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Finding Why a Layered Panel Bends 4 questions
Finding Why a Layered Panel Bends
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A museum models a panel made from two thin sheets bonded across their entire surfaces. The free sheets are both 100 mm long. In humid air, free sheet M grows to 102 mm and free sheet N grows to 100.5 mm. When bonded, the sheets stay attached but the whole panel can bend. The layer on the outside of a bend follows the longer path.
| Stack | Top sheet | Bottom sheet | Layer on outside of bend in humid air |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | M | N | Top |
| Q | N | M | Bottom |
| R | M | M | No measurable bend |
Question 1
Which observation best supports the claim that the bending direction follows the layer order?
- P and Q bend with opposite sides of the stack on the outside.
- Only R uses two sheets.
- The free sheets start at the same length.
- M expands by 2 mm when free.
Question 2
Use the free-sheet lengths and the path around a bend to explain why sheet M is on the outside in both stacks.
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A candidate replacement for N, sheet S, grows from 100 mm to 101.8 mm under the same conditions. Its bending stiffness is the same as N in this model.
Question 3
Explain why substituting S for N could reduce the bend while keeping two different layer materials.
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Question 4
Describe a fair test comparing P with the replacement stack. State which observation would support the predicted improvement.
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