Free Shear Force Calculator
Calculate the maximum shear force and reactions for a simply supported beam with a uniform distributed load.
ft
lb/ft
Each Reaction
2,400 lbs
Max Shear Force2,400 lbs
Total Load4,800 lbs
Each Reaction vs Beam Span
Shear Force (Simply Supported Beam)
V_max = wL / 2
For a simply supported beam with uniform load, the maximum shear force occurs at the supports and equals half the total load. The shear force decreases linearly to zero at mid-span.
Example Calculation
16 ft beam with 300 lb/ft uniform load.
- 01Total load = 16 x 300 = 4,800 lbs
- 02Reaction at each support = 4800 / 2 = 2,400 lbs
- 03Max shear = 2,400 lbs (at each support)
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