Midspan Deflection | Deflections in Simply Supported Beams

In simply supported beams, the tangent drawn to the elastic curve at the point of maximum deflection is horizontal and parallel to the unloaded beam. It simply means that the deviation from unsettling supports to the horizontal tangent is equal to the maximum deflection. If the simple beam is symmetrically loaded, the maximum deflection will occur at the midspan.
 

Spherical Sector

A spherical sector is a solid generated by revolving a sector of a circle about an axis which passes through the center of the circle but which contains no point inside the sector. If the axis of revolution is one of the radial sides, the sector thus formed is spherical cone; otherwise, it is open spherical sector.
 

Open Spherical Sector and Spherical Cone