LESSON 6: Distributed Load


When solving distributed load problems it is usually easiest to convert the distributed load into a single force, or one vector. In order to convert a distributed load into one vector, you should begin by finding the area under the distributed load. The area under the distributed load becomes the magnitude of the single vector. After determining the magnitude of the single vector you then need to determine its placement.
If the distributed load is a rectangle, the single vector will be placed in the middle of the rectangle. If the distributed load makes the shape of a triangle, the single vector should be placed 1/3 the distance from the fat end of the triangle.


After converting the distributed load into a single vector, you can then proceed to solve the problem
as if there had never been a distributed load in the first place. The shapes of the distributed load you are given will not always be quite so easy. Frequently, the shape of the distributed load is made up of a combination of rectangles and triangles. In this case, you simply treat each shape individually. here is an example problem that will help: staticsprb34