A Cantilevered structure can be spotted from just about anywhere. These structures hang out of buildings, overhang to create billboards or traffic lights and are found in bridges.
What is a Cantilever?
Cantilevers are firm structures like beams, that are supported only at one end and freestanding on the other. Often times they provide a transparent space underneath the beam without using supporting columns. You see this type of work in infinity pools that are suspended off the ground as well as buildings with balconies.
Structural Analysis
On the fixed end of the beam, there are three reaction forces. There is a force in ‘x’ direction and a force in ‘y’ direction; plus the bending moments in ‘z’ direction. If the opposite side of the beam is unsupported then the cantilever is considered to be statically determinate because the number of unknown reactions is equal to the number of equations in equilibrium. When the other end of the beam is supported either by a roller or hung from a cable, it is statically indeterminate. This means the number of unknown reactions exceeds the number of equations of equilibrium.
How a Cantilever Works
The cantilever beam is supported on one end, and is carrying a load at the other, or is distributed along the portion that is unsupported. The upper half of the thickness of a cantilever beam is subjected to tensile stress that is elongating the fibers. The lower half of the beam compresses stress tending to crush those fibers.
Places you may Spot Cantilevers
Cantilevers can be found all over in architecture. Structures such as parking canopies, traffic lights, and billboards are examples of simple cantilevers. These architectural structures are supported on one end and overhang on the other. Bridges also use cantilevers. Large cantilever bridges are designed to hold road and rail traffic. These bridges use trusses made from structural steel or box girders made from prestressed concrete. You may also find cantilevers in suspended infinity pools. Infinity pools are created to give an endless and clean look. When a pool is cantilevered over the edge of a building it has the ability to submerge you into your surroundings.
Cantilever Pool at The Palms Casino
Silver State Wire Rope and Rigging created the cantilevered pool featured in the Sky Villas at the Palms Casino. This cantilever pool plunges you right into a stunning view of the Las Vegas Strip.
Silver State Wire Rope and Rigging
If you are looking for expert cantilever work done, contact us or feel free to ask us any questions. At Silver State Wire Rope and Rigging we pull our weight to provide comprehensive and quality wire rope and rigging solutions.