- #1
iviv
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Hi again. First, I'd like to say thanks a ton to tiny-tim for helping me through with my last problem. He was a great help, though I didn't want to bump that thread to say thanks. Anyway, I've got a far simpler issue now, and I'm having a brain fart.
1. A simply supported beam of span, L, carries two equal point loads of magnitude, W, at the third points. The maximum MID-SPAN moment is given by:-
Now, I know that when its a single point load at the centre of a beam, the equation is WL/4
And I'm just having a little trouble getting my head around the doubling of the forces. We've been told its not WL/8 or WL/12.
WL/8 was my first guess, and I was pretty sure it was right, but I've been told its wrong, but I wasn't sure why. However, now I've actually written all this down, I think I've realized what I've been doing wrong. I was thinking 'double W so double the number'. But since we're dividing by the number, obviously it should be halved, not doubled >_>
Now, this is more simple maths than physics, but should it be WL/2? That was my current initial thought, but then the load isn't slap bang on the centre, its offset at third intervals, so now I'm leaning towards it being WL/3. However, this is just through logic and feel, rather than actual maths. And I'm sure there should be a mathmatical way to work it out, but I'm not seeing it at the moment.
Thanks!
1. A simply supported beam of span, L, carries two equal point loads of magnitude, W, at the third points. The maximum MID-SPAN moment is given by:-
Now, I know that when its a single point load at the centre of a beam, the equation is WL/4
And I'm just having a little trouble getting my head around the doubling of the forces. We've been told its not WL/8 or WL/12.
WL/8 was my first guess, and I was pretty sure it was right, but I've been told its wrong, but I wasn't sure why. However, now I've actually written all this down, I think I've realized what I've been doing wrong. I was thinking 'double W so double the number'. But since we're dividing by the number, obviously it should be halved, not doubled >_>
Now, this is more simple maths than physics, but should it be WL/2? That was my current initial thought, but then the load isn't slap bang on the centre, its offset at third intervals, so now I'm leaning towards it being WL/3. However, this is just through logic and feel, rather than actual maths. And I'm sure there should be a mathmatical way to work it out, but I'm not seeing it at the moment.
Thanks!