Weight supported by two supports

mercredi 31 juillet 2013

Hi all,

I am working on a problem that I can't even seem to figure out where to start. I have a horizontal beam of known weight (1100lbs, or 4893N). It is 1714.5mm long, and is supported by two vertical supports, which are at known location along the beam (Support 1 @ 200mm; support 2 @ 1150mm). I am trying to figure out how much mass (in Newtons) is carried by support 2, and then I want to add additional 5G of force to the mass supported by support 2 straight down in vertical direction.

I know the starting point would be:

sum of moments = sum of forces = 0

[itex]\Sigma[/itex]M = [itex]\Sigma[/itex]F = 0

I know I do something with the reaction forces at the support, but not sure.

Any help to get started would be appreciated.

Thanks!