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farnzington
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Homework Statement
A rigid weightless horizontal beam is hinged at a wall and is supported by two rods. The beam has a 8000 pound load applied at the end. Calculate the tension in each rod. The left rod is made of brass and has diameter of 1.25" and the right rod is made of aluminum and has a diameter of 1"
Homework Equations
σ = εE
ε = ΔL/L
F = σA = εEA
A = (∏D^2)/4 = ∏R^2
E(Brass)=15,000,000 psi
E(Aluminum)=10,000,000psi
The Attempt at a Solution
A(Brass rod)= ∏/4 * (1.25)^2 = 25∏/64 in^2
A(Aluminum rod)= ∏/4 * (1)^2= ∏/4 in^2
I have been trying to figure out this problem for close to two hours and I am no further than where I began. I have done a few problems before where the load is applied to a beam, but never where the beam is hinged in the wall as such. I was told that I need to use similar triangles to find the lengths the rods change by but do not know how to implement this. I would appreciate any help, I am more concerned about how to do the problem than the answer itself.