This item is part of:

Related Fellows

Explore the collection

  • Archived Papers

    Dates: 1768-1989

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    View collection