Series

Free body — the series

One essay so far on this idea, and more questions about it than one essay answers.
  1. The same beam, cut at x = 5. A beam separated at one station. On the exposed face a shear force and a bending moment appear, equal and opposite on the two pieces, with values obtained by summing the forces on whichever piece is easier.

    The free body is a choice, and choosing it well is the whole skill

    Cutting a structure open is not a step in the method. It is the method — and where the cut is made decides whether the answer takes one line or twenty.

    part 1 · equilibrium

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