A distributed load is a force spread over a surface or line, expressed in terms of force per unit area or length. A point load is an equivalent load applied to a single point, determined by calculating the total load and attributing it to the center.
To calculate the total load from a distributed load:
\[ \text{Total Load (area)} = \text{Load Value (kN/m²)} \times \text{Total Area (m²)} \]
\[ \text{Total Load (length)} = \text{Load Value (kN/m)} \times \text{Total Length (m)} \]
To find the center of the area or length:
\[ \text{Center (area)} = \left( \frac{\text{Length}}{2}, \frac{\text{Width}}{2} \right) \]
\[ \text{Center (length)} = \frac{\text{Beam Length}}{2} \]
To calculate the point load from a distributed load, you need to:
For a load of 10 kN/m² applied to an area of 4m by 6m:
\[ \text{Total Area} = 4 \, \text{m} \times 6 \, \text{m} = 24 \, \text{m²} \] \[ \text{Total Load} = 10 \, \text{kN/m²} \times 24 \, \text{m²} = 240 \, \text{kN} \] \[ \text{Center} = \left( \frac{4}{2}, \frac{6}{2} \right) = (2 \, \text{m}, 3 \, \text{m}) \]
For a load of 10 kN/m applied to a beam of 5m in length:
\[ \text{Total Length} = 5 \, \text{m} \] \[ \text{Total Load} = 10 \, \text{kN/m} \times 5 \, \text{m} = 50 \, \text{kN} \] \[ \text{Center} = \frac{5}{2} = 2.5 \, \text{m} \]