Static Equilibrium and tension of a beam

AI Thread Summary
A uniform beam weighing 520 N and measuring 3.4 m is suspended horizontally, hinged on one end and supported by a cable on the other. The tension in the cable must not exceed 1200 N to avoid snapping. The discussion focuses on determining the height D above the beam where the cable is attached, which affects the tension. To analyze the system, a free body diagram is suggested, indicating that the sum of torques must equal zero for static equilibrium. The forces acting on the beam include gravity, tension from the cable, and a reaction force at the hinge, with gravity acting at the beam's midpoint.
G-reg
Messages
41
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


In the figure below, a uniform beam of weight 520 N and length 3.4 m is suspended horizontally. On the left it is hinged to a wall; on the right is it supported by a cable bolted to the wall at distance D above the beam. The least tension that will snap the cable is 1200 N.

What value of D corresponds to that tension?


Homework Equations


\Sigma\tau = 3.4m(520N) + ?



The Attempt at a Solution


I'm not really sure what to put in after what I have put in already.
I know it's conservation of torque but that's about it..
 
Physics news on Phys.org
At what point on the beam does gravity act? Draw a free body diagram and put in all the forces. Then say that the sum of all the torques is zero.
 
I know that gravity acts on the beam at 1.7m but I'm not seeing how I'm supposed to set the sum of the torques equal to zero..but that's probably because I'm not sure what forces are acting upon the beam besides gravity and the tension from the cable.
 
There is a force at the hinge that has horizontal and vertical components Fx and Fy. If you calculate torques about the hinge, they do not contribute to the net torque. However gravity and the tension must exert equal and opposite torques about the hinge if this beam is to be in equilibrium.
 
Thread 'Variable mass system : water sprayed into a moving container'
Starting with the mass considerations #m(t)# is mass of water #M_{c}# mass of container and #M(t)# mass of total system $$M(t) = M_{C} + m(t)$$ $$\Rightarrow \frac{dM(t)}{dt} = \frac{dm(t)}{dt}$$ $$P_i = Mv + u \, dm$$ $$P_f = (M + dm)(v + dv)$$ $$\Delta P = M \, dv + (v - u) \, dm$$ $$F = \frac{dP}{dt} = M \frac{dv}{dt} + (v - u) \frac{dm}{dt}$$ $$F = u \frac{dm}{dt} = \rho A u^2$$ from conservation of momentum , the cannon recoils with the same force which it applies. $$\quad \frac{dm}{dt}...
I was thinking using 2 purple mattress samples, and taping them together, I do want other ideas though, the main guidelines are; Must have a volume LESS than 1600 cubic centimeters, and CAN'T exceed 25 cm in ANY direction. Must be LESS than 1 kg. NO parachutes. NO glue or Tape can touch the egg. MUST be able to take egg out in less than 1 minute. Grade A large eggs will be used.

Similar threads

Back
Top