Definitions for "BENDING MOMENT"
Measure of the bending effect due to the live load and dead load on a given truss chord member. The bending moment at a given point along a member equals the sum of all perpendicular forces, either to the left or right of the point, times their corresponding distances from the point.
if a force acts in such a way that it may cause a material to bend, then the force multiplied by the perpendicular distance to the axis about which the bending could take place is called the bending moment. The formula is identical to that used to calculate a torque.
The resistance of a member to bend or sag; measured in terms of force times distance.