Reaction Forces on a Beam with a Distributed Load

by Tite Jean-Philippe

Submitted : Spring 2013

Determining reaction forces on a beam or structure is the foundation of structural engineering. For our project, we will be examining a beam under a specific type of loads. In this case, we will examine a beam under distributed load over the length of the beam. A distributed load is the force that acts evenly over a length L on a surface or a beam.

This project deals with reaction forces on a distributed load and in order to find the reactions we must us Calculus and Engineering computations to derive a solution. We will use Simpson’s Rule for our calculus computation, and summing up forces and moments for our engineering computations to solve for the reaction forces. Using Simpson’s Rule, we found the sum of the distributed load in terms of a single point load and a moment about reaction A, 207.5 N and 114.575 N­m respectively. As a result, reaction about support reaction B resulted in 88.13 N and reaction about support reaction A resulted in 119.37 N.

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