Flitched beams, whose strength depended on shear connection between parallel timbers, were used in mediaeval times, and survive today in the form of glued-laminated construction, such a beam, made from two members of equal size (Fig.2.2), will now be studied. It carries a load w per unit length over a span L, and its components are made of an elastic material with Youngs modulus E. The weight of the beam is neglected.
