Strength of Materials

8.5 MECAULAY’s METHOD

For discontinuous uniformly distributed load and point loads at various points in a beam, a single equation of M_x will not be sufficient to determine the slope and deflection everywhere in the beam.

In such situation’s Mecaulay’s method may be used. In Mecaulay’s method, a single equation of moment is formed for all loads on the beam in such a way that the constants of integration apply equally to all positions of the beam.

For example, let us consider a simply supported beam of span l which carries point loads W₁ and W₂ at a′ and b′ from the supports as shown in Figure 8.18.

 

 

Fig. 8.18

 

Let R_A and R_B be the reactions ...