The Gerber beam is named after its inventor, Gerber, a German engineering professor at Munich. The Gerber beam has hinges at inflection points to reduce bending moments, takes advantage of continuity, and allows settlements without secondary stresses. The Gerber beam was developed in response to failures, caused by unequal foundation settlements in 19th century railroad bridges.
1. Simple beams over three spans
2. Reduced bending moment in continuous beam
3. Failure of continuous beam due to unequal foundation settlement, causing the span to double and the moment to increase four times
4. Gerber beam with hinges at inflection points minimizes bending moments and avoids failure due to unequal settlement
