THE USE OF VACUUM PRESSURE IN STRUCTURAL TESTING

This paper presents an experimental setup for the method of simulating uniformly and varying distributed loads on structural members and roofing materials. The applications of this setup can be used for the study of beams, such as the lateral, torsional buckling behavior of cold-formed thin-walled structures. In addition, the method of measuring bending stiffness of composite materials in semimonocoque structures is illustrated. With a little modification to the setup, the study could possibly be extended to the investigation of elastic foundations and beam-column interaction.