Engineering ToolBox - Resources, Tools and Basic Information for Engineering and Design of Technical Applications!

Beam Loads - Support Force Calculator

Calculate beam load and supporting forces.

Beam - loads and support force

Online Beam Support Force Calculator

The calculator below can be used to calculate the support forces - R1 and R2 - for beams with up to 6 asymmetrically loads.

For a beam in balance loaded with weights (or other load forces) the reactions forces - R - at the supports equals the load forces - F. The force balance can be expressed as

F1 + F2 + .... + Fn = R1 + R2                           (1)

where

F = force from load (N, lbf)

R = force from support (N, lbf)

In addition for a beam in balance the algebraic sum of moments equals zero. The moment balance can be expressed as

F1 af1 + F2 af2 + .... + Fn afn = R ar1 + R ar2                               (2)

where

a = the distance from the force to a common reference - usually the distance to one of the supports (m, ft)

Example - A beam with two symmetrical loads

A 10 m long beam with two supports is loaded with two equal and symmetrical loads F1 and F2, each 500 kg. The support forces F3 and F4 can be calculated

(500 kg) (9.81 m/s2) + (500 kg) (9.81 m/s2) = R1 + R2 

=>

R1 + R2 = 9810 N

         = 9.8 kN

Note! Load due to the weight of a mass - m - is mg Newton's - where g = 9.81 m/s2.

With symmetrical and equal loads the support forces also will be symmetrical and equal. Using

R1 = R2

the equation above can be simplified to

R1 = R2 = (9810 N) / 2

    = 4905 N

    = 4.9 kN

Related Mobile Apps from The Engineering ToolBox Engineering Toolbox Apps

- free apps for offline use on mobile devices.

Example - A beam with two not symmetrical loads

A 10 m long beam with two supports is loaded with two loads, 500 kg is located 1 m from the end (R1), and the other load of 1000 kg is located 6 m from the same end. The balance of forces can be expressed as

(500 kg) (9.81 m/s2) + (1000 kg) (9.81 m/s2) = R1 + R2 

=>

R1 + R2 = 14715 N

       = 14.7 kN

The algebraic sum of moments (2) can be expressed as

(500 kg) (9.81 m/s2) (1 m) + (1000 kg) (9.81 m/s2) (6 m) =?R1 (0 m) + R2 (10 m)

=>

R2 = 6377 (N)

    = 6.4 kN

F3 can be calculated as:

R1= (14715 N) - (6377 N)

    = 8338 N

    = 8.3 kN

Insert beams to your Sketchup model with the Engineering ToolBox Sketchup Extension

w-flange beams sketchup engineering toolbox extension

Related Topics

  • Beams and Columns

    Deflection and stress in beams and columns, moment of inertia, section modulus and technical information.
  • Mechanics

    The relationships between forces, acceleration, displacement, vectors, motion, momentum, energy of objects and more.
  • Statics

    Forces acting on bodies at rest under equilibrium conditions - loads, forces and torque, beams and columns.

Related Documents

Search

Search is the most efficient way to navigate the Engineering ToolBox.

Engineering ToolBox - SketchUp Extension - Online 3D modeling!

3D Engineering ToolBox Extension to SketchUp - add parametric components to your SketchUp model

Add standard and customized parametric components - like flange beams, lumbers, piping, stairs and more - to your Sketchup model with the Engineering ToolBox - SketchUp Extension - enabled for use with older versions of the amazing SketchUp Make and the newer "up to date" SketchUp Pro . Add the Engineering ToolBox extension to your SketchUp Make/Pro from the Extension Warehouse !

Translate this Page

Translate this page to Your Own Language .

About the Engineering ToolBox!

Privacy Policy

We don't collect information from our users. More about

We use a third-party to provide monetization technologies for our site. You can review their privacy and cookie policy here.

You can change your privacy settings by clicking the following button: .

Citation

This page can be cited as

  • The Engineering ToolBox (2009). Beam Loads - Support Force Calculator. [online] Available at: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/beams-support-forces-d_1311.html [Accessed Day Month Year].

Modify the access date according your visit.

3D Engineering ToolBox - draw and model technical applications! 2D Engineering ToolBox - create and share online diagram drawing templates! Engineering ToolBox Apps - mobile online and offline engineering applications!

Unit Converter

















































9.26.9

.